Diary of a Warriors fan
Welcome home, welcome back to Mt Smart. Congrats to the 19,000 battlers who made their way to Mt Smart yesterday and of course, congratulations Sir Simon Mannering.
Many have found it pretty easy to lay in to Mannering, whether it be the lack of impact he makes or the that he's not a good leader. People keep coming up with new reasons to give him the flick but why? He is the Warriors so when the Warriors aren't doing so well, he's an easy target but the fact that he's lasted this long with a team that is so inconsistent is something else.
How awesome was it that Mannering set himself up with the first try against the Knights!? Had to pinch myself as he dropped in on to the boot but we all love a bit of funk.
Despite wins over the Titans and Knights, we haven't seen the Warriors put together a complete performance full of awesomeness. The Knights are similar to the Titans, with a tough, veteran forward pack and a few attacking weapons to make you pay if you're scared of the grind. The Warriors have emerged from two tough games with two wins. Me likey.
The best thing for me is the fact that they won yesterday without Shaun Johnson or Chad Townsend having massive impacts on the game. In the past there's been a heavy reliance on Johnson to produce some magic and now we're seeing a sound team performance. Having Sam Tomkins slowly increasing his workload has helped a lot. This kind of climaxed against the Knights where Tomkins was sniffing around the middle of the field, taking tough hit ups and kicked a fair bit as well. As much as Tomkins did and as well as he played, the Warriors won without relying on him, Johnson or Townsend.
Everything's swell in the land of the Warrior. Our centres and wingers are giving us great go forward, Ngani Laumape is showing his growth defensively and Manu ... Manu. He's gone to another dimension this season, he's running the hardest I've ever seen him run and he (and the coaching staff) have found a way to get him good carries coming out of their end. He's lining up behind the play the ball and then picking a side to carry with a full head of steam. In the past teams have just piled four men in a tackle to dominate Vatuvei in those early hit ups, this is just a little tool to get him gaining metres and a quick play the ball.
I'm not too sure what more Jacob Lillyman has to do to get a Maroon jumper but he, Ben Matulino, Suaia Matagi and Sam Rapira are forming are top tier NRL prop rotation.
It's weird because I don't think we've completely clicked everything in to gear. There's still some execution of plays to work on, mistakes, defensive energy, plenty to work on which would fill the hearty Warriors fan with joy. We haven't been in this position before - playing decently, winning games but not playing to the full extent of our ability. In the past it's been like games have been won with not much left to give, recently games have been won with tricks still up the sleeve.
What better time to play the Rabbitohs in Perth?