Diary Of A Warriors Fan - 5 Interesting Warriors For 2016
Dip, skip, slide and weave, oh you best believe
Interesting, I mean Shaun Johnson's return from that injury will be interesting. It'll be interesting to see how Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Issac Luke and their nifty feet get the Warriors going forward, plus it will be interesting to see how Simon Mannering bounces back after a back-end of 2015 that made him ill, literally.
These are all interesting players and interesting stories that are floating on the surface, waiting for people to poke them. What lurks below the surface though? Here's five players for whom 2016 will offer greater clarity on their futures in the NRL, not quite make or break but low key storylines that form part of the most anticipated New Zealand Warriors season ... ever?
Sione Lousi
The big dude, with crazy hair and no position to call his own. Sione Lousi and his younger brother Sam were once the best young forwards coming through the club and with Sam having moved on to Super Rugby, Sione's left to hold things down, which he couldn't quite do last season.
In 2014, Lousi played 11 games and averaged 16.64 tackles, 7.55 hitups and 55 running metres per game.
In 2015, Lousi played 7 games, averaged 16.43 tackles, 5 hitups and 45.43 running metres per game.
Production is trending downwards while the general Warriors vibe is trending upwards and Lousi could quickly find himself lagging behind younger, more enthusiastic forwards, if he hasn't already. The interchange rule change will mean that quicker, more mobile forwards will have greater use and one of the reasons that Lousi has struggled to nail a position - is he a prop/middle forward or does he belong on the edge? - is that he simply appears slow and cumbersome.
There's a gang of young forwards who burst on to the scene last year, leap-frogging Lousi in the depth chart and as Lousi is only contracted for 2016, he's got to prove to the club that he deserves an upgrade. A strong, rampaging season will see Lousi become a hot property with either the Warriors or another NRL/Super League club eager to snap him up while another mediocre season could see Lousi drift, drift into the wilderness.
Toafofoa Sipley
Albert Vete, Sam Lisone, Charle Gubb, Raymond Faitala-Mariner and Toafofoa Sipley form the gang of youngsters who are putting pressure on Lousi or have already leap-frogged him. Everyone but Sipley has featured in the NRL with Sipley playing NSW Cup and captaining the Under 20s, earning a 2-year deal which locks Sipley up until 2018.
Skipper of the Under 20s, member of the NRL's Academic Team Of The Year and owner of a recently upgraded contract all points to the Warriors thinking very highly of Sipley. In eight games for the Junior Warriors last season Sipley ran for more than 100m in six of those games, making more than 20 tackles in five and getting at least one offload out in all but two of those games.
I'm uncertain about how much footy we will see from Sipley in the NRL this season as he's ranked behind Vete, Lisone and Gubb as props, however I do believe that we will see Sipley get NRL minutes at some stage via injury/suspension. When that moment comes, get on the edge of your seat and pay attention because we could be witnessing the final piece of a very promising prop rotation to take the Warriors forward into the Golden Era.
Ben Henry
This one is obvious and I've already touched on Benry in the Interesting Young Kiwis thingy I wrote a few weeks ago. Let's keep it real here; Benry is injury prone and has struggled to establish himself as a centre or an edge forward when he's been healthy.
Personally, I'm not even convinced that Benry has a long-term future in the NRL however I do want to see the best for Benry and as this is a contract year for him, you'd suspect it's his last chance to convince the Warriors to invest in him long-term. The interchange rules could work in Benry's favour as he's not as big as our other forwards and gets around the park well, plus I expect the Warriors to play a frantic, up-tempo style. This combination means that guys like Benry who show up for every tackle and make quality repeat efforts are valuable.
Will 2016 see Benry's stuttering NRL career stutter some more, or will he settle into the NRL?
Tuimoala Lolohea
I could make a fairly strong case for Tui Lolohea as the Warriors' MVP of 2016 and it's safe to say that we saw the best of one of the Warriors' most promising players. Whatever position Lolohea played, he showcased an eagerness to run the footy which combined with his natural flair (steps + odd shape + power) saw him average 102m per game and finish with 9 line breaks for the season.
9 line breaks and 8 try assists means that Lolohea offers a threat running the footy and putting other blokes into space, which is expected from a lad who simply looks like he was born to play footy.
Things get tricky for Lolohea with the arrivals of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Jeff Robson and the return of Shaun Johnson.
Tuivasa-Sheck's the best fullback in the game so he obviously deserves to start at fullback, yet I would have been happy to give the jersey to Lolohea - 'it's all yours son'.
Lolohea could still partner SJ7 in the halves which would give the Warriors a potent attacking trio (SJ7, RTS and Lolohea) but the control and experience of Robson will be crucial.
Konrad Hurrell looks to be getting serious about his NRL career, which means that he and Solomone Kata will likely feature as the centre combination. This leaves two options for Andrew McFadden: play Lolohea on the wing or bring him off the bench as an x-factor wildcard.
Thomas Leuluai will likely offer back up to Luke, taking up the bench utility spot. So it looks like Lolohea could start on the wing, which could be low key funky as Coach McFadden must be figuring out ways to use Lolohea off his wing, if he does start as a winger. Lolohea simply needs to be involved as much as possible.
Jacob Lillyman
One of the most persistent whispers regarding the Warriors centres around Jaocb Lillyman, nothing concrete here it's just that Lillyman is often mentioned as someone who could be moved on. This makes sense as Lillyman is a Origin player and Origin players demand a certain price-tag, which as we've seen with Michael Jennings, doesn't always fit in with how a club is using their salary cap.
When you consider the players that the Warriors have on their roster, something will have to break at some stage and I'd imagine that Lillyman will be the first to go. Still one of the Warriors' best props, Lillyman offers the Warriors a lot, especially with a young crop coming through and how Lillyman performs this season will determine his future with or without the Warriors.