So proud, so proud of the Warriors, nothing makes me more proud, I like being proud.

Putting my fingers to the keyboard and writing these Diary Of A Warriors thing-ma-jigs isn't easy as I always try to stay positive, while also keeping it all the way real. I told y'all that the Warriors were making small improvements and that there a good signs, good signs that could morph their way into premiership contender team (positive).

I don't know whether this is positive or keeping it realz; the Warriors haven't put together a performance that ticks all the boxes, a 8-9/10 sort of effort, nor have they really stunk. They have just been wandering down a path rather aimlessly, beating teams they should have beat.

The positive spin must be kept in mind because there's no reason why the Warriors and their plethora of weapons can't start singing from the same song-sheet at some stage. However, it's my duty to my Queen, country, homies and the children (Wu-Tang is for the children) to keep it real for our readers and our Warriors.

Our Warriors, your Warriors, my Warriors, Aotearoa's Warriors aren't very good. Sure the Warriors have individuals who can win a game by themselves and if those individuals combine to the best of their abilities, they'll steamroll a few teams, but when you look around the NRL, the smell of the stinky Warriors lingers.

Yesterday I saw a Gold Coast Titans side that has far less talent than the Warriors, show far more determination, guts, grit, skill and effort than the Warriors in their loss to Cronulla Sharks.

Yesterday I saw a Newcastle Knights side that has far less talent than the Warriors, show far more pride in their jersey/club in front of their home fans as they beat Wests Tigers. It never felt like the Knights were going to lose that game, not in those symbolic tradesman jerseys, not with their home turf rocking like it was. The Knights players found another level, for their fans.

On a nice Saturday night in front of a big Mt Smart crowd our Warriors were embarrassing, instead of finding another level for their fans, they crumbled. The Mt Smart faithful were rabid, hostile, just as we like them but their boos constantly directed at the referees should have been directed at their players.

The same players who have have now missed at least 25 tackles in each of their past three games, including those wins against the Knights and Roosters. They've missed at least 19 tackles in every game this season and have conceded 160 points in six rounds, while the Broncos and Cowboys have conceded just 73 and the Eels 65.

I like my shootout idea, where the Warriors go tit-for-tat with their opponent in scoring points. I'm nothing close to being proud with how much the Warriors suck at basic rugby league shenanigans and how they have consistently sucked at tackling, or defensive reads ... especially not when the Warriors aren't very good on attack either which is the whole basis of the shootout.

Fun fact: Our Warriors are 12th in run metres with 8079 (maybe because of reasons down the bottom).

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Nor am I proud in how the Warriors conducted themselves throughout the game. Ryan Hoffman, as skipper was a constant whinge, generally acting like a baby and while some decisions didn't go the Warriors' way, his antics simply aren't befitting of a skipper. Neither were his antics at the end, running in from a mile away to bring the ruckus.

The Warriors were so embarrassing that in that final scuffle, instead of anyone actually even coming close to throwing a punch (JUST THROW ONE), a few lads decided to grab the face of the Manly player. I'm not proud of the Warriors attack, their defence, the actions of the skipper but worst of all, I'm not proud of face-grabbers.

Hoffman though must have been incredibly frustrated so that's semi-okay.

Hoffman had just played alongside Issac Luke (face-grabber #1) who had conceded three penalties; the most of anyone on the park.

Maybe Hoffman was frustrated that he had missed six tackles himself; the most of anyone on the park.

Hoffman, instead of shouting/crying at the refs, was actually shouting/crying "Shaun, please run the footy Shaun, please!" Johnson had five runs for 22m while Dylan Walker ran 11 times for 66m and even Apisai Koroisau ran five times for 40m.

Let's keep it extremely real here because Shaun Johnson has shown that he's not nearly as dangerous if he's not running the footy. This is an ongoing narrative as Johnson simply might not be the same player as he was before the injury and Johnson hasn't shown in his career yet that he can control a game expertly. Johnson's running game causes defenders to pause, hesitate, it scares them, Johnson's kicking/passing/set-play execution scares no one.

Could Hoffman be seeing what I'm seeing? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Am I the only one who thinks that Sam Lisone, Albert Vete and Charlie Gubb offer the most oomph of all our forwards, heck even James Gavet offered more oomph than Jacob Lillyman (what's Gavet up to now? Oh, in reserve grade for whatever reason).

Lisone averaged 10.85m per-carry, Vete averaged 10m while Lillyman averaged 8m and Ben Matulino averaged 8.38m. Lillyman played 44 minutes, Matulino played 73 mins while Lisone and Vete only played 24 minutes. Lillyman simply doesn't deserve that many minutes and Matulino doesn't quite have the same effect as Dylan Napa; he'd be much better used playing 50-60 minutes.

We need to see more of Lisone, Vete, Gubb and even Konrad Hurrell as these guys are good at what they do. They give the Warriors some mongrel, mongrel that Lillyman, Matulino, Mannering and Hoffman don't have, which is evident every time they run the footy as they steam in off the back fence, lifting their team and Mt Smart up a notch with their enthusiasm.

Part of the lack of Lisone, Vete, Gubb and Hurrell was also thanks to Thomas Leuluai's return, all 32 minutes of it which came with Luke also on the field. I don't mind a bit of this, however the proof was in the pudding and Leuluai's presence didn't help the Warriors attack with the extra ball-playing, nor did it tighten their defence.

What's the point of having Hurrell in your side if he's only playing 16 minutes, taking three carries?

I'll leave you with a rather dramatic thought, or a few of them...

There's a lot of veterans in this team who are playing big minutes and aren't very efficient with their work. Does either Mannering or Hoffman offer any funk in attack? They are both solid footy players who run similar lines, either a short-ball or a decoy run and don't really offer any power, offloads, footwork, speed or size (unlike Shaun Lane). Both Mannering and Hoffman get through 80 minutes consistently which is often viewed as a good thing, but what's if I want more of a threat on the edge? Someone who can kick, pass and run great lines like Wade Graham/Bryce Cartwright. Someone who is extremely ruthless like Manu Ma'u or someone like Tohu Harris who can do it all.

Mannering and Hoffman are very plain, KFC chips without that chicken salt.

The crux of this idea though is that maybe coach Andrew McFadden - who I try not to rip on directly - is scared to give his older/experienced players less game time. Luke played 80 minutes, Lillyman 44mins, Matulino 73mins, Mannering 80mins, Hoffman 80mins and Leuluai 32mins but did the Warriors look any better? No.

In fact, the Warriors put together their worst game of the season, in front of their Mt Smart homies.

Oh and our 40/20 count is still 0. Go us.