'I just get sad when I think about not watching Roger run the footy'

So Shaun Johnson re-signed and the Warriors could be chasing Leivaha Pulu.

Johnson was always going to re-sign with the Warriors; his whanau is here, his brand (merchandise included) is here and well, Johnson is playing in the same rugby league team as Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Issac Luke, Simon Mannering and Tohu Harris will soon be joining the crew. There's absolutely no reason why Johnson would sign elsewhere, regardless of what Johnson might say or what silly mainstream media say.

The news around Johnson is nice, however this and speculation about who the Warriors might sign has little to do with right now.

I mean, if I wanted to look past 2017, I'd be writing about how much I love Tohu Harris every damn week. Harris and Tuivasa-Sheck will be two of the best signings in Warriors history, but Harris won't be here until next year, so meh.

This is likely to be the only year that the Warriors have Kieran Foran playing alongside Johnson, Tuivasa-Sheck and Luke. It's our last year with Ben Matulino, so let's just go hundies on 2017 yeah?

Sunday's game against the Roosters throws up a very interesting challenge for the Warriors in that they face a decent team on home soil. A few weeks ago everyone was riding high on the Warriors after they beat two average teams at home, then the Warriors went on a road trip and lost to Canberra and Melbourne. No shame in that as both are very tough away trips, against good footy teams.

The Roosters are good (although the Wildcard likes to remind me that they struggled to beat a depleted Dragons last week), however we've seen the required improvements in the Warriors which will ensure that they don't slip up. The best way I can describe my feelings about what Stephen Kearney has done with the Warriors is that I don't feel as though the Warriors have that typically horrible performance in them. I don't feel as though the Warriors will play 'bad' and get smoked, they'll be there or thereabouts most games and from that solid base, they will be a steady team.

They definitely weren't overly bad in Melbourne, they were solid. Melbourne are just really good and have every aspect of footy covered; from defence to x-factor.

In the past, I'd wonder if the Warriors forwards could match what is a fairly ruthless Roosters pack. Now though, we know that there's some oomph in the Warriors forward pack and with Matulino leading a bench of Sam Lisone and Ligi Sao, there's not let up through the middle. We also know that if the Warriors are struggling for metres then Tuivasa-Sheck can make a quick 15m burst to ease the pain.

Need I remind y'all that whenever a commentator laments how slow forwards are to get back on side after a kick, that commentator is very silly. This is not a major sign of fatigue, or how the game is going, especially with our Warriors because the forwards know that the first three/four hit ups are done by the outside backs. Why would you rush back on side when you've got a few tackles to kick back? Some would just call that being smart.

What does scare me a tad is how the Warriors right edge plans to slow Boyd Cordner down. Cordner is a beast and although we've seen Johnson put a few shots on, he's going to have to tackle Cordner every set at least once. Bodene Thompson and Blake Ayshford will be busy in giving Johnson a helping hand, but much of this will start in the middle and depend on how the Warriors slow the Chooks down - without conceding all those penalties.

As I said after the Melbourne game, it's strange that Issac Luke is being pulled off with 10-15 minutes left in the game. I highly doubt this is because Luke can't get through 80 minutes and Luke played 80 minutes for four games straight (rounds 2-5) before he got a cheeky breather with the win over Parramatta sealed. Against Canberra Luke played 57 minutes and against Melbourne he played 68 minutes, leading me to believe that two away games after those 80-minute stints was a nice chance for Kearney to not only take the foot off the gas, but also ensure that Nathaniel Roache tastes meaningful minutes in two hostile away trips.

So I suspect we'll only see Luke pulled from the field if the result is decided with 10 minutes to go.

Coach Kearney has brought Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad into the team to start on the wing, with Solomone Kata out injured. CNK has been on the cusp of NRL selection for a while now and despite Manu Vatuvei being named on a the big bench, it'd be rude to name CNK and then deny him a debut. If Vatuvei is a legit chance of playing, it would make sense for him to replace Ken Maumalo in a like-for-like swap as the idea of Vatuvei and Maumalo starting as wingers doesn't excite me; speed and quick feet are required.

The Warriors rely heavily on their outside backs to make metres and I like the balance of styles in this back five. Tuivasa-Sheck is impossible to tackle one-vs-one, Fusitua is big but light on his feet and always pokes through, Maumalo is a battering-ram, Blake Ayshford makes metres by any means necessary and I suspect we'll see CNK prove an asset with his footwork around the ruck.

I'm still not convinced that we'll see the Warriors push offloads, even with Mannering and Matulino in the same team. This reminds me of the threat the Warriors offered against Parramatta a few weeks ago, with a lot of their attack moves sparked by Mannering getting plenty of footy. In Canberra, Mannering had 17 touches and in Melbourne he had 18 touches, compare that to the home game against Parramatta when Mannering had 28 touches.

Give or take a few touches given the difference in possession and Mannering playing the right edge in Melbourne for much of that game, I still think that Mannering is low key crucial to pushing Foran and Johnson out a bit wider. Look for Mannering to have options around him and of course the running option in front of him, as his ability to hold up a few defenders in the middle and then deliver a spiral pass in the bread-basket is heavily slept on.

Or just expect Tuivasa-Sheck to go bonkers against his old club, at Mt Smart, as captain of his new club. Tuivasa-Sheck is the best player in this team and we could witness some funky stuff from the hot-stepper.

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