So the Warriors beat Gold Coast last night and return to Aotearoa with a win and a close loss, exactly as I'd hoped. You know we don't get too high, or too low on the Warriors and stay well clear of weird expectations that have been placed on the Warriors without any substance. 

I'll debrief that Titans game tomorrow and this thingy-ma-jig will zone in on a few recruitment moves, but first I wanna touch on some context. Last night I watched Penrith storm back with two late tries in the last five minutes to beat Canberra and this got me thinking about Penrith, back to when they torched the Warriors in that second half to start mass over-reactions across Aotearoa.

Penrith had started the season as low key contenders, then leading into that Warriors game they had lost four games in a row. The Panthers have now won four straight with their last two wins featured them beating the Bulldogs into panic mode and this comeback against Canberra. While you were having a cry about how terrible the Warriors were/are, Penrith have repeated the dose from that Warriors game numerous time since; not only have the Panthers clicked into gear, other teams have suffered similar swashbucklin' defeats.

These semi-tough times saw me raise the Warriors 'care scale' to 2.7 and after beating Gold Coast, I'm happy to drop it back to 2.5. Nothing dramatic, just a fair reflection of where the Warriors are at and I'd suggest that when you slide outside your Warriors bubble, watch other games of footy, pay attention to circumstance and scenarios that other clubs find themselves in, you'll note that there many other clubs in worse positions.

Of course; you're holding the Warriors to a expectation that has been drummed into you by silly mainstream media or Aussie pundits who hype this team up as a top-four team, even though the Warriors rarely actually do that. 

Of course; the Warriors have a Kiwis spine. You mean the Kiwis spine that hadn't actually spent much time together recently as the Kiwis spine up until this year's Anzac Test where they were blatantly torched by Australia.

The Warriors are currently a mid-tier NRL team. Not a top-tier, definitely not enjoying a luxury suite in the upper echelon and nor are they a shitty NRL team, or a club that is struggling to find any sort of identity (like the Rabbitohs). The Warriors are two points outside the top-eight, six points behind the Dragons in 3rd (as of Sunday morning); six points separates the 3rd best team and the 11th best team in the NRL.

We should always hope that our sporting franchises do well, but keep in mind when you get your knickers in a twist that the Breakers fell off their dynasty perch in the NBL last season and the Phoenix also had an average season. Both the Breakers and Phoenix promise just as much as the Warriors, they have quality on paper etc, but for whatever reason the Warriors are treated differently with expectations that are based on myth. 

So, once again, for new readers and those regular readers who need reminding; chill and enjoy the journey. This is the whole point of supporting a sports team and at the Niche Cache we don't deal in the dramatic, we keep it real and enjoy sport. Here's hoping that's why you're here, reading this, otherwise you can deal in the dramatic.

When the Warriors are inexplicably bad, I call it as such. When they encounter a hot team who stylistically match up well against the Warriors, I call it as such. When the Warriors play well, I call it as such and keep a lid on the hype.

A few weeks ago, the Warriors replaced Tuimoala Lolohea with Zac Santo and ahead of this Gold Coast game the Warriors allowed Erin Clark to move to Canberra, replacing him with Manaia Cherrington. These moves involved moving clubs mid-season, hence I'm writing about them in this Diary as I try to ignore noise about player signings for 2018 and beyond as ... well, nothing will happen until this season is finished. 

This means that I push exciting thoughts of Tohu Harris playing for the Warriors aside because there's 2017 to worry about.

Overall, I like what the Warriors are doing. Santo and Cherrington are both reserve grade troopers who are sniffing around for an opportunity in the NRL, they're both a few years removed from Under 20s footy and will bolster the Warriors reserve grade side. The key thing is that they are desperate for an opportunity, there's no level of comfort which tends to plague players who come through the Warriors bubble in Auckland and their desperation for an NRL gig will see them push the first graders in training and on the field.

Lolohea was out the door long ago and Clark's only contribution to the Warriors was a terrible defensive play against Melbourne earlier this season, although it was Cameron Smith who was far too slick for Clark. Neither Lolohea or Clark were really offering a whole lot to the Warriors and they are likely to benefit greatly from getting out of their comfort zone.

Instead of not replacing Lolohea and Clark, or replacing them with younger jokers, the Warriors replaced them with two players who could step into the NRL team right now and will pounce at any opportunity. The Warriors pounced on circumstance as well, with Santo unable to crack Canberra's rather settled backline of Jack Wighton, Jordan Rapana, Joey Leilua, Jarrod Croker and Nick Cotric. 

Cherrington was out of favour at Wests Tigers under coach Jason Taylor and moved to Cronulla for this season, hunting a gig with Michael Ennis retiring. Cronulla have a long-term hooking option in Jayden Brailey and effectively chose James Segeyaro over Cherrington, as most NRL teams would do.

Santo is unlikely to get a run unless there's any injury or suspension as he's mainly a fullback. He could push for a funky bench spot with his speed and livewire nature adding a point of difference to the Warriors with fewer interchanges, especially if Stephen Kearney is going to lean towards playing Issac Luke for 80 minutes each game - which I like. Santo is depth though, NRL-ready depth.

Having Santo on the bench doesn't necessarily cover Luke, but any backline position and we're seeing NRL teams move towards having a genuine utility on the bench if they have a dummy half capable of playing 80 minutes. I prefer that than having a dummy half sit on the bench and not be used, which now makes for an interesting situation with Cherrington.

Kearney didn't really use Nathaniel Roache at all, when he did it was for less than 10 minutes and against Gold Coast, Ata Hingano took that bench spot which ended up being a massive positive as he replaced an injured Kieran Foran. Signing Cherrington, naming him on the bench and then replicating the Roache treatment doesn't make a whole lot of sense ya know?

This opens a few avenues starting with Cherrington just waiting in reserve grade which is all good. Cherrington could then find himself getting genuine minutes off the bench, keeping Luke fresh (during the game and for the rest of the season) which is very sensible given how crucial Luke is. Or you could get the curveball with Luke staying on the field when Cherrington comes off the bench, like Josh Hodgon does for Canberra when Kurt Baptise enters the game.

We're going to see what Kearney really thinks of Roache in the coming weeks which will be interesting. Kearney gave Clark a chance earlier in the season and Clark didn't take it, so see ya while Roache hasn't really been given a legit crack, although Kearney may not view Roache as capable of that just yet. I view Cherrington as a better all-round hooker than Roache, so I'm very intrigued by this situation and how it plays out.

I'll finish how last night's game finished: Ryan Hoffman.

The reaction to Hoffman's kick and the genuine joy shown by his comrades got me thinking about Hoffman's future, which appeared to be sealed when Harris was signed and Hoffman was given the flick as captain. Harris and Hoffman are both left-edge forwards and Hoffman's salary will probably see him leave, however Hoffman has been in good form, shares a connection with Kearney and last night showed me that he's an extremely valued member of this squad.

Hoffman could take a pay cut and enjoy some extra-curricular benefits to stay with the Warriors, giving the Warriors a far better forward pack than they have now (including Harris and Leivaha Pulu). This decision will basically come down to Hoffman vs Bodene Thompson and you already know my intrigued-antenna is buzzing. 

Alright, sometimes I let my imagination drift off into 2018 where the Warriors will bid farewell to a member of the Kiwis spine but welcome in some much needed quality in the forwards. Swapping a member of the Kiwis spine with someone who I view as a top-three #KiwiNRL forward in Harris definitely ain't a bad swap folks, chuck in a rugged off-loader in Pulu and ... sorry; back to 2017.

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