Diary Of An Aotearoa Warriors Fan: The Glorious Grit And Grind
Charizard.
Before talking all sorts of crap about Aotearoa Warriors, ponder an idea that I've been preaching all season long: Mt Smart is a fortress. In beating the Bulldogs on Friday night the Warriors snapped up their sixth win at Mt Smart from seven games there this season, with their only loss at Mt Smart coming in round two against Melbourne Storm.
There is the obvious angle to this that the Warriors need to somehow snatch wins away from home, yet that can only apply if you are winning at home first and foremost. To firmly establish themselves in the top-eight, the Warriors will need to win a few games away from home. It's not impossible for the Warriors to creep into the top-eight without those away wins, especially as they currently sit in 10th spot thanks largely to their strong home record.
Unlike certain other competitions in this part of the world the NRL is so competitive that things can change swiftly. With 16 points to their name, the Warriors are only 2 points ahead of the Bulldogs who are 15th and they are only 4 points below the Dragons who are 6th. As long as Mt Smart maintains its fortress status, the Warriors shouldn't slip from their current position.
The vibe around the Warriors is still one of bitchin' and moanin' which is rather funny considering how for so long fans have wanted their Warriors team to be grittier, tougher. How often have you heard someone complain about the Warriors attitude or mental strength? It's the most common complaint regarding the Warriors (once again bordering on racism) and this win over the Bulldogs encapsulated how much the Warriors have grown under Stephen Kearney. Remember that Kearney is a coach who has his roots in defence and 'one-percenters'.
This wasn't a super-duper performance from the Warriors, far from it.
Whether it was Shaun Johnson throwing some crazy passes, Ata Hingano offering a few sloppy moments, Issac Luke injuring his shoulder, the Bulldogs enjoying easy go-forward when David Klemmer and Sam Kasiano entered the game, conceding twice as many penalties as the Doggies or the ongoing struggles of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck when the Warriors are in the attacking zone; the Warriors weren't very good.
But the Warriors were tough and they had to be. The Bulldogs themselves looked rather horrible in attack and that's the expectation now as they haven't looked like a slick top-tier attacking team for at least 18 months, they win games thanks to their defence and over-powering forward pack. To win, the Warriors had to match that level of effort and determination, which didn't offer a sexy Warriors performance, it did offer another win at Mt Smart though.
Johnson did throw some horrible passes and considering his kicking mishaps of the past few months, Johnson has made some unfathomable errors. Instead of those errors building, Johnson reverted back to the Warriors foundations under Kearney and kicked early in a set then led the kick-chase to pin the Doggies down their own end.
While Hingano was also throwing a few dubious passes - or not communicating clearly what option he was going to take - he was immensely physical with and without the ball. Most young halves can do impressive stuff with the footy and it also takes deal to be able to do that when adjusting the speed and fatigue of NRL footy, what instantly impresses me when watching Hingano is how he rips in on defence and loves to run the footy.
Hingano will get shoulders into tackles and he will pin his ears back into big forwards. Most young halves who play NRL footy can do what Hingano can do with the footy, most young halves haven't shown the level of enthusiasm for the gritty stuff like Hingano. That's how I know Hingano is a gun and if Hingano didn't look like he'd been in a UFC fight, I doubt the Warriors would of won because of what Hingano's busted face represented.
Even when some niggle came into the contest, the Warriors adjusted and raised their niggle without losing the plot. Josh Reynolds lay in a tackle too long, Kasiano and Klemmer smashed Ryan Hoffman and their were hefty shots all over the place. When Hoffman got smashed, James Gavet was right their pulling Kasiano off Hoffman, then Gavet smoked Reynolds and Sam Lisone earned a penalty with a barn-storming run. The niggle drew the best out of the Warriors because they were defending their turf and instead of blowing up deluxe, they zoned in on defending their turf.
Before praising the young group of Warriors, I loved the work of Hoffman, Bodene Thompson and Simon Mannering who all played 80 minutes. Mannering not only made 61 tackles, he had 13 carries for 139m (10.69m/carry!) and I'm liking the balance offered by Hoffman's direct running on the left and Thompson's footwork/offloads on the right. I was a bit cold on Hoffman and Thompson in the opening stanza of the season, now I'm loving their work and these three lead the Warriors in those one-percenters, or 'grown man footy'.
Offloads, we all want offloads. Thompson has shown how beneficial offloads can be in recent weeks and I've always said that there needs to be a few offloads, although winning the offload battle doesn't decide a contest. The Warriors only had 9 offloads and were dominated in that regard by the Bulldogs' 16 offloads. Victory came thanks to the Warriors establishing the grind, playing tough and taking their chances when the came.
Isn't less offloads and more tough footy exactly what we've always wanted?
Ponder all of the above. Actually take a moment to digest it all.
Gritty, tough, hard-hitting, kick-chasing, opportunity-taking Warriors.
And Jacob Lillyman only played 35 minutes, Issac Luke only played 33 minutes, Ben Matulino only played 36 minutes.
Three OG veterans and none played over 40 minutes as they have done in previous weeks. Luke probably would have if he didn't get injured, but thanks to circumstance, responsibility fell on the shoulders of younger players and those younger players stuck to that gritty, tough style of footy.
This was made possible thanks to the beastly presence of James Gavet and he's our best prop this season. Gavet could have started, Kearney put him on to match the injection of Kasiano and Klemmer though, with Gavet playing 42 minutes (12 carries for 111m, 2 tackle busts, 32 tackles, 1 offload) and offering all sorts of aggression, enthusiasm and efficiency.
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This coincides with Sam Lisone playing 37 minutes. Lisone and Gavet are enforcers, youngish enforcers who stood up to a brutal Bulldogs forward pack and played crucial minutes against the Bulldogs' x-factor forwards. There's a buzz when they run the footy, they whack in defence, scramble hard and they both offer little moments of skill.
Nathaniel Roache snapped up his opportunity when Luke left the field and this was solely based on his clear intention to run. Don't be silly and think that this reflects poorly on Luke as Luke has been playing at a similar level to Gavet this season and while Roache ran the footy well, Luke does that as well as kicking and delivering an arsenal of nifty passing tricks.
It's amazing what running intentions offer and Roache's speed sparked the Warriors into their attacking frenzy around the ruck. Luke was his dynamic self before going off injured and in just 33 minutes he had 4 carries for 39m, a tackle bust, an offload and 3 kicks (Hingano only had a single kick), the beauty is that the Warriors didn't lose anything when Luke went off injured. Roache maintained the threat around the ruck, allowing for more time and space for those one or two passes off the ruck.
The last younger lad I want to touch on is Ken Maumalo. Not only did Maumalo have a strong game (as we've come to expect) with Manu Vatuvei back in the mix, Maumalo has shown clear improvements in his game.
Maumalo looks slimmer and he's not the only Warriors player who looks more athletic. This isn't to say that before many players looked 'fat', they looked more bulky or muscular. Now Maumalo for example looks like a lean, mean, wing machine and I'd classify that as looking more 'athletic'. Would the old Maumalo have been able to fall to ground, then pick himself up instantly and get back to top speed as swiftly as he did for his try? I highly doubt it.
The old Maumalo charged into players, which was kinda effective thanks to his bulk. Now opposition teams target Maumalo and get in his face, which for a brief stint this season had Maumalo getting tackled before really winding up. In a brilliant example of player development, Maumalo now shows off some nifty footwork which is enhanced by his lighter frame and he's simply more agile.
I've also noticed this in David Fusitua, although he was leaner, faster and more agile to begin with. These two should be the long-term wingers and that wasn't something I was overly excited about in the past as they offered aerial threats, big go-forward and were genuine try-scorers but having two big wingers was a bit of a liability in the high-tempo NRL. With Maumalo's development and assuming Solomone Kata slots back into centre (not a certainty) these two tick that final 'agile' box and give the Warriors something that few NRL teams have.
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