Diary Of An Aotearoa Warriors Fan: Beware Of The Underdogs
Not too often do the Warriors head into a clash against Brisbane Broncos as the favourites, that's exactly the case this weekend though. It's completely rational to believe that the Warriors will blow Brisbane away, that all the trademarks of their 5-0 run to start the season will once again be on display.
Add on to that the fact that blokes like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Blake Green will be eager to bounce back from mediocre performances last week and confidence is simmering.
I do however have a feeling that this could be a niggly contest for the Warriors, given the pressure the Broncos are feeling at the moment. Not only have they been under-performing, this brings with it plenty of external noise about various aspects of their team and an away trip to Auckland is the perfect opportunity for them to rally with their backs up against the wall.
Having Tevita Pangai Junior back in the mix helps, Alex Glenn didn't play last week and there's the chance that Jack Bird moves into the halves. These personnel moves could freshen things up for the Broncos, plus, on top of all of that we can sprinkle an interesting stylistic match up which could work in the Broncos favour.
Last week the Warriors plowed through a slow, cumbersome Cowboys team and while that was blatantly evident with the footy, it was low key present in the Warriors defence as well. The Warriors weren't challenged to any great extent in defence as the Cowboys didn't have many dummy half runs, didn't enjoy fast outside backs taking hit ups and didn't earn quick play-the-balls. This resulted in clunky shifts wide which the Warriors could control.
Brisbane don't have a big forward back, they are of the mobile variety and at the moment they are a crappy version of the Warriors forward pack. They have a dummy half in Andrew McCullough who will run the footy and two halves (regardless of whether Bird plays there or not), who will also run the footy. That is to say that the Broncos will try to do a far better job than the Cowboys, of engaging middle defenders and playing quicker.
Don't get me wrong; our Warriors are dripping with confidence, they have more power and skill. I'm just intrigued about how the Warriors perform against a different style, against a team that desperately needs a win.
It's not complacency, the idea isn't complacency. What I'm pondering is how difficult it is to maintain a high level of play every week. In the NRL, if your energy or attitude is only slightly off, you'll lose and given that the Broncos will be desperate and the Warriors have churned out all sorts of fabulous efforts and focus so far, the Warriors may be out-enthused.
With a game against the Dragons next week, we will see how ruthless the Warriors are in this Broncos game. There is a lot of room for improvement from the Cowboys game and if the Warriors stay zoned in on maintaining a high level of play, as well as those improvements, there won't be any complacency.
**Cheeky update now that Matt Gillett is out for this game (and a couple of months with a fractured nek)**
No Gillett is a huge blow for Brisbane and this only amplifies the vibe I've described above. Now it's even more in favour of the Warriors, but the Broncos will also be eager to respond to this news and they could enjoy having all the odds stacked against them; how ruthless are the Warriors?
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Peace and love 27.