In the glorious way that chaos often does, the mayhem of 2020 has seen New Zealand Warriors stumble upon a rather nice footy formula over the past month and a bit. The Warriors are 4-1 in their last five games and while wins over Tigers, Sea Eagles and Bulldogs fall in the standard 'Warriors beating fellow bottom-eight teams' bucket, ever since the round 11 loss to Roosters there has been a drastic shift in the Warriors vibe.

That vibe has been evident throughout this period, regardless of the results. An encouragingly close loss vs Roosters, wins vs Tigers and Sea Eagles, a loss to Panthers and then wins over Bulldogs and Knights. In each game, the Warriors looked like a completely different outfit that served up two of the least-funky Warriors games I've ever seen to start the season and then struggled in the restart period. Where the Warriors once lacked identity, a style of play or even a simple 'fun factor' for players and fans alike, the Warriors are now a low key pleasure to watch under coach Todd Payten.

What's changed? Well, everything and yet none of the changes could have been predicted.

That's the beauty of this wild 2020 for NZ Warriors. Just like I believe that the course of the Warriors existence and the kiwi rugby league journey that runs parallel to the Warriors is nearing a high point with certain moves made; everything about the mayhem of 2020 has led us to this point of a fun Warriors team.

That starts with an appreciation for Stephen Kearney. Some of the Warriors fun stems from seeing Chanel Harris-Tavita step up in a settled starting gig, similar to Hayze Perham getting a crack to start at centre. Paul Turner looked like a nifty halves prospect in his debut and Adam Pompey looks more at ease in the NRL with every game. These players came into the first-grade squad under Kearney's guidance, Kearney played a key role in getting these blokes ready for NRL and here we are.

Kearney, along with Peter O'Sullivan sussed out Jamayne Taunoa-Brown and he's played 16 games in his debut season, in the middle of the field. Many good judges were tapped into Eliesa Katoa's work at a small Auckland school, far removed from the 1st 15 cash guzzlers with Tamaki College 1st 15, then it was Kearney who quickly ushered Katoa into the Warriors top-17 for this season. While Kearney held some lads back, he also promoted others quickly and much of what we are seeing now, flows back to Kearney's foundations.

Similar to how the plethora of Penrith Panthers juniors in their 1st placed team can be traced back to Phil Gould's overhaul of the Panthers development system. Respect paid.

Nailing where, or how things changed is tricky. Stats offer a limited perspective and while some stats are super applicable, many stats only highlight the outcome and not what has actually changed. There have been personnel changes and I view Blake Green's departure as a key aspect of the Warriors enjoying a 4-1 block of games. Green did play in round 11 vs Roosters, then the following week vs Tigers and thus, Green played his role in Warriors improvements, although without Green, this team is far more fun.

With Green, the Warriors predominantly played with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck on the right edge, Kodi Nikorima on the left edge and Green in the middle. Green would connect the middle to either edge and not much would come of it, other than clunky shifts and Tuivasa-Sheck's frustration. Now, the Warriors operate with Tuivasa-Sheck popping up everywhere, while Nikorima plays on the right and Harris-Tavita on the left; Turner played on the left in Harris-Tavita's absence.

The stats, are the outcome. Tuivasa-Sheck, the leader of the Warriors is apparently the only player without his whanau from Aotearoa and while there was a clear shift in the work of Peta Hiku once his whanau arrived, Tuivasa-Sheck has enjoyed a similar shift just without the whanau. Here's a break down of Tuivasa-Sheck's work in the four games without Green...

With Green

1 try, 2 linebreaks, 1 game 40+ touches, 2 games 90+ post contact metres, 2 forced drop-outs.

Without Green

4 tries, 3 linebreaks, 2 games 40+ touches, 3 games 90+ post contact metres, 2 forced drop-outs.

Remember that there were 11 games with Green, so in the space of four games, Tuivasa-Sheck has exploded with contributions other than big running metres. This feels like Tuivasa-Sheck is no longer shackled to a small area of the field, nor is he shackled to taking tough hit-ups. Now the Warriors have a skipper who is active out of dummy half, who pushes up in support and is ready to expose any 1 vs 1 situation.

Green's departure was out of the blue and yet given how footy is being played in 2020, a Warriors team without Green seems far better suited to what's required. There is a reason why Hiku is a constant threat and that points to another Warriors shift as there is far more footy in this current group than any of the previous versions in 2020. No surprise here then that Jazz Tevaga moved to a starting role in round 11 and since Tevaga became a starter in the middle, he has played 50+ minutes in five of the six games and the Warriors are 4-2.

That has come at the expense of Adam Blair, without reflecting poorly on Blair as Blair himself has been impressive in a bench role. In a young, vibrant forward pack, Blair is valuable and his combination of experience along with the requisite skills, have me viewing Blair favourably at this juncture. It's not just Tevaga, nor is it just Blair, it's a Warriors forward pack that is mobile and skillful as they often now shift the footy through forwards like Tevaga, Blair and Tohu Harris.

Harris has played at a high level all season, as well as playing through the middle for most of his minutes this season. Usually, Harris starts on the right edge before moving to the middle to take the spot of Taunoa-Brown or Lachlan Burr and Jack Murchie then settles into his right edge role. The best comparison for Harris is Kawhi Leonard in the NBA as Harris is a lockdown defender, not exactly in making tackles but he's big, mobile and loves a wrestle, which is an asset through the middle. With the footy, Harris literally does everything and has the skills to move the footy, while also averaging 172m per game.

Shifting the footy is crucial in this quicker NRL style. Centres across the league are having a jolly old time, usually with early footy as the quicker tempo means that defensive lines compress to handle the middle, compressing even further when a six-again's called. How do you counter nippy dummy halves off a quick play-the-ball? Compress.

Now it feels like there is more time and space out wide, if you can shift the footy correctly. If I'm to try explain this further, I'd suggest that maybe the Warriors clunky attack stemmed from play-makers shifting the footy well before the defensive line allowing opposition defences to cover the shift. Through the likes of Tevaga and Harris mainly (most minutes), the Warriors can shift the footy closer to the defensive line, engaging the defence and holding them in-field.

Blair has 2 linebreaks this season and I reckon both of them came from a short ball from Harris. That's the benefit of passing forwards and also highlights the yin-yang of attacking footy as you can compress a defensive line, then open them up via what you do with the footy.

Ponder Zac Lomax, Kotoni Staggs, Stephen Crichton, Justin Olam, Brian Kelly and Hiku. Centres who are all having a hefty impact in 2020 and that's likely because they have more opportunities to showcase their all-round skill. Attacking centres are far more important this season than previously and one can bemoan Hiku's missed tackle count, or one can celebrate the joy that Hiku's provided in attack. Here is a breakdown of Hiku's season split in half...

First Seven Games

3 tries, 2 try assists, 7 tackle busts, 7 offloads, 25 missed tackles @ 3.5 per game.

Next Seven Games

3 tries, 5 try assists, 14 tackle busts, 11 offloads, 26 missed tackles @ 3.71 per game.

That's the difference of happiness folks, the happiness of contentment via the love of your whanau. I included those missed tackles for a reason as well and you'll see that Hiku's defence appears to have worsened, yet the Warriors defence has improved...

The Warriors conceded 168 points in Hiku's first seven games, 24 points against per game.

That dropped to 144 points in Hiku's next seven games, 20 points against per game.

Boil it down to the last six games, since round 11 and the Warriors have conceded 98 points, or 16.33 points per game.

Hiku's missed tackle count increased, the Warriors defence improved. Sure, if the Warriors want to concede less than 10 points per game, then Hiku's missed tackles are niggly. Right now the Warriors as team are defending well and that, along with Hiku's attacking instincts in the 2020 season out-weight how many missed tackles he registers.

Another factor is Karl Lawton starting at hooker and no prize for guessing what round this move was made. Since round 11, Lawton has started all six games at hooker and that's bumped Wayde Egan back to the bench. It's less about whether Lawton or Egan is better and there aren't many statistical insights here, I view this like the Tevaga shift as simply being the best fit right now.

Best fit right now is an interesting idea considering that the serendipity that brought us here. This goes back to Eliesa Katoa and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown coming out of nowhere to be immediate factors, Jack Murchie arriving mid-season, then the likes of Poasa Fa'amausili, Jack Hetherington, Daniel Alvaro and George Jennings contributing. Lawton and Egan are the hooking duo, Harris-Tavita and Nikorima the halves, Perham's a centre and we've seen the Warriors pivot numerous times to get to this point.

Gone are the two big-bopper wingers in Ken Maumalo and David Fusitu'a, not just two players synonymous with the Warriors but two players who were the only figures of Warriors playing style identity; those big wingers. That forced a pivot, in comes Jennings first with Patrick Herbert and then Adam Pompey and the Warriors move towards speed and mobility vs size and power. Sure, Pompey's not super quick but among a faster team, he's keeping up.

The Warriors didn't just lose their big wingers, they lost Green and Tevaga's starting etc. Just losing the Maumalo and Fusitu'a couldn't be the lone reason, it's a perfect storm of various things happening to shift the style of footy. While on the topic of the big wingers, apart from the change in style, the Warriors aren't exactly missing what Maumalo and Fusitu'a tend to offer most...

The Warriors are 5th in Post Contact Metres this season - on par with 2019's 9th and 2018's 5th.

The Warriors are 8th in All Run Metres this season - on par with 2019's 11th and 2018's 7th.

No drastic change, perhaps a little better and that's not a perfect example because Maumalo and Fusitu'a did play this season. It does show a steadiness though and that, along with the injection of speed and skill has flipped the season around.

Overall, I believe that there are more natural ballers in this Warriors team. Every pocket of the Warriors team has someone who can create something and that can't be served up lightly as there are high-level threats in the likes of Tuivasa-Sheck, Nikorima or Hiku, low key threats like Katoa's running/offloading on the left edge or Tevaga bouncing around everywhere, or Harris doing everything.

Perham's got footwork too though, Harris-Tavita is a genuine play-maker. Give Jennings the footy with a sniff of the try line and he's being fired out of a rocket. Murchie's finding ways to chip in with weird shit. Even Turner danced his way to two no-tries on debut.

This try sums up a lot of these ideas as the Warriors fake to the right where Harris-Tavita and Nikorima are (variety in shape), Tuivasa-Sheck gets the footy, skips to the outside of his defender and engaging Mitchell Pearce who also has Katoa running at him as a short-ball option. Tuivasa-Sheck’s speed and direct running sets it up then he flings a spiral pass to Perham who then scoots and flings a pass to Jennings to score:

The play looks like it’s in fast-forward, involves crisp passing and a different players have to execute their role in the play. Fun footy.

Ponder the Warriors tries of late. Kicks, offloads, overlaps, power up the guts. There is variety in the individuals and within that variety is a common thread of skill, as well as a genuine willingness to rip in. My only warning here is that if a player drops out, the Warriors don't have the depth to replace a threatening weapon with another threatening weapon and hopes will change if there are multiple injuries/suspensions to come.

Injuries, suspension, doosras and wonky grubbers have been fired at the Warriors throughout 2020. Nothing about this Warriors team resembles the team that started the season and in a lovely way, that has worked out for the best as we are now, suddenly dealing with a top-eight contender, at least a Warriors team that is fun to watch. Don't buzz about what was, don't buzz about next year, just bask in a fun Warriors team.

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Peace and love.