What happens when Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Lesson Ah Mau depart Aotearoa Warriors? The whanau win three games in a row, churning out fun footy against weaker teams and continuing their sneaky push for a top-eight spot. One can dim this light by hammering home the idea of Tigers, Sharks and Bulldogs being ho-hum teams right now, yet the absence of Tuivasa-Sheck especially balances that out to ensure that this is an intriguing run of Warriors wins.

Ponder these stat rankings...

Post Contact Metres: 4th.

Offloads: 4th.

Missed Tackles: 11th.

Errors: 10th.

That sounds like a fun team right? There seems to be more funk in the Warriors footy over the past three weeks and this has come despite a steady turnover of players week to week. Matt Lodge for example is 4th in the NRL for offloads, meaning that the Warriors added a top-five offloader to a team that was already lurking around the top-five for offloads. Lodge has only played one game during this win-streak (vs Sharks) and it was pretty impressive; 52mins, 18 runs - 139m @ 7.72m/run, 4 tackle busts, 6 offloads, 23 tackles @ 92%.

During this win streak the Warriors have given debuts to Viliami Vailea and Jackson Frei. Frei played his last game of Intrust Super Cup footy in round 11 on June 20, almost two months before his next game of footy where he played 27mins with 5 runs for 44m @ 8.8m/run and 14 tackles @ 100%. This is the latest example of Warriors efficient development and I've highlighted this trend throughout the season as Rocco Berry and Edward Kosi look solid in the NRL, Taniela Otukolo has played three NRL games and no reserve grade games while Frei slotted in seamlessly.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak as a Warrior: 6 games, 2 tries, 2 try assists, 2 linebreaks, 167m/game.

Addin Fonua-Blake didn't play against the Tigers, here are his two stat lines from the wins over Sharks and Bulldogs...

vs Sharks: 55mins, 17 runs - 222m @ 13.05m/run, 1 linebreak, 2 tackle busts, 2 offloads, 19 tackles @ 95%.

vs Bulldogs: 64mins, 19 runs - 212m @ 11.15m/run, 3 tackle busts, 2 offloads, 31 tackles @ 96.9%.

That is upper echelon middle forward mahi. The fun wrinkle of this win streak though has been Josh Curran bursting out of nowhere to embody Warriors footy with his pure footballin' ability. Like Fonua-Blake, Curran has only played in two of these three wins...

vs Sharks: 80mins, 16 runs - 156m @ 9.75m/run, 2 linebreak assists, 1 try assist, 6 tackle busts, 4 offloads, 42 tackles @ 91.3%.

vs Bulldogs: 80mins, 1 try, 20 runs - 175m @ 8.75m/run, 3 linebreaks, 1 linebreak assist, 1 try assist, 4 tackle busts, 1 offload, 42 tackles @ 89.4%.

For context, Curran has played 11 games this season and has just one other game with over 100 run metres (round six). Curran's 10 tackle busts over the last two weeks is right there with the 11 tackle busts he registered in the nine games prior. Curran has 4 linebreaks this season, with 3 linebreaks in his last outing. I doubt anyone outside the Warriors walls had this kind of upside for Curran and as those stats show, this dude impacts a game in a variety of ways. The stats don't show his intuition, his ability to snap up loose balls before anyone else or even pop up around the footy at the right time.

Here are some of Curran's recent involvements, starting with the now familiar sight of Curran hitting a hard line and offloading to Reece Walsh in support vs Sharks...

Curran almost set up another try against the Sharks, bouncing back in-field from this spot with footwork and speed to make a linebreak...

The Bulldogs game started with Curran getting the footy out on the wing, with Kosi used as a decoy (fun play design). Who honestly expects Curran to get the footy on the wing, while the Warriors are in hard mahi mode out of their own territory?

Then we have Curran hitting that same ol' hole for a try - targeting Baily Biondi-Odo...

Same play, only that you will see Jazz Tevaga wrapping behind Curran above and below Tevaga pushes up in support to get the offload...

Then we have Walsh popping up on the right edge, with Curran running the same line to target Biondi-Odo and this time Curran is a decoy for Walsh to hit Kosi on the outside...

Curran then made a linebreak and all the Bulldogs eyes are looking outside Curran as if they expect Curran to pass, yet Curran makes Josh Jackson and Adam Doorey miss to charge up the guts...

All of which is Curran playing to the best of his ability, plus wise use of Curran and good coaching. The Warriors applied pressure to the Bulldogs left edge early with Curran's break on the outside, then they ran a play to run through the hole around Biondi-Odo. Then the next development of that play is banking on Biondi-Odo to make the legs tackle on a hard-running forward, so offload to Tevaga in support. Icing on the cake is using Curran as a decoy for the Kosi try.

The variety of options is on display there, while also being evident in basic plays that at the very least create space elsewhere. Against the Tigers, Kodi Nikorima looks out the back to Bayley Sironen and hits Bunty Afoa short for a try...

Against the Sharks, Sironen has the ball in the same spot that Fonua-Blake and Lodge shine via their passing. This play started on the left sideline and Sironen looks inside to Fonua-Blake who has to be respected and hits Sean O'Sullivan to his right which holds middle defenders to put Watene-Zelezniak in space out on the right sideline...

Whether it's Fonua-Blake, Lodge, Sironen, Curran or Tevaga; the Warriors forwards make metres, pass and offload. Bite too much on the run, you'll have to deal with a pass. Bite too much on a pass and one of these forwards will stack up PCM. Even the intercept try that the Bulldogs scored against the Warriors came from a decent attacking option as O'Sullivan runs the footy on the last, with a clear overlap down his short-side...

That's a try to the Bulldogs, although I'd want O'Sullivan pouncing on such opportunities more often than not. Let alone the skux-deluxe duo of Walsh and Chanel Harris-Tavita executing their own set play...

Nobody is doing something they aren't good at, or need to stretch to execute. I'm not sure what people expect of Harris-Tavita and O'Sullivan as they only need to execute their plays, run the footy, kick accurately and make their tackles. Harris-Tavita bounced back from 5 missed tackles and 20 tackles vs Sharks, for 0 missed tackles and 20 tackles vs Bulldogs. O'Sullivan has 4 missed tackles in the three wins, both are hovering around 90 percent tackling. Between the two halves and Walsh, they have three kicking options and the halves are more than happy to run - either to take advantage of space or because their passing options broke down.

The halves aren't doing anything crazy. Curran is simply being Josh Curran and that applies to everyone. Walsh isn't Tuivasa-Sheck so he doesn't have to jack up 200 run metres, Walsh instead has 9 tries, 10 try assists, 13 linebreaks and 13 offloads in his first 13 games of NRL footy. Take this further and ponder Euan Aitken...

Three games starting as an edge forward and three wins.

vs Tigers: 2 tries, 18 runs - 163m @ 9.05m/run, 1 linebreak, 6 tackle busts, 41 tackles @ 91.1%.

vs Sharks: 1 try, 10 runs - 133m @ 13.3m/run, 1 linebreak, 4 tackle busts, 29 tackles @ 87.9%.

vs Bulldogs: 17 runs - 158m @ 9.29m/run, 4 tackle busts, 39 tackles @ 97.5%.

The Warriors started this season with a back three of Tuivasa-Sheck, Ken Maumalo and David Fusitu'a. Two of them have left the club. Four Aotearoa juniors have made their debuts, plus Walsh and Frei have debuted at the Warriors this season. Lodge and Watene-Zelezniak joined the club mid-season. Suddenly Aitken is a slick edge forward, not quite as slick as Curran though who has exploded as a funky factor.

Somehow the Warriors keep tinkering, adapting to what's in front of them. Coach Nathan Brown leads that, although whether it's Peter O'Sullivan identifying Vailea and Berry from 1st 15 rugby or even seeing something in Curran to sign him from Roosters, there are smart footy folk behind the scenes playing their roles. These last three wins have put this all on display as it's involved a move to Queensland, more debutants and on-field performances where plans, structures and styles are clearly executed.

The next few weeks will have a decent impact on what kinda vibe we leave this season with. Broncos, Raiders and Titans are all beatable for the Warriors. The Broncos are gaining momentum while the Raiders and Titans are right on the cusp on top-eight footy, making this next phase a nice step up in opponents and a chance to see if the Warriors can build on a fun three weeks.

Hit an ad if you enjoyed the yarn.

Support the Niche Cache directly via Patreon for a karma boost.

Monday/Friday email is always there.

Peace and love.