Aotearoa Warriors struggle to win games with their strongest team on the field, so no surprises that they are 0-2 to start this season with a couple different halves combinations already rolled out. Shaun Johnson and Kodi Nikorima started round tahi, followed by Ash Taylor and Chanel Harris-Tavita in round rua which is now set to flip into Nikorima and Harris-Tavita together against Tigers.

Taylor had a legendary outing against his former club, missing 11 tackles. Taylor almost missed more tackles than he made (14) and he did miss more tackles than total runs (5 - 17m). Taylor missed more tackles than his total runs and number of kicks (3 kicks) combined. Fairly impressive mahi there, now it's Nikorima's chance to do ... something.

Fortunately for Warriors, Tigers also stink. This amplifies the drama floating around Aotearoa Kiwis coach Michael Maguire and while I'm unsure of what impact the Tigers drama has on Aotearoa Kiwis mahi; Tigers and Kiwis are in very different spots under the same coach. Warriors are 0-2 after losses to Dragons and Titans, with neither of those teams likely to be dominant finals forces. Starting the season 0-3 after losses to Dragons, Titans and Tigers would be rather crappy.

We have no idea how the Nikorima/Harris-Tavita combo will perform, leaving us with no idea as to how the Warriors will perform. Reece Walsh and Wayde Egan have settled into their roles nicely to at least offer a level of consistency, plus there are encouraging signs in the forward pack. The forwards were over-powered by a grizzly Dragons pack, then elevated their mahi against Titans.

Addin Fonua-Blake, Matt Lodge, Eliesa Katoa, Jazz Tevaga, Bunty Afoa and Aaron Pene all averaged at least 10m/run against Titans. Josh Curran didn't hit the 10m/run marker, although his 16 runs - 152m @ 9.5m/run, 3 tackle busts, 1 offload, 44 tackles @ 93.62 percent efficiency is the heart and soul of Warriors footy.

Something is brewing in the Warriors forward pack. I don't know if these are the low key foundations of a plucky Warriors outfit, reason to be optimistic of their season or just Warriors beating up an over-hyped Titans forward pack. The combination of different types of forwards, their body shapes and skillsets does feel like something - something that lines up nicely against the Tigers forward pack.

Will Bayley Sironen run the footy?

Sironen had no runs in 21mins vs Dragons with 21 tackles @ 91.3 percent. The bro didn't even register a touch according to the official stats. In 29mins vs Titans, Sironen had 1 runs for 2m with 3 passes in his 4 touches and 18 tackles @ 85.71 percent.

Sironen may be doing his job and that would be fantastic. There are more impactful runners in Jack Murchie and Ben Murdoch-Masila on the extended bench. Murdoch-Masila started at prop for Redcliffe Dolphins last weekend, while Murchie played on an edge with the Kepu twins coming off the bench. There is value in Sironen's versatility, especially with the power offered by Afoa and Pene. Options are also present and Warriors have nifty competition for spots.

There is no rush for younger Warriors NRL players. Warriors are clearly not a top-tier NRL team and this presents an opportunity to embed younger lads into NRL footy, specifically Rocco Berry. Same would apply for Viliami Vailea if he were healthy, the Kepu twins and Taniela Otukolo (played his first reserve grade game!). Even blokes like Harris-Tavita, Katoa and Adam Pompey haven't played consistently and there is value in giving younger lads space to develop at the NRL level.

Even Walsh needs to stack up NRL games. There is no rush, no need to stress about poor performances when it's blatantly obvious the Warriors are not a contender for anything right now. These younger lads are coming from an extremely niggly phase where they have played minimal reserve grade footy over the last two seasons. I'm more curious how they develop, less desperate for them to fire right now and win games.

Round toru vs Tigers is a lovely match up, also tricky. Warriors feel like the better team and yet they are also mediocre, which makes the 0-3 start highly possible. Remember that Diary Of An Aotearoa Warriors Fan has zero expectations this season and operates from the understanding that Warriors are not a good footy team. So chill and see what happens.

Junior Warriors Mahi

Junior Ratuva started on a wing in reserve grade, along with the group of Kepu twins and Otukolo coming off the bench. Ratuva is against named on the wing for this weekend's game, while Otukolo is on an extended bench. The Kepu twins will likely pop up in reserve grade along with Edward Kosi come game time.

Jacob Laban and Tamakaimoana Whareaorere were again in the Under 21s Redcliffe team. Laban started at prop, Whareaorere on an edge as they have been most weeks and they are named in these roles again this week.

Various Warriors juniors will also be playing in Auckland Rugby League's Under 16 Shaun Johnson Shield and Under 18 Dean Bell Cup, as well as NZRL's National Under 20s Competition. Folks will now be able to attend these games and I'm not tapped into every Warriors junior, but I will highlight Akarana Falcons Under 20s duo Paaua Papuni-Abbott and Sebastian Su'a.

Papuni-Abbott was part of the 2019 Future Warriors group, Su'a played in the Warriors Sevens team from earlier this year. Both are big, mobile and powerful.

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Peace and love.