Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Big Bulldogs Gameday
New Zealand Warriors have tricky trip to Sydney this weekend where all three grades will play against Bulldogs. Thankfully not all three grades will be playing at Belmore as the NRL and NSW Cup games will be played at one of those big Sydney stadiums, leaving the Jersey Flegg Warriors to play at Belmore against one of the best Under 21 teams.
NZW are 13th (of 14) in the Jersey Flegg competition while Bulldogs are second. With a bunch of U19s named once again for a trip to Belmore where they play a far better U21 team, this is a hefty challenge for the NZW U21s. At least all three grades will be in Sydney so any players not required for NSW Cup could drop down to bolster the U21s, but this match up sets the tone for a challenging weekend for NZW.
In NSW Cup, NZW are third and Bulldogs are fourth. NZW have played an extra game and like the NRL team, NZW have byes in their favour which could help both teams creep up their respective ladders. Only one point seperates these two teams in NSW Cup though which amplifies the challenge that Bulldogs will offer.
Ali Leiataua is back for the NSW Cup Warriors, named at centre for a team that is moving towards full strength. Paul Roache and Zyon Maiu'u are the main absences at the moment, with Christchurch youngster Makaia Tafua continuing to grab consistent game time at hooker. Who has filled Maiu'u's spot? Demitric Sifakula.
Eddie Ieremia is shining as a versatile youngster this season and he is now named on the bench after playing a bunch of games at centre recently. Ieremia has started games at prop, edge forward, centre and now on the bench which reinforces his status as the most intriguing NZW youngster that folks don't know about. Along with Tafua, Aussie youngster Luke Hanson is in this bracket as he continues to offer winning mahi at halfback and all three of these lads are U21.
Luke Hanson in NSW Cup
10 games, 70% winning, 4 tries, 7 try assists, 76m/game, 90.5% tackling
154.5 kicking metres/game - 250+ kicking metres and a forced droppie in last three games
Walter Fifita is also getting a decent crack on the bench for the NSW Cup Warriors. Well, a bit less than decent considering he's played 5mins across two games, but he is again named on the bench for this game vs Bulldogs. Fifita seems to be covering wing and maybe his size/power combo could be developed to cover other positions.
The main takeaway here though is how NZW promoted Fifita from Fox Memorial ahead of others in the wider NZW system who are also playing Fox Memorial. Fifita seems to have earned this opportunity through his mahi with Papakura and without sussing out the intricate details, it is aligned with NZW using Fox Memorial as a genuine extension of the development farm. A bunch of U19/U21/NSW Cup Warriors continue to play Fox Memorial and it seems to be a case of catering to the development needs of each individual; should a youngster play Jersey Flegg or Fox Memorial?
Leading the NRL contest between NZW and Bulldogs is a battle between coaches Andrew Webster and Cameron Ciraldo. Ciraldo is now enjoying the same praise that Webster got last season after they both departed assistant coaching roles at Panthers and Bulldogs have established a clear identity under coach Ciraldo. The type of playing style and culture that is likely to trouble NZW.
Bulldogs have speed in their backline which is the first alarm, followed by a cluster of small forwards who provide quick feet and mobility. The way Bulldogs defend will also challenge NZW as they keep moving forward and are one of the most aggressive teams without the footy. This is balanced by NZW not deploying their tricky shapes as much recently and coach Webster has also shown his coaching prowess in adapting his team selections and style throughout the season.
NZW aren't very effective when they roll out shape to get the footy to their wingers and this stunted attacking flow probably won't work well against how Bulldogs defend, especially their aggressive edge defence. NZW had more inside passing against Broncos though and Wayde Egan flashed his dummy half running, which along with a bigger forward pack could see NZW find momentum; straight up the guts.
Another aspect of this match up that can work in favour of NZW is the hard mahi of the outside backs highlighted after the Broncos win. Bulldogs have an excellent long kicker in Matt Burton and Reed Mahoney is always active kicking from dummy half, which is evident in Bulldogs being first for kick metres per game. NZW are second for kick return metres though and as along as they are well positioned for each kick, NZW should be able to counter the Bulldogs kicking game.
NZW are also well equipped to follow the kick return runs with oomph from the other outside backs. Coach Webster added in more early shifts against Broncos (kick return shifts and early in the set) which also worked well and these early-set phases will be crucial with and without the footy.
If NZW can counter the kicking game to start their sets 40m off their tryline, then the bigger NZW forwards can rumble. NZW love to dominate the early-set tackles without the footy and they will try to drag Bulldogs backwards, lay all over them in the ruck and force Burton to kick from his own 30-40m line. NZW aren't above average in many pockets of NRL footy this season but they are one of the best kick return teams and one of the more aggressive defensive teams in the early-set tackles, both of which will be useful against Bulldogs.
Chanel Harris-Tavita has won all three games when he's started in the halves and he has had 200+ kicking metres in those three games. This stays as a whisper for now but watch out for the Harris-Tavita vs Burton match up as Harris-Tavita could finish as the winner. No need to whisper about Harris-Tavita's winning percentage of 60% this season.
One last thing to track is Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's mahi. Getting Tuivasa-Sheck more involvement is a storyline that keeps gathering attention, although this attention is coming from folks who blow up Shaun Johnson's importance as a key player, making it rather tame analysis.
Even when coach Webster talks about getting Tuivasa-Sheck, folks need to ponder if coach Webster is answering a question or freestyling about his plan. Usually, coach Webster is answering a question from the same people who have a fetish for very basic NZW angles such as Tuivasa-Sheck and Johnson ... or another monthly yarn about Te Maire Martin's fishing adventures.
As noted after the Broncos win, Tuivasa-Sheck offered rugged mahi in carting the footy up. He had a tough battle with Selwyn Cobbo for most of that game and in slick winter conditions, Tuivasa-Sheck didn't have any space to get busy with his footwork. Tuivasa-Sheck still had 14 runs which was the most of the four centres in this game and his 50 post contact metres were the most of the five outside backs for NZW.
Tuivasa-Sheck is averaging 168m/game this season, which puts him third for NZW run metres per game behind Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad's 212m/game and Addin Fonua-Blake's 170m/game. The next best outside back is Dallin Watene-Zelezniak's 148m/game. Tuivasa-Sheck is one of four Warriors averaging 60+ post contact metres per game as well (Fonua-Blake, Barnett, Nicoll-Klokstad) and this puts Tuivasa-Sheck 14th in the NRL for average post contact metres per game.
The only other player in the top-15 for PCM who has played a decent chunk of games at centre is Jacob Kiraz for Bulldogs (12th - 62pcm/game). Tuivasa-Sheck has started more games at centre this season though and when absorbing all this context around Tuivasa-Sheck's mahi, maybe we should be more grateful for the hard work Tuivasa-Sheck is doing at centre.
Some games will see Tuivasa-Sheck enjoy more time and space at centre, providing him more opportunities for fun moments (busting tackles, linebreaks etc). That probably won't happen against Bulldogs though who will either use their speed to rush forward or across and limit Tuivasa-Sheck's space. Either way, Tuivasa-Sheck is showing his mana in how willing he is to churn out tough mahi and he will be ready to pounce on any slither of space get is graced with.
Enjoy our Kiwi-NRL coverage? Please consider supporting the Niche Cache through Patreon or with a paid Substack subscription. We drop Kiwi-NRL notes each week in our Subscriber Podcast which is only available on Patreon and Substack.
Or you can make a donation through Buy Me A Coffee.
Our Monday/Friday newsletter always has Kiwi-NRL notes too.
Peace and love.