New Zealand Warriors showed their versatility and depth in a bumper win vs Canberra Raiders at Mt Smart. The 40-6 win in the NRL followed a 44-12 win in NSW Cup for NZW against the Raiders reserve grade outfit, delivering a delightful Friday night of Warriors footy. Conditions forced a tweak in how NZW played from their win over Roosters and they were able to absorb an injury to Kurt Capewell in warm ups, then losing Chanel Harris-Tavita after the opening exchanges to roll over the Raiders in the second half.

NZW controlled the game as they usually do under coach Andrew Webster with a high completion rate packaged with a tremendous kicking performance from Tanah Boyd dictating where the game was played. NZW had 56 percent possession and 81 percent completions against Roosters, then they had 55 percent possession and 86 percent completions against Raiders.

There was a clear difference in offloading though as NZW adapted to the wet conditions. After popping out 16 offloads vs Roosters, NZW had just two against Raiders and the beauty of that is how it didn't impact how effective they were with the footy. Scoring 40+ points in both games tells that story and while more possession means more of everything, it's notable that NZW have had 30+ dummy passes in both games as well as most players registering at least one pass in both games.

10 players had a dummy pass vs Roosters and 16 players had a dummy vs Raiders. 15 players had a pass vs Roosters and 16 had a pass vs Raiders. There was a clear change in offloading but no change in how NZW wanted to move the footy around and use that threat to fake the pass and get between defenders.

One player who stands out in this zone is Taine Tuaupiki. He offers plenty of zip but as a smaller body, Tuaupiki can struggle for oomph when running into multiple defenders or into one defenders shoulders. Finishing with 22 runs - 207m @ 9.4m/run and 6 tackle breaks, Tuaupiki was consistently getting between defenders and having the most dummies for NZW (six with 16 passes) is a useful tool to create that space.

Tuaupiki is also a leading example of how NZW can absorb injuries mid-game. When Harris-Tavita departed the field, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad slotted into the halves and Tuaupiki held down the fullback role. All of which worked wonderfully well and it was the same for the Capewell injury as Leka Halasima moved into a starting role where he played 80 minutes.

Jacob Laban has been a starting edge forward in both wins and he would usually get a break early in the second half. With Halasima locked down on the left, it was Jackson Ford who plugged the hole on the right edge to give Laban a break. When Laban returned, Ford went back to the middle and an important aspect of Ford's mahi is how he sustains his efforts in both roles.

That's not unique though. Most players for NZW can cover multiple positions and it's a thread that flows through their system. The two players who didn't get game time vs Raiders were Morgan Gannon and Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, two blokes who have covered edge and middle in the NZW system. Gannon played 80 minutes in NSW Cup before moving to the NRL bench by the way and his no fuss, classy mahi is destined to become loved by fans.

There was lots of buzz about the NZW NSW Cup team this week and the NRL themes were evident in how Makaia Tafua and Jacob Auloa shared the field together, with Tafua playing hooker and Auloa playing small forward. Cassius Tia had a stint in the halves when Jett Cleary left the field and after Tafua had played 75 minutes at hooker, Tia returned to the game to play small forward with Auloa moving to hooker.

Tanah Boyd was the best kicker in the NRL game and his ability to find open turf in the wet conditions was crucial to help NZW limit the Raiders outside backs. That was amplified by the absence of Harris-Tavita as Nicoll-Klokstad didn't have a kick in this game and Boyd thrived as the only kicking option of note - aside from Erin Clark's razzle dazzle.

Boyd now has four try assists in two games which is already half of his career best eight in 2021. Last year he had seven so he's on track to pass that mark. That flows on from a forward pack that has won their battle in the first two games with James Fisher-Harris and Erin Clark continuing to stack up impressive outings as a middle forward combo along with Ford.

Tanner Stowers-Smith has been excellent in the opening games of this season and he should be viewed as the same level as Demetric Vaimaga in the middle forward stocks. They have slightly different roles in the forward pack as Stowers-Smith is the only player who has had game time in both wins and doesn't have a pass, while Vaimauga is a sneaky shifter in the middle behind Clark.

Both are comfy in doing their jobs at a high level though...

vs Roosters

Demetric Vaimauga: 27mins, 6 runs - 52m @ 8.6m/run, 11 tackles @ 84.%
Tanner Stowers-Smith: 40mins, 14 runs - 134m @ 9.5m/run, 12 tackles @ 66.6%

vs Raiders

Demetric Vaimauga: 36mins, 11 runs - 100m @ 9m/run, 14 tackles @ 82.3%
Tanner Stowers-Smith: 35mins, 13 runs - 120m @ 9.2m/run, 19 tackles @ 82.6%

Somehow Roger Tuivasa-Sheck still doesn't have a tackle break. That's just a quirk for the best side-stepper ever as Tuivasa-Sheck is still excellent at eating metres and helping the team roll down the field. With no tackle breaks, Tuivasa-Sheck still have 22 runs - 210m @ 9.5m/run and while that's similar to Tuaupiki's mahi (22 runs - 207m @ 9.4m/run), Tuivasa-Sheck's 86 post contact metres made him the only NZW player over 60pcm.

The effectiveness of dummy half running was also clear for NZW. Three players had at least one dummy half run vs Roosters with Wayde Egan the only player who had more than one run and only one player hit 10m/run. Five players had a dummy half run vs Raiders and four were 10m/run or higher, with three players (Egan, Tuaupiki, Samuel Healey) having at least two dummy half runs for at least 10m/run.

Two wins, two games scoring 40+ points and two games restricting the opposition to less than 20 points. They are very different wins though as NZW adapted to their personnel as well as conditions and the most exciting thing is how NZW have been flexible for two dominant wins.

Along with Tia's limited role, NZW had Josh Tanielu and Cooper Page-Wilson play their first NSW Cup games. Tanielu looked comfortable at this level having been a stand out in local footy with Bay Roskill and he should get another opportunity to keep building. Page-Wilson has plenty of reserve grade experience as well as fringe NRL reps, which saw him slot in seamlessly as a no fuss middle forward who has potential to sneak into an NRL debut if the stars align.

Everyone was awesome in the NSW Cup win. Experience and maturity helped this team bounce back from a first up loss, but there is a pocket of young forwards who folks need to watch out for. Kayliss Fatialofa, Christian Sikuvea, Tepatasi Laumalili and Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea all went to De La Salle College and all four have been impressive throughout their time in the Mt Smart system.

Fatialofa continues to shine as an agile edge forward with plenty of power. Sikuvea may be overtaken as a small forward by Tia because of Tia's passing skills but his speed/power in the middle is exactly what the two Andys want. Laumalili is a funky big bopper and Tuipulotu-Vea isn't much smaller, having already impressed at this level last season.

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Peace and love.