Diary Of A Warriors Fan: Improvements
This try was a thing of beauty.
I'd been screaming for more Tuimoala Lolohea for this exact reason, so for the ball to fall into his bread-basket in Golden Point like a gift from Jah got me excited. Lolohea (like the bloke he passed the ball to) has the dangerous combination of rugby league instincts, speed, speed while swerving and a step. Unless you're presenting a straight line and putting a shoulder on Lolohea, he can slice you open.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was equally as brilliant in this play. The speed to break free, the fend his understudy at the Roosters Latrell Mitchell who looks like a strong bugger himself and then the gymnastics at the end. Don't sleep on the gymnastics, a cheeky front flip sort of thing into a standing position from which Tuivasa-Sheck could beat his chest, announcing his arrival as a Warrior.
Fun fact .... (!!!!)
The Warriors' two wins this season have come against Newcastle Knights and the Chooks, who happen to be the two teams anchored at the bottom of the ladder without a win.
I like to think of myself as the king of common sense, especially with regards to our dearest Warriors. There are many positives to take from this win and we've now seen the Warriors improve with each game, let's not get carried away though folks. The win came in spectacular fashion, meaningful fashion as two of our lethal weapons combined in a moment of footy brilliance, don't let that blind you from the fact that the Warriors have merely beaten the two worst teams in the NRL.
This game was a prime example of the type of game that suits the Warriors - a shootout.
Those within the Warriors camp will once again roll out the narrative of them wanting to be a good defensive team and all of that but why should they? If you want to go toe-to-toe with the Warriors in a shootout when the Warriors are catching the footy and completing sets, then good luck because I'm backing the Warriors and their plethora of weapons.
The Warriors missed more tackles (30 vs 25), made more errors (12 vs 9) and conceded more penalties (9 vs 7), yet it didn't matter because the Warriors can score points and as long as they are scoring more points than their opponent, they win.
Throughout the opening weeks, it was clear that various pieces of the Warriors' puzzle were missing. I highlighted Issac Luke and Jeff Robson after last week's game against Newcastle and in the preview to this game I noted how they would be the key men. I am a rugby league deity as Luke and Robson both played their best games of the season so far, which is crucial when the Warriors engage in the shootout.
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This shootout theory only works if the likes of Luke and Robson are doing their jobs. Robson has the simple job of catching, passing, kicking and running every so often and we saw Robson lay a few deft kicks into the in-goal area with the Warriors hot on attack. I've got Robson as a crucial player, even if we haven't quite seen the best of him just yet because we saw how a simple play like his grubber for Ryan Hoffman can be so effective. While teams are worrying about Luke, Tuivasa-Sheck or Shaun Johnson, Robson can put on a simple set-play, offering variety to an already stacked attacking roster.
Guess what? Luke ran 12 times for 112m and the Warriors won. It's not as simple as connecting Luke running and the Warriors winning, however the Warriors look much more threatening when Luke is causing chaos around the ruck. Luke threw a few crisp, long passes that eventually led to tries and had a more direct involvement in two tries, thanks to his running game.
Peep how Luke runs just enough to get the defenders around the ruck - who are already weary of his threat as a runner - interested before passing and then how Luke runs all the way to a static Roosters defensive line and passes out the back. Both times Luke ran, the Warriors scored and this is because Luke keeps the defenders in the middle honest which gives his halves and Tuivasa-Sheck (who had 2 try assists) time and space, as well as sucking defenders into the middle leaving space out wide.
Of course, to score points you've gotta lay the foundations down up front. I have been pretty critical of Jacob Lillyman up to this point and similar to Luke, Lillyman played his best game of the season so far and the Warriors looked pretty good. Lillyman had 20 carries which was the most of anyone on the park and ran for 167m, while Ben Matulino ran 15 times for 120m.
Luke running the footy, tick. Our starting props both running for 100m, tick.
Albert Vete was solid without being spectacular starting at lock which was a shame because the work of his fellow boppers (shoutout to Pierce) off the bench was business as usual. Sam Lisone averaged 14.2m per-carry while Charlie Gubb averaged 10.62 and that's my definition of impact, however these two both offer something unique with Lisone the owner of great footwork while Gubb leads the Warriors' effort on defence.
Everything I'm hearing has Konrad Hurrell heading to the Gold Coast Titans and the certainty with which Hurrell's move to Gold Coast was being reported had me leaning towards that possibility. Even as recently as Friday, I read that Hurrell was still just waiting for a few passport issues before his move was confirmed. Seeing Hurrell lead the team song after that win though had me wondering whether all these Australian 'experts' might be wrong.
I don't know, I really don't know what Koni's future has in store for him. I do know though that Hurrell is an asset to the Warriors whether it's in the middle of the field off the bench, or at centre. Hurrell has to be in a top-17.
The Warriors' 40/20 count this season remains at a glorious 0.
My final thought from this game came as the Warriors offered some whack on defence. There was a set from the Roosters when every hit up made me cringe in pain, something that I've rarely seen from the Warriors in my life time, let alone recently. Whether it was Gubb, Lisone, Matulino, Lillyman, Luke or whoever, they genuinely looked as if they were trying to leave a few bruises with each tackle.
I don't want the Warriors to try grind their way to wins or rely on their defence to win games, I like the shootout idea. That doesn't mean that the Warriors should ignore their defence though and they can show off their attacking intent with their defence through line-speed and whack.
You know what that smells like? I finally sniff the lovely smell of some sort of identity in this team. The BLACKCAPS attack, it's a brand of cricket that we love and this win from the Warriors had seeds of that vibe. Attack, throw caution to the win and play footy with a smile ... then leave a mark with every tackle.