After last week's disappointing defeat to the Knights, the Warriors returned to Mount Smart to face the North Queensland Cowboys for the second time this season.
I predicted a 12-point win for the Warriors here, but I was off by a few points as they overcame plenty of adversity (some of it self-inflicted) to win 22-14.
What Went Down
Playing in an Mt Smart Stadium filled with almost 24,000 fans, the Warriors dug deep in defence to keep the Cowboys at bay despite having to make 80 more tackles.
It took the Warriors just four minutes to get the ball rolling when Addin Fonua-Blake powered over from close range after an Adam Pompey intercept had put the home side on the attack.
The Cowboys hit back in the 19th minute after mounting plenty of pressure on the back of Shaun Johnson, putting a short dropout out on the full and a string of six-again calls.
In his first game back from a knee injury, Taulagi finished off some slick inside work from centre Peta Hiku, who scooped up a bouncing ball and put it on a platter for the Maroons flyer to grab his second try of the season.
The Warriors extended their lead on the half-hour mark when Marcelo Montoya surged into the backfield and got a great offload away for Edward Kosi to score.
Taulagi looked to have made it a double in the 33rd minute but some desperation defence from Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad forced him into touch.
The Warriors fullback was penalised for the tackle, and the Cowboys earned a line dropout when Scott Drinkwater grubbered into the in-goal, and Watene-Zelezniak had to knock the ball dead.
With two minutes to play in the half, the Cowboys hit back through Maroons star Reuben Cotter when he brushed through some flimsy Warriors defence to make it 10-8 at the break.
The opening 10 minutes of the second half was all the Cowboys as they peppered the line, but the Warriors showed remarkable resilience to defend their line and went the length of the field in one set to score through Josh Curran off a Johnson short ball.
A brilliant Cowboys try scored by Val Holmes off a Drinkwater grubber levelled the scores at 14-14 to set up a grandstand finish with 22 minutes to play.
Two minutes later, Kyle Feldt looked to have snatched the lead for the Cowboys when he dived into the corner, but Peta Hiku was ruled offside in the kick chase, and the Warriors were off the hook.
In a see-sawing contest, the Warriors hit the front when Johnson put in a grubber which was blocked by Nanai, the ball rebounding back to the veteran No.7, who found Dylan Walker to cross for his first try of the season. Johnson converted to make it 20-14.
A penalty against Drinkwater for knocking Kosi off the ball gave Johnson a chance to make it an eight-point lead, but he missed the kick.
Drinkwater then went for a short dropout and kicked out on the full, giving Johnson a shot from in front to make it 22-14 to the Warriors and from there, they hung on for their fifth win of the season.
My Thoughts
Well, it wasn't a pretty watch, but the Warriors dug deep and got a much-needed win despite being behind in almost all the stats. There was a step in the right direction with some aspects of the Warriors' performance, but unfortunately, there were a few steps back in other areas. Still, as I said last week, it is all fixable, and the one constant this side has is its grit; no matter the situation, this team doesn't make excuses and refuses to give up on each other.
We have yet to see an 80-minute performance from the Warriors in 2023, but sitting here with a 5-2 record with the knowledge that there is still lots of improvement to come makes me a very excited fan.
The next three rounds will be tough; matches against the Storm, Roosters, and Panthers is a rough stretch, but this will show us where this side sits in the 2023 NRL landscape.
Before I move on, I just want to mention that seeing Mount Smart full of fans once again is fantastic; the atmosphere you get from a packed-out house there makes it an intimidating place for other clubs to visit, and I hope that the fans continue to show up and turn it into a fortress.
There was plenty to be proud of, leading to my positives from the match.
Round eight sees the Warriors head back across the ditch for their annual ANZAC Day clash against a Storm side that went down 18-8 to the Sea Eagles in Round 7.
Match Positives
Finally, the Warriors had a decent start and scored first. I am unsure if the coaching staff have figured out how to fix it or if the Warriors have found the starting lineup to hit the ground running. They still made a few errors in the opening minutes, but their defence didn't fold like the previous weeks, and they showed patience with the ball in hand and got the rewards. Starting well will be integral if they want to beat the big boppers in the next three weeks, as those top-tier teams are too dangerous if you give them a headstart, so I am a bit more confident in how the Warriors will fare now that we have seen a good start.
The middle showed some improvement this week, with Addin Fonua-Blake (141m, Jazz Tevaga (115m) and Tohu Harris (112m) leading the way. The Warriors look more dangerous with the ball in hand when Harris is out there, adding his short passing game. With AFB and Tevaga doing the hard yards up front, it softened the Cowboys, which allowed Bunty Afoa and Tom Ale to make an impact when they entered the match. Afoa relished in his return to his bench role, and hopefully, this is a sign that he is returning to his previous form. Shaun Johnson has been excellent this season, but if the Warriors want to see that continue, they need their boys in the middle to keep building pressure; we know they have bigger gas tanks than most of the other team's middle's, so if they can increase their input things are going to head in the right direction.
I've said it a lot already this year, but the Warriors' goal-line defence has been impressive, and this match was no exception. Bar letting a soft try in from Ruben Cotter, the Warriors were able to keep the Cowboys out despite having to endure several repeat sets several times throughout the match. Now it wasnt the best night out for the Cowboys, I have to admit, but I have been so used to watching the Warriors crumble under pressure in the past that I still get nervous when I see the referee wave his hand for the six again, but this sides mental toughness is something else, and it's a joy to watch.
However, some things concerned me, bringing me to my negative from the game.
Match Negative
The Warriors had a poor night regarding ball control, ending the night with 10 errors. Some were just schoolboy errors and could have changed the outcome if they weren't so good at defending their mistakes. Many of them just came from trying to rush the plays, so if they slow down a little and trust the game plan, life will be much easier for them. They need to show more respect for the ball when they face these big teams coming up, as I'm not sure they will be so lucky against them.
Discipline was another poor area; the Warriors were penalised 7 times and had 5 ruck infringements go against them. Much like the errors, the Warriors cannot afford to let teams off the hook with these. They were a bit hard done by on some of the calls, but that just comes with the territory for the Warriors. Each referee is different, but the team needs to adjust as soon as they get a read of how the official calls the match; I know it's not easy, but it just has to be done.
Lastly was the bench; I trust Andrew Webster, but I am still trying to understand why Taine Tuaupiki was named on the bench and not used. It allowed the Warriors an extra forward interchange, but they used that by sending Afoa out for the final 3 minutes, which didn't do much. I'm not a fan of having a player sit on the bench just in case, so I would have preferred to see it used for another forward, plus Tuaupiki may have learnt a bit staying with first grade, but I would have liked to see him get some game time with the reserve grade team instead of riding the pine. With some players returning this week, Im sure we won't see this again for some time or at least I hope it doesn't.
Warrior of the Match
My Warrior of the Match goes to Marcelo Montoya.
There were a few players I think that could have gotten the nod here, but It was a strong outing for Montoya in his move into the centres; he set up Kosi's try with a fantastic run fending off defenders at will, and the rest of the match, he ran hard like we have come to expect from every week.
He kept Peta Hiku quiet, too and also had an error-free night. With DWZ returning and Kosi not putting a foot wrong so far this season, we may see Montoya remain in the centres for a while. He has been one of the Warrior's most consistent backs this season, and as his confidence grows, I expect him to reach another level.
Warrior to Improve
My Warrior to improve goes to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
It was hard to pick a player again this week, most players made some mistakes, but they all made up for it in the end, so I am settling on DWZ.
It was his first game of the year, and it's fair to say he was rusty; he had some solid runs.
However, the Cowboys targeted him throughout the night, and for the most part, Taulagi had his number. Made a few errors which put the side under pressure, but he had got some runs on the board now, so I expect a better performance this week.
Next round thoughts and prediction
Regarding the team, I would pick; The Warriors should have Wayde Egan, Marata Niukore and Brayden Wiliame all available. I would keep the backs exactly the same, but in the pack, I would bring Egan back in for Lussick and Niukore back to the second row. My bench would be Sironen, Ale, Afoa and Curran, with Tuaupiki dropping out.
The Warriors have struggled in the ANZAC match for a long time, the last time they won this annual clash was in 2014, and I still get nightmares from the 70-10 defeat last season. This is a great chance to see how different this Warriors outfit is; the Storm have yet to find their groove but are always a dangerous side. The Warriors have shown us plenty of grit this season, and I hope they can get the job done, but unfortunately, the Storm has too much strike power, so I think they will be victorious, so I'm picking the Storm to win by 16.
So that was a nerve-racking Round 7, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
How confident are you in the Warriors getting through the next three rounds with some wins?
Who would your gameday 17 be?
Where do you realistically see the Warriors sitting on the ladder at the end of the season?
What is your score prediction against the Storm?
This post first appeared on Nz Warriors 2017 Season Preview : Above The Line - The Kearney Era Begins, please read the originial post: here
