There were a couple of things from this match to smile about, which brings me to my positives.
Match Positives
The Warriors showed plenty of heart. Yes, They conceded 5 tries in this match, but the Panthers spent plenty of time camped close to the Warriors' line, and they kept putting their bodies on the line despite the game being over well before full-time; the Warriors didn't drop their heads and kept fighting. It didn't lead to a win, but this attitude could be a key factor for the Warriors to keep their finals dreams alive.
The Warriors have a 2nd bite of the apple; the perks of finishing in the top four means they have that extra life to reset, refocus and get back on track. The team got a taste of finals football against the best team in the NRL, got served a dose of reality after a relatively easy final month of the season and get to play in front of a packed-out Mt Smart Stadium in what is a very winnable game. Second chances are rare, so they must take it with both hands.
However, I did have some concerns, which brings me to my negatives from the game.
Match Negatives
Errors again, the Warriors ended the match with 14. I've been saying for a while now that if the Warriors continued making 10 or more errors a game, they would be in trouble in the finals, and that is what we saw with the Panthers scoring 4 of their 5 tries straight after the Warrior's errors. Only six teams are left in the finals, and any of the other 5 teams will punish the Warriors if they continue to make these silly errors. I went through the error stats for every Warriors game this season and found that they average 10.5 errors a match, with the last time they made single-digit errors being in Round 20 against the Sharks (making only 6). If they don't get back to single digits now, their campaign will be over sooner rather than later.
The Warriors struggled to match the Panthers in the middle; only two of the Warriors forwards hit my ideal triple-digit figure: the usual suspects Addin Fonua-Blake (133m) and Tohu Harris (113m). The pack just couldn't bend the Panther's defensive line, which made life harder for the makeshift halves pairing as they spent a lot of their time kicking from deep within their own half. This highlighted the glaring issue with the Warrior's small bench, as there wasnt anyone there to help eat those metres. That isn't something that can be fixed overnight, but the Forwards need to step up if they want to succeed.
Lastly, the Warriors attack missed SJ; I know Webster said in his post-match interview that having Johnson out there would not have helped, as he would not have stopped the errors and whatnot. However, I disagree slightly; while he wouldn't have helped in some areas, his leadership and direction in attack, not to forget his kicking game, could have taken some pressure off the Warriors and asked more questions of the Panther's defence. I know there is still an injury cloud around SJ, and we are not 100% sure if he will play, but I think there is no way he will sit out of the sudden death final, so I expect him to play, and boy do the Warriors need him to.
Warrior of the Match
My Warrior of the Match goes to Tohu Harris.
I was stuck between Harris and Egan for this segment, but I went with the skipper; returning from his injury rest last week, he played the entire match, led the game with 56 tackles and ran for those 113 metres. With SJ out, he was leaned on more for his ball playing and got a few nice short balls away. It was a courageous effort from Harris, and if a few more forwards follow in his footsteps and play with the heart he does, then the Warriors have a great chance of controlling the middle every week.
Warrior to Improve
My Warriors to Improve is Adam Pompey.
This is another tough segment to pick this week, with several players unfortunately in contention here, but I have gone with Pompey. Looked off on defence all night, resorting to jersey pulling at times and grasping air at others, missing 4 tackles, which played a part in several of the Panther's easy tries. Not to mention a silly decoy run that took away a Warriors try. He is a divisive player with the Warriors fanbase and switched off too much for my liking. However, he still has great moments in him and was the only Warriors outside back to not make a handling error, the true definition of a rocks and diamonds player and with almost no chance of being dropped; I hope we see some diamonds this week.
Finals Week 2 Thoughts and Prediction
Finals Week 2 sees the Warriors return to Auckland to host the Newcastle Knights, who fought back from behind to win 30-28 over the Raiders in overtime of their finals week 1 match, securing their tenth win in a row.
Regarding the team I would pick, I would stick with the same side; it's too late in the season to chop and change, so I would just bring Johnson back into the halves and move Walker back to the bench with Lussick dropping out. I've kept Ford in the starting lineup but want to see the Coaching staff bring Curran on sooner this week, as he makes too much of an impact to ride the pine for as long as he did against the Panthers.
A big match here, facing a Knights team on a ten-game winning streak; these sides have one win each in their battles this year, with each side being victorious at home, and it should be a fantastic match.
The Warriors need to reduce those errors, get the ball rolling up the field and open up the Knights' defence with some short balls before spreading wide.
If the last home finals match (in 2008 vs. the Roosters in the infamous blackout match) is anything to go by, this crowd will be electric.
I am very grateful that I got tickets and can't wait for this match. If the Warriors can ride the momentum given to them from the home crowd, then I find it hard to see them not progressing to a daunting match against the Broncos in the preliminary final, so I am picking the Warriors to get the job done here in a close encounter, winning by 4.
So that was disappointing but not surprising Finals Week 1, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
Who was your player to Improve?