NRL 2018
-
@crazy-horse Warriors 16-6, 12 minutes to go.
-
16-6 to the Warriors with 12 to go.
-
-
@stargazer said in NRL 2018:
@virgil That's awesome!
And beat the unbeaten Dragons tonight. They are the real deal this year.
-
Nightingale: "felt like we were on the back foot even though we had the ball which was a bit demoralising".
Warriors defense has been brutal this year.
-
We're getting Souths style peak Isaac Luke this season. He was everywhere on defence and attack, the 40/20 and try were typical of his influence tonight. We made mistakes that put us under pressure, and from my seat we got the short end of the stick from the ref regarding offsides in particular. But what a massive defensive effort, we simply refused to yield. Not our best offensive game but that one has to be bloody satisfying for everyone in the team and coaching staff. If no one was paying us much attention before they will be well aware of us now
-
STATEMENT GAME.
I'm having a hard time holding these alligators down!
Us against the world: Nothing was going right for the Warriors in this game. They lose one of their key playmakers prior to the game, lose a key forward during the game to concussion, have their main playmaker for the game sinbinned on a dubious call, have no ball or any possession and all this against the best team in the league. To win this game showed how committed the side is to playing defence, they seem to enjoy it more than playing with the ball. The Dragons were creative on attack but they could not break the Warriors wall enough times.
The Replacements: Question - is Mason Lino a better fit for this team than Shaun Johnson? He's got a better overall kicking game, loves to run out of dummyhalf, and is willing to play second fiddle to Blake Green. In his two games the Warriors seem to be a tad more consistent on attack. Shaun Johnson is the better player, he can single-handily win a game by himself, but Mason is putting forward a case. I criticised Anthony Gelling last week but it was nice to see him score a try tonight. He also made a couple of nice plays including defusing a Dragons bomb.
The real MVP: Isaac Luke was in fine form tonight. His 40/20 and subsequent try won the game for the Warriors but so did his dummyhalf running and pesky defending. Him and Jazz Tevaga are proving to be a good hooker/lock duo during the match.
What about the other guys? 6-0 is now 6-1. The Dragons would have won this game against most other NRL clubs but the Warriors tenacious defending meant Gareth Widdop and Ben Hunt just couldn't get it done. Meanwhile their star fullback Matt Dufty, who has been more elusive than Lord Lucan, was ragdolled all night long.
Let's hear it for the refs: Ben Cummins and Henry Perenara made some 'unique' calls. Ten minutes after warning Roger Tuivasa-Sheck about his team taking a number of penalties the refs sent Blake Green off for a minor penalty. I understand sending someone off if there are a number of penalties in a one-minute span but ten minutes later? Come on. Also bad call: calling back the Dragons intercept because James Graham knocked on in midair two to three plays prior. I personally loved the call but think the advantage was well and truly over. One of the few times you'll hear rival fans yelling the same chant in unison: "Hey refs! You suck!"
