NRL 2018
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It was just a blip. Everyone back on the bandwagon.
Team effort: No Warrior played bad tonight. A few mistakes sure, but overall everyone did their job. The front row were exceptional, particularly Afoa and Paasi, and the key playmakers did their thing. Tuivasa-Sheck was like a created player in a Madden game with a 99 overall rating - he was juking defenders like a franchise running back and shutting down any attacks like a safety.
Damn you injury bug: Only disappointment has to be that Isaac Luke (shoulder), Shaun Johnson (ankle) and Adam Blair (foot) all had to leave the game with injuries. Luke, after making a miracle recovery from a knee injury, is now expected to try and make a miracle recovery from a dislocated shoulder. And he probably will.
The real MVP: Afoa, Tuivasa-Sheck, Harris are all worthy candidates but Maumalo was my MVP in this game. His hitups were shunting Wests backwards and he bagged himself a try in the first half. Maumalo also made a few crucial tackles that cut short any Tigers momentum. For a guy I picked to not play any games in 2018 he has proven me wrong by already passing 1000 metres for the season.
What about the other guys? It was a tough night for the Warriors Old Boys from the get-go. Their star forward Chris Lawrence was out early with a concussion and his replacement had to do the 15-minute concussion test not long after. They had one player sinbinned in the first half and another sinbinned (dubiously) in the second half. And it seemed whenever they had a chance to seize momentum it was quickly undone by butter fingers. Just wasn't meant to be.
New guy scores tries, wins friends: Nepia's favourite new player Karl Lawton had a fantastic debut with two tries. It took him a while to get adjusted (Green was telling him where to stand in the defensive line and on kick offs) but once he scored his first try off a Green pass he was on fire. He's a lanky guy for a hooker but he does have a good passing game (hence why he was on the bench and not Tevaga).
Funny moment after the match - stadium security make a barrier lane to allow the players to get to the sheds without having to make their way through the crowds. It takes a few minutes to prepare so the players usually sign autographs on the field. Lawton obviously didn't know this because he ran to the locker room only to be mobbed by happy (and perhaps slightly intoxicated) Warriors supporters. -
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=12045906
“We had two groups. There was a small group of professional players who trained, hydrated and slept properly so they could perform. But we had another probably bigger group of unprofessional players. Not all wanted to be unprofessional, they just didn't know how to be professional. And many of them were followers, but they were following the wrong people. So when the young ones were coming up, they would join the wrong group. So we knew we had to get some of them out and bring more who belonged to the first group."
Anyone hazard a guess who were the senior players making up and leading the unprofessional bunch?
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Yup first 2 for sure, Vatuvei should have been shipped years earlier.
Shouldn’t matter how many tries you score on the field of your been a massive negative influence off it.They had a couple of the warriors on the D & G afternoon show on radio sport the other day, it was mentioned the clear division in how certain players were allowed to act and be treated differently from the rest. That has been changed and bingo they start playing for each other and winning.
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so the Dragons gave the Storm a bit of a dust up...
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@taniwharugby said in NRL 2018:
so the Dragons gave the Storm a bit of a dust up...
Yet we are the only side to beat the dragons
Not to mention we beat the Tigers who have beaten the Storm twice.. -
@virgil Matulino, Big Manu, Lolohea, Hurrell....I’m sure there will be one or two others that I can’t think of right now.
Bodene Thompson was a big problem as well but as I've said before, Manu Vatuvei was the alpha male of that group and his lax attitude filtered down to others who either used it as an excuse or used it as a reason for other bad behaviour.
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https://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=12045906
“We had two groups. There was a small group of professional players who trained, hydrated and slept properly so they could perform. But we had another probably bigger group of unprofessional players. Not all wanted to be unprofessional, they just didn't know how to be professional. And many of them were followers, but they were following the wrong people. So when the young ones were coming up, they would join the wrong group. So we knew we had to get some of them out and bring more who belonged to the first group."
Anyone hazard a guess who were the senior players making up and leading the unprofessional bunch?
It's a shame Doyle is leaving, but he is leaving it better than he found it
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Shaun Johnson out against the Roosters again with a leg injury. Lino comes in while Luke makes a miracle recovery from his shoulder injury after a miracle recovery from his knee injury.
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK (c)
2 DAVID FUSITU'A
3 PETA HIKU (Ngāriki Kaiputahi)
4 SOLOMONE KATA
5 KEN MAUMALO
6 BLAKE GREEN
7 MASON LINO
8 BUNTY AFOA
9 ISSAC LUKE (Nga Ruahine Rangi, Te Atiawa)
10 AGNATIUS PAASI
11 SIMON MANNERING
12 TOHU HARRIS (Ngāti Kahungunu)
13 ADAM BLAIR (Ngā Puhi)
Interchange:
14 KARL LAWTON
15 SAM LISONE
16 ISAIAH PAPALI'I
17 JAMES GAVET
18 SAM COOK (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Whatua)
20 JAZZ TEVAGA
21 ALBERT VETE
22 ANTHONY GELLING
Round 10 NRL team lists
The official team lists for the 10th round of the 2018 Telstra Premiership season.
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@sneakdefreak Have they swapped the real Isaac Luke for an android? This guy's powers of repair are amazing
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Michael McGuire confirmed as new head coach of the Kiwis. No word yet if the Key is still the We.
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@sneakdefreak said in NRL 2018:
Michael McGuire confirmed as new head coach of the Kiwis. No word yet if the Key is still the We.
Odd that it was announced last night on one of the Fox shows but only officially today by NZRL.
Hmm, wonder if he can convince any of our Tongans to come back - which only really means Taumalolo and Fusitua TBH.
