NRL 2018
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As Supreme Overlord Commander President of the Warriors bandwagon I must take responsibility for this loss.
I broke my traditional routine and went to a different pub tonight to watch the game. As I walked through the doors the score was 12-2 to the Warriors....that's good. Then it went awry:
- I purchased a lemonade and James Maloney makes THAT 40/20 kick which Tuivasa-Sheck cannot pull in.
- I take a seat and Panthers score.
- I take my first sip of lemonade and Isaac Luke kicks the ball out on the full.
- Panthers score again and I realise something is not right. I'm about to get up and flee this pub of cursed dreams but then Roger Tuivasa-Sheck goes down with a knee injury and 2018 was all but over.
Of course there were other problems as well:
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The Warriors' predictable offence got it in trouble yet again as it has since about round 10 when teams figured out how to nullify it. More dummyhalf running was needed yet they did the same one and out passing routine. They couldn't get any momentum going so the Panthers weren't being forced into making mistakes.
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But the Panthers didn't make any mistakes when in possession. Nothing. The Warriors couldn't do anything but make tackle after tackle. That looks courageous in the regular season but it doesn't work in the playoffs. Possession is king.
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The Warriors' short drop out kicks really failed badly tonight. To be fair, teams were beginning to figure it out so it was only a matter of time.
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A lot of blame will be aimed towards Shaun Johnson but Isaac Luke is the man responsible for guiding the team up field and when they needed Luke to step up....he disappeared. He has still yet to resign with the club, term is probably the issue, but I'm leaning towards using two players at hooker in 2019 which means it might be time to show Luke the door. We needed some energy around the ruck area tonight and Luke couldn't do it by himself. But he did get Maloney in the smashed him bro shot of the year:
- Ok, here we go. The told ya so moment: Solomone Kata cost the Warriors with three errors which led to tries. He was out of position most of the night and the speed of the game had him buggered. A limited player who is easily replaceable. If Hiku can get blamed by the coaches for a game against the Panthers during the regular season, Kata needs to take some blame for his terrible performance in the most important game of the season.
Anyways, a lot to take away from this season and build on for 2019. The Panthers will be annihilated next week anyway so maybe it was for the best.
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Fucks sake Sneak!! next year stick to the routine!! š cheers for all the mint write ups this year bro, swear you've delivered waaay more than bloody hungus Kata!!
Some good recruitment for 2019 should see us in the 8 again. Let's hope we get deeper into the playoffs -
@sneakdefreak Keep Lino and he is half of your hooker duo right there
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So, I don't know if you could see on the TV but so many times the Warriors forwards were so slow getting back that often the backs would nearly complete a set of 6 before they made it. Did the Warriors just stop doing any fitness training after the season started?
It appears the Warriors have a thing where Luke waits for play to catch up to him, I assume it's to keep him fresh as there's no alternative to him being on the field for 80, I also assume it's a coached thing because they were doing it all game. It didn't work though, Luke was strangely subdued this match, perhaps a reflection of how the game was going, I don't know.
Fuck Kata, and fuck Kearney for continually selecting him - I'd rather go back to the Warriors days of playing 2nd rowers at centre.
On a positive note DWZ had a decent game so that's good for the Kiwis.
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Wait.....St George win 48-18 over Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium? What the fuck? I thought they were suppose to be goneburger?
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Cronulla v Penrith Friday night , winner plays the Storm
Bunnies v Dragons Sat , winner plays the Roosters
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I have no love for St George but i laughed watching them humiliate the Broncos today. Beautiful. How's that extension looking Wayne?
Injury toll for the Dragons was horrific though.
I hoenstly thought the panthers and the dragons were done for the year.
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@kiwiinmelb said in NRL 2018:
Cronulla v Penrith Friday night , winner plays the Storm
Bunnies v Dragons Sat , winner plays the Roosters
With the remaining sides in this years NRL finals, there will be no greater advertisement for the term grub then ever before.
I couldnāt think of 6 teams I hated more.
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@act-crusader said in NRL 2018:
@kiwiinmelb said in NRL 2018:
Cronulla v Penrith Friday night , winner plays the Storm
Bunnies v Dragons Sat , winner plays the Roosters
With the remaining sides in this years NRL finals, there will be no greater advertisement for the term grub then ever before.
I couldnāt think of 6 teams I hated more.
Nice guys finish last maybe
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@act-crusader said in NRL 2018:
@kiwiinmelb said in NRL 2018:
Cronulla v Penrith Friday night , winner plays the Storm
Bunnies v Dragons Sat , winner plays the Roosters
With the remaining sides in this years NRL finals, there will be no greater advertisement for the term grub then ever before.
I couldnāt think of 6 teams I hated more.
you're not wrong
The Storm are the evil empire
The Roosters are salary cap cheats
Souffs? Grubs and bogans
Sharks? Super grubs, like, the pinnacle of grubs, and bogans. And the biggest piston wristed gibbon of a coach in the game
Panthers? Playing group is alright, but fuck Gould
Dragons? ok, mostly harmless. But i have a hangover of distaste for this club from the past.Latrell Mitchell doesn't get off his charge, and will miss the prelim next weekend. Fucking right too, those tackles where the top tackler jumps up to backslam the ball carrier are nothing but filthy.
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@mariner4life said in NRL 2018:
Panthers? Playing group is alright, but fuck Gould
Maloney is up there with the best of the grubs. And fuck Gould!
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@mariner4life said in NRL 2018:
Panthers? Playing group is alright, but fuck Gould
Maloney is up there with the best of the grubs. And fuck Gould!
yea he's a super grub. but i'm struggling to think of another in their roster?
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@mariner4life One is enough. I've always had a dislike for Penrith and their chocolate soldiers as a Raiders fan from the 1990s.
I don't get the hate for the Storm.
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Before Sneak comes in and flat out kills it with his end of year review, I'll throw a much worse one in that he can immediately improve on.
Record: 15-9 (Home 7-5, Away 8-4!!!)
Best Win: 30-6 Roosters away
Worst Loss: losing 50-10 to the Storm in Melbourne, or 32-0 to the Roosters at home were bad. But the one that fucked me off was the 12-36 loss at the Gold Coast, where the team didn't even come out after half time. That suuuuckedGood bits
Fucking finals!!
The first month or so
Winning in Perth and Townsville, places we always lose.
The back 3 starting our sets
Our props learning to find their bellies in tackles.
Generally looking like we had a plan to win games.Bad Bits
When we lost, we lost baaaad
Our attack, the only finals team not to score 500 points.
The team's tendency to just go completely off the boil, sometimes for an entire half. Still an intrinsic Warrior trait. Thankfully it wasn't half a season this year. Leadership is still a real issue.Players - Good
RTS is player of the year. Fucking gun. He goes off in that final, and the season is done
Fusitua having a huge year scoring tries
Harris is a gun edge forward, we really really need him fit
Beale shocked me with how good he was. Should have played every game.
Paasi proved to be a great buy
A few young guys played more than they would have been expected to, and generally stood up.
Green
Good Isaac LukePlayers - Bad
SJ is the biggest downhill skier in the league. A dude on $1M needs to be good in big games, and he's just not. I wouldn't trade him, but his next contract needs to reflect his actual ability to the team.
We are still lacking quality in the middle. Our prop rotation is average to okay. To be a real finals team this area needs improving.
Bad Isaac Luke
Blair in general
Solomone Fucking Kata
I'm not overly happy with Tevaga taking two ineffective hitups a set either.
Our edge forwards when Harris isn't available are pretty soft as well.Coach: Well, we improved, that has to come from him. Some questionable tactics and selections, but overall there was improvement in our play, our players, and our results, so you have to give him credit for that.
Overall rating B- We played finals and won games and were generally a team to be respected, which is massive for the Warriors. Needs to be seen as a platform, not an achievement though. I've seen this shit before.
I'm pretty happy with the year, haven't expected to have a real crack at the title, so not gutted we didn't.
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@sneakdefreak Great stuff as usual.
Luke was at times the best player in the NRL this season. That game where he kicked a 40/20 and then scored in particular, I thought, signaled a player coming into his best years. But it was just a tease. Much like his mate Johnson.
I have started to think that this guy see something we do not. He sees sure fire openings only and he only takes them when its he absolutely sure he'll beat a man or break the line. Because he was about as much help to the cause as Roger after he was injured. It's so frustrating to see a guy that has the ability to be the best running half the game has ever seen, not run. I am happy we get to see him run around in 2019 because I am a fan and have been since day 1 but Im also happy that his contract is up in 2019 because I don't think he is the guy anymore.
I totally believe Kearney is the man for the job now but I am still mystified by his continued selection of Kata.
Couldn't understand why they didn't switch Fusitua to the left wing for the short kick offs/drop outs. The rugby ball is like a one-man cold to David Fusitua. David Fusitua's the only man catchin' it, David Fusitua's the only man comin' down wid it.
Well played to Mannering. Superb club man and servant to rugby league as a whole in NZ.
Not over happy with the seasons ending but very happy with the overall season.
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@raznomore said in NRL 2018:
@sneakdefreak Great stuff as usual.
Luke was at times the best player in the NRL this season. That game where he kicked a 40/20 and then scored in particular, I thought, signaled a player coming into his best years. But it was just a tease. Much like his mate Johnson.
I have started to think that this guy see something we do not. He sees sure fire openings only and he only takes them when its a sure thing he beat a man or break the line. Because he was about as much help to the cause Roger after he was injured. It's so frustrating to see a guy that has the ability to be the best running half the game has ever seen, not run. I am happy we get to see him run around in 2019 because I am a fan and have been since day 1 but Im also happy that his contract is up in 2019 because I don't think he is the guy anymore.
I totally believe Kearney is the man for the job now but I am still mystified by his continued selection of Kata.
Couldn't understand why they didn't switch Fusitua to the left wing for the short kick offs/drop outs. The rugby ball is like a one-man cold to David Fusitua. David Fusitua's the only man catchin' it, David Fusitua's the only man comin' down wid it.
Well played to Mannering. Superb club man and servant to rugby league as a whole in NZ.
Not over happy with the seasons ending but very happy with the overall season.
Did you mean the review above? ^^
Er that was by @mariner4life
Yes shocking he posted something that was informative and not just for laugh value... -
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@raznomore said in NRL 2018:
@virgil ha actually no. I started writing this on Monday and only just posted it today. It was in reference to Sneaks season ending post, the lemonade one.
But I'll be sure to read M4L's post as well. Im sure it's really good too....
His is the bestest..
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I am loving us topping off loads and coming second in errors (ie second fewest). Aside from a few blow outs we are becoming a more reliable team. Echo earlier posts about SJ, Fucking Kata and some issues at Hooker and in the forward mix. I'd plug for a solid B overall now that my disappointment about losing to the Panthers has waned.
