Entries Tagged 'Rugby League' ↓

Check it out! Tickets to the Warriors v Eels match sold out in three hours, but sportsthought has five of them.

Please note, these are NOT for sale :)

They lost 6 games in a row, and looked down and out. Then came the turn around and the Warriors have lost just 2 of their last 10 games and are on track for a top 8 finish.

Here’s why.

1. Wade Mckinnon. Mckinnon’s form over the last 10 weeks has been fantastic. I’ve mentioned earlier that I believe he has attitude issues, but there is no denying his form. He’s scored plenty of tries, beat a ton of tacklers and has been electric with the ball in hand.
2. Jerome Ropati. The guy who craves the number 6 jersey that was his last year has unselfishly put the Warriors needs before his own and resided in the centres. And he’s been great. Excellent foot work and the ability to get round a man has seen his stocks increase. My opinion of him has changed from earlier in the season.
3. Epalahame Lauaki. Earlier in the season I blogged about how he seemed scared to try his hand for fear of making a mistake and that Ivan Clearly needed to give him free license. I don’t know if that happened or not, but over the last month Lauaki has been devastating. Breaking tackles never seemed so easy. This guy helps make up the best bench in the NRL.
4. Michael Witt. His goal kicking has been a revelation. At the time of writing he’s missed 3 of his last 45 kicks. Dan Carter would be happy to have that record at the world cup! It make’s winning games a lot easier when the scores are increasing in 6’s not 4’s.
5. Ivan Cleary. Losing 6 games on the trot put’s immense pressure on a coach, and there were loud calls for Clearly to make changes (myself included). But he stood firm and backed what he was doing and turned the season around. Credit must also go to the Warriors management for providing the necessary support for Cleary. A strong stable environment has enabled players and coach to focus on football and not get distracted.

Last night the Warriors lost to Canberra, this weeks they face Manly at home in front of a sell out crowd. A top 8 place is not yet guaranteed. Is the run of hot form over?

Hold on folks, it’s about to get interesting!

Just a note about the crowd at the Warriors v Titans match over the weekend. A little over 20,000 punters made the trek to the industrial waste land that is Penrose to watch the lads play.

This was the biggest crowd since 2003. That’s right, 4 years ago. Much has been said about why the crowds have been so poor, but you don’t need a rocket scientist to tell you why.

It’s because the Warriors have not been playing well enough to attract the fringe supporter. And it’s fringe supporters that love a winner.

We also know that Mt Smart stadium is a horrible venue in the middle of no where.
We also know that the weather is damm cold for many Warriors home games.
We also know that the club has been through some horrible times since 2003.

But what’s real important is that since 2003 the Warriors have not managed a winning streak of more than 4 games. That lack of constancy has kept the fringe fans away. Say what you like about fringe or ‘fair weather’ or ‘lunch time’ supporters, the Warriors need them, rely on them in fact.

Now, they have lost 1 of their last nine, and are riding high. The vibe in Auckland is very positive about the Warriors at the moment, not unlike 2002 and 2003. Those on the fringe can’t help get caught up in the moment. The Warriors are playing an entertaining game, with many tries being started in their own half. It’s better to watch than the Air NZ Cup, thats for sure.

If they beat Canberra this weekend, I promise that more than 20,000 will turn up for the fixture against Manly which is their last home game of round robin. If they get a home semi final, then serious consideration must be taken to move the game to a bigger venue. Not that I am getting ahead of myself or anything like that.

The Warriors have lost 1 of their past 9 games.

The loss was against the Cowboys where they received the worst referring decision of the year (so far) which ended a three match winning streak.  The next week they played in front of a paltry 10037 supporters against the Dragons.
 
But how many more fans would they have got if they went into the Dragons game with 4 straight wins?  For arguments sake, lets say they got another 2000 punters, each paying an average of $30.  That’s 60 grand down the gurgler because of a dodgy call.  And what can we do about it?  Nothing.

This is quite a conservative estimate, considering they had a crowd of 20,000 to watch them beat the Titans.

Since the start of 2004 the Warriors have not managed to put together a winning steak of 5 games or more. This is a key factor in their inability to attract large crowds.
 
Two things to note here:
 
Firstly, it was the video referee made the decision. Steve Nash had plenty of time and camera angles to use; yet still made a monumental error.
 
Secondly the Warriors received an apology from Robert Finch, the referees’ boss.  This in itself is an admission that they got it wrong.

The game is lucky this was not a semi final, or even a grand final, where the consequences would be huge.

Lets not forget the NRL are happy to dish out $10,000 fines to clubs who criticise referees. Now it’s time they acted in a professional manner and compensated clubs when their staff make wrong calls that impact a clubs revenues.

Running a professional sporting team is not cheap and most of the clubs in the NRL sustain heavy losses. The NRL must accept the impact it ’s referees can have on a club’s revenue and compensate clubs for blunders like the one the Warriors were a victim of.

They Warriors were average against the Cowboys in losing 18-12, but one fact is clear. The video ref, Steve Nash denied the Warriors a try under the posts in what is by far and away the absolute worst refereeing decision this year. And the season is far from over!

Wade McKinnon scored a brilliant individual try, but Steve Nash decided that Wairangi Koopu had obstructed a defender and penalised the Warriors. It was plain to see this was not the case.

So the ref cost us 6 points. We lost the game by 6 points. The math is so easy my unborn child could do it.

The Warriors played poorly, and probably did not deserve to win. But really, that’s irrelevant. They lost by 6 and the ref cost us 6. Sometimes in sport the better team loses.

Referees very rarely cost teams games, but in this case, the worst refereeing decision of the year cost us 6 points. It maybe cost us the game as well.

Grant Rovelli and Michael Witt are average.

Their main issue seems to be guiding the team around on attack – neither one of them can do it well, if at all. When the Warriors are camped on the opposition line, the other backs don’t seem to know what is happening.

The attack seems to resort to off loading the ball, in an attempt to get second phase. Good in theory and in practice, but we need more than that. We need halves that can own the game.

They will win us games, when the team goes well and they may even take us to the finals. But they won’t take us much further than that.

Wade McKinnon. He’s a great support runner – the best in the NRL for sure. Even on TV it’s easy to see how many times he runs past a ball carrier in the hope of getting an offload. He makes it a numbers game – the more times he supports the more ball he will get. He’s also hard to tackle; he can fend and spin his way out of a few before getting caught.

My issue with Wade McKinnon is his attitude, which pretty much sux. He’s already been suspended for two matches this year after he pushed a ref. This followed a running verbal battle he had with him during the match.

A few times, he’s blown up at team mates for doing the wrong thing. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a tough sport played by tough people, but it’s still a team sport, and you just don’t’ give your mates verbal sprays like McKinnon.

Epalahame Lauaki. He is playing so much better at the moment, and I think it’s because the coach Ivan Clearly has told him to play his natural game. For much of this season, he’s looked like he was scared to make a mistake.

Simon Mannering – the guy is a good player, but he is no centre. Manu Vatuvei has struggled this year because Simon Mannering has been unable to get the ball to him.

Patrick Ah Van. A fantastic player, who makes few errors, is excellent under the high ball and has a great temperament. He may lack the X factor, but this year he’s also lacked opportunities. That’s due to having Tony Martin inside him. Tony Martin is a solid player, but lacks the ability to get the ball to his winger.

Ok, we are 13 rounds into a 25 round season. This is where I see the Warriors at the half way point and things are not looking good.

After winning 4 from the first 7, things have turned to custard in the form of a 6 game losing streak. They are currently equal last with 3 other teams. Here are a few reasons why.

The halves are average. Rovelli, Witt and Ropati have all been playing ‘OK’. But none of them has been able to own the attack and direct the plays. They were rudderless against Melbourne.

The back row is average. Aside from Luck, the stand out tackler, Swann, Lauaki, Anderson have offered little. We expect at least on of these players to be able to throw a few passes.

The centres are average – Simon Mannering is ineffective at centre. Tony Martin has been better but has little to offer on attack. Lance Hohaia is also poor at centre – he belongs in the halves. The performance of the centres is mirrored by the wingers who have been starved of possession.

Poor discipline – too many turnovers, have resulted in the Warriors making a ridiculous number of tackles. Not to mention the silly penalties and the crazy action of Wade McKinnon when he pushed a ref.

All up the Warriors have been average – not bad, but clearly not so good either.

So can they turn it around? As in previous seasons, the line about a few consecutive wins getting us back into the top 8 may be true, but actually doing it will prove difficult.

Coach Ivan Cleary has challenges ahead. Does he keep the faith with the players he’s been using? Or does he drop players who are not performing?

His options are limited though – there are apparently some players in Premier League who could make the step up such as Sonny Fai. He could switch Jerome Ropati to either lock or maybe centre, and stick Hohaia at stand off to partner Witt in the halves.

Whatever the case he needs to do something. 6 straight losses is testament to that.

Next year’s Anzac test between New Zealand and Australia will be the last – it has to be signed off but that is a formality. This was reported in the herald.

They are getting rid of it because we get hammered most of the time. This in turn is because we struggle to get access to our best players.

UK clubs will not release their Kiwis and we can’t get NRL players in camp until after the NRL round – unlike State of Origin where players miss an NRL round to be in camp.

It’s sad really, and a blow to international game. Fans like us will now have to wait till the end of the year to see any international rugby league. That’s a long time. I really do look forward to the Anzac test, despite the usual results and I’m never more optimistic than before Anzac test.

Hopefully it will be back in the future, but there is a lack of solutions as to how to accommodate mid seasons fixtures. Actually I tell a lie - there are plenty of solutions, it’s just that the stakeholders prefer to look after their own backyard to the detriment of the international game. The reasons for this are numerous, but that’s another story . . . .

I read a rumour on nzwarriors.com suggesting Ruben Wiki may retire – soon.

It does make sense . . .after all he is 34 and probably the oldest prop in the competition.

He has not been playing well as of late, and has been carrying an injury – nerve damage apparently, and to me nerve damage sounds like something you don’t want to muck around with.

So maybe this week, month or year could be his last. Clearly he will leave a huge legacy, which I’ll leave others to write about.

However my favourite Wiki moment was when I was lucky enough to meet him. He was totally human and not a touch of arrogance that you often get with top sportspeople. I was saying how amazing the 2005 tri-nations win was, and he just giggled and said ‘shhh, Pricey might hear us, he’ll get upset’ (Steve Price was standing nearby)

If Wiki retires it releases spending money for the Warriors, so I suspect that the announcement will come sooner rather than later. That way the club can make it clear to players and their agents that the Warriors have some coin to spend.

Easing any loss of Wiki is the fact we still have Steve Price, but more importantly two very good young props in Sam Rapira and Evarn Tuimavave - it will be up to them to lead the charge.

OK, so we signed a current Queensland Origin and Australian test centre in Brent Tate. That in itself is a coup for the Warriors.

But is it a mistake on Tate’s part to play for the Warriors? Let me put on my pessimist’s hat for a minute . . .

You see, in his career to date, he has pretty much always played in strong successful teams - Brisbane, Queensland and Australia.

The service those three teams get from their halves out through the back lines is pretty damm good - think of the ball he’s been getting from the likes of Lockyer, Thurston and Berrigan etc.

In order for him to perform for the Warriors he’ll need quality ball to show his wares. And that my friends is where the problems begin.

With halves currently made up of Witt/Rovelli/Ropati he simply will not get as much quality ball as he’s used to. Should this be the case, then he’ll be an expensive passenger in our backline.

The optimist in me thinks that things could go well for him if our halves start performing with consistency. If that happens we might get some ROI on the (reported) 400k.

What ever the case, expectations will be high. He’s a marquee player and the pressure will be on him to deliver.  The same sort of pressure existed at Brisbane , but of course it’s spread round fellow marquee players such as Lockyer, Hodges and Hunt.

Hope he likes pressure . . . .