One of the most depressing player rating exercises in TWL‘s history after a disgraceful 46-12 loss to Manly. Thank the rugby league gods for captain Roger.
1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (c): On a different planet quality-wise to his teammates. Two line-breaks, 11 tackle-busts and 247 metres (44 post-contact). An absolute shining light on one of the club’s darkest days. 8
"And we cross live to Christchurch, where the score is Manly 24, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 12"#NRLManlyWarriors#WarriorsVsEagles
— Keith Miller (@keith_miller_nz) March 30, 2019
2 David Fusitu’a: Arguably at the lowest ebb of a career littered with brilliant highlights. Thoroughly outplayed by Jorge Tafua and dreadful defensively for the second week in a row, recording twice as many missed tackles as he made. 4
3 Peta Hiku: A couple of handy runs did not come anywhere near making up for five missed tackles and only nine stops. On thin ice. 4
4 Solomone Kata: A regular target of fans, we’ve generally been sympathetic to Sol in comparison. But his performance was inexcusable. Offered little on attack and came up with one of the weakest defensive misses you’re ever likely to see on Brad Parker in the lead-up to Tafua’s try. Only his running down of Parker in the first half saves him from TWL‘s first-ever 1 rating. 3.5
I suggest Solomon Kata join theArmy, he may learn something about defence.#woefulwarriors
— Michael Schmid (@Michael91423987) March 30, 2019
5 Ken Maumalo: The jittery Ken of old rather than the exponentially improved 2018 version. Lacked his customary ball-carrying punch and made two errors, including an embarrassing bungle to gift a try to rookie to Reuben Garrick, who looked like Ken Irvine in comparison on the day. 4
6 Adam Keighran: Feel sorry for the kid – particularly when many of his vastly more experienced teammates were worse – but it’s becoming increasingly apparent he may not be up to NRL standard. Exposed defensively, woeful kicking game and never looked like sparking a stagnant Warriors attack. 4.5
7 Blake Green: Life as the go-to linchpin isn’t quite as cushy as being a stable foil for Cronk, DCE or SJ. Green’s limitations as a creative half are being exposed and he looks to be feeling the pressure of a campaign rapidly spiralling out of control. 4.5
8 Agnatius Paasi: Iggy, mate, what’s going on? Has started 2019 at half pace and offered only token resistance against the Manly pack. Another under pressure to hold his spot. 4.5
9 Issac Luke: Punchy first-half that included a determined try – and loved the passion he showed after dotting down. But a hamstring injury sidelined him from the second 40 in a real concern for the Warriors with Nate Roache still battling a calf complaint. 5.5
Details on Issac Luke's injury + a Nathaniel Roache update #NRL https://t.co/9hNCurUP5A
— Corey Rosser (@CoreyRosser23) March 30, 2019
10 Bunty Afoa: Solid-ish but well down on the strong efforts of the opening two rounds. Images of a beaming Bunty chatting with Manly players post-match was not the best look after a loss like that. 5
17 Isaiah Papali’i: Received a late call-up to the starting side and revealed a new string or two on his bow with a kick-and-chase try, the harbinger of a performance that was head and shoulders above any of his teammates besides RTS. Busy on attack throughout and toiled for a game-high 44 tackles. Through-the-legs intercept pass was a low point. 7
12 Tohu Harris: Generally a super-valuable acquisition since arriving in Auckland and generally untouchable in the criticism stakes until now. But this was probably Tohu’s worst outing as a Warrior. Missed a team-high six tackles but more glaringly just seems to be going through the motions, lacking the dynamism and class his ability and paycheck demands. 4.5
11 Adam Blair: The club more or less said they weren’t getting the requisite value out of million-dollar man Shaun Johnson. What does that mean for Blair, who is on a reported $650,000 a year and providing the bare minimum for a first-grade forward? His supporters bang on about the one-percenters that we don’t see. Well, most marquee-money forwards (and plenty on less coin) take care of the effort areas and still have a major say on the outcome of a game. A good offload for Luke’s try can’t mask what the Warriors aren’t getting from Blair – and what most clubs are getting from their equivalent. 4.5
Thought the Warriors had bought the Tigers Adam Blair rather than the Storm or Broncos Blair & I was right .Him and Arron Woods viaing for the best third flop tackler
— Paul Rooney (@roonsopo) March 30, 2019
14 Jazz Tevaga: All but 12 of his game-time minutes were at dummy-half, which Tevaga admitted post-match to TWL was not his ideal scenario, preferring to play as a middle forward. Just not a top-class nine, but hard to be too tough on him if he’s a reluctant one. At least he shows the pain of a defeat like that – something that arguably couldn’t be said of enough of his teammates. 5
13 Lachlan Burr: One of the few Warriors to emerge with their rep slightly enhanced. Demoted to the bench but made 118 metres (41 post-contact) on 14 carries and 19 tackles in 45 minutes. 6
16 Leeson Ah Mau: Not exactly a high-impact performance but racked up an equal-team-high 17 runs for 140 metres, easily the highest tally in the Warriors’ pack, and 19 tackles with no misses. Can’t fault him. 6
18 Gerard Beale: N/A
Categories: Previews + Reviews, Uncategorized, WARRIORS NEWS
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