WARRIORS ROUND 5 PLAYER RATINGS

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Marks out of 10 for a courageous short-handed effort in a 28-24 loss to Souths on the Sunshine Coast.

1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (c): Our minds would be blown if his superhuman performances weren’t so predictable. A couple of mistakes but an individual try, a game-high 213 metres, two line-breaks and 11 tackle-breaks solidified TWL‘s contention that our skipper is the best player in the NRL. 8.5

2 David Fusitu’a: Some good work under the high ball but not his best performance. Struggling to gel with Kata on attack. 6

20 Gerard Beale: The drums will beat for the journeyman to replace Kata – he look pretty slick and solid despite not chalking up overly impressive numbers. Not as dynamic as you’d like, but a more rounded player than the Warriors have been fielding in the centres. 6.5

4 Solomone Kata: Came up with some outstanding defensive plays, but also a couple of lamentable misses and an error or two. Can’t pin Walker’s four-try haul on him but he certainly wasn’t blameless and 36 run metres was a glaring stat for the one-time wrecking ball. Last pass for Lisone’s try. 5.5

5 Ken Maumalo: Targeted by Souths’ kickers and came up trumps all but once. Carted it up for 141 metres – including a game-high 45 post-contact – to underline his value to the Warriors in a tough game. Maturing into a quasi-leader in this side’s ranks. 7

3 Peta Hiku: Chucked into pivot at the last minute and came up with some big early defensive efforts and made a second-half line-break. His attacking game fell away in the second half and he came up with a few defensive misses, which is perhaps understandable given he was worked over for 34 tackles. 6.5

6 Chanel Harris-Tavita: A few missteps with the ball but we reckon we’re watching the club’s future unfold before our eyes. Confident, composed and a dangerous ball-runner with genuine game-breaking chops. Had a try-assist and was denied another by the video ref. But most impressive was his courageous defence – 17 tackles with no misses, including some massive stops on the likes of Sam Burgess and several great reads. Without Green, this was a pretty special effort. 8

8 Agnatius Paasi: Easily his most prominent display of the year, burning through 12 runs for 117 metres and 20 metres. Encouraging after a slow start to 2019. Injury a concern. 6.5

22 Issac Luke: Good first stint but didn’t last long in his second. No complaints, but the Warriors will be better for having a fully-fit ‘Bully’ playing 65 minutes plus per game. 6

10 Leeson Ah Mau: Stood up to the big Souths pack with 11 carries for 93 metres and 30 tackles with just one miss. Real presence in the middle today. 7

11 Adam Blair: Topped the tackle count with 37 (with a couple of glaring misreads that led to Souths tries) and seemed involved – most notably producing an offload in the lead-up to Lisone’s try. On the debit side, two runs for 17 metres in 80 minutes on the field plus an error against his name. Hard to know what to make of that, really. 5

12 Tohu Harris: The best player on the field by far and one of the most dynamic performances by a Warriors second-rower we can recall since Ali Lautiiti’s heyday. Stats of 12 runs for 117 metres, 34 tackles and a try don’t tell the story – his footwork on attack was magnficent and his clean-up work in defence was invaluable. Wouldn’t trade him for any other. 9

13 Lachlan Burr: Responding to the faith shown by Kearney with interest. Racked up 11 runs for 111 metres and his 33 tackles included a number of important stops, but his second-phase was the most prominent feature. One of his four offloads gave Tevaga the opportunity to score his try. Not that we play, but apparently he’s a Supercoach stud. 8

14 Jazz Tevaga: Similar to last week, all but five minutes of his game-time came at dummy-half and he performed admirably. Racked up 33 tackles and six runs for 64 metres, as well as scoring a doggedly determined first-half try. 7.5

15 Isaiah Papali’i: Good energy and work-rate off the bench with 93 metres and 27 tackles in 49 minutes. Made a difference. 7

16 Bunty Afoa: Continues to deliver, peeling off 116 metres on 10 carries and 30 tackles in a first-rate display. Probably only behind RTS for consistency across the first five rounds. 7.5

17 Sam Lisone: Some say he was lucky to walk straight back into the team after a two-week suspension, but the oft-maligned Lisone made his 15 minutes count with four runs for 53 metres – including a barnstorming try, just his second in first grade. 6

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