Some pretty ordinary scores out of 10 after the Warriors’ dismal 32-10 loss to the Storm.
1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK (c): Solid as usual but seems to have run out of ways to spark his floundering side. Had 21 runs for 149 metres. 6.5
2 DAVID FUSITU’A: Carted the ball up 13 times for 105 metres, but is hamstrung in attack by not playing outside Hiku and the playmakers’ baffling reluctance to put the ball in the air to him. 6
3 PETA HIKU: Atoned for a clumsy early collision with RTS that caused a knock-on from a Storm drop-out by holding up a lovely ball for Maumalo to score the opener. Didn’t feature in too much to get excited about thereafter. 6
18 GERARD BEALE: A good defensive effort (22 tackles) but a waste of space in attack. One woeful pass over the sideline was a flashpoint moment – but at least in that instance he was trying to give it to ‘Fus’. Herbert straight back in thanks. 5
This is why Patrick Herbert should be playing over Gerard Beale
— MaTtY (@MattyMcP25) June 8, 2019
5 KEN MAUMALO: Cantered in for the first try and racked up 126 metres by halftime. Finished with a team-high 181 metres from 22 runs but was largely kept out of the game by the Storm after the break. 7
6 KODI NIKORIMA: Butchered an early chance with a shocking pass but made up for it with a burst of speed and brilliant pass to set up the first try of the match. His energy and thirst for involvement saw him latch onto a grubber for the Warriors’ second. But barely featured in anything positive from that point, making two errors and finishing with six missed tackles. The early sheen is wearing off the mid-season recruit. 5
This game by Kodi Nikorima….. vaguely familiar
— ALong (@Arlongy) June 8, 2019
7 BLAKE GREEN: When a team is lacking direction and attacking impetus, the focus has to at least partly be directed at their 13-season halfback veteran. A nice try-assist grubber for Nikorima’s try was the only obvious positive, with his kicking and passing game modest at best overall. The fact he has played all of his post-Super League career alongside marquee halves Cronk, Cherry-Evans and Johnson until this year can’t be overlooked. 5.5
8 AGNASTIUS PAASI: One of the Warriors’ better performers with 13 runs for 103 metres and 27 tackles, along with a massive six offloads. 7
9 ISSAC LUKE: Looked dangerous early but lacked consistency across his 61 minutes on the field. Toiled for 35 tackles but lacked the offensive authority that was so crucial to the Warriors’ 2018 campaign. Impossible to pick him ahead of incumbent Brandon Smith (despite his lack of dummy-half time at the Storm) for the Test against Tonga. 6
The old cuzzie bro culture. They don’t even care. Retirement village. Issac Luke topping up his super. Stephen Kearney simply can’t coach to save his life
— skipstears (@skipstears1) June 8, 2019
10 LEESON AH MAU: Another stoic performer in a disappointing collective effort. Led the Warriors’ forwards with 113 metres and reeled off 27 tackles without a miss. Particularly good in his first stint, which was arguably his strongest of the year. 7
11 ISAIAH PAPALI’I: Eight runs and 45 tackles, but was largely anonymous. Hard to complain, but hard to get excited about. 6
12 TOHU HARRIS: So influential playing in the halves on Anzac Day, Harris was a passenger in attack. A tally of just four runs was totally out of character. Made an enormous 49 tackles but his performance with the ball was nowhere near acceptable for the only player the Warriors have resembling a marquee/strike forward. 5
13 ADAM BLAIR: Didn’t do much to appease his army of critics, except rack up an impressive tally of 49 tackles. Had just six runs in an hour on the paddock and gave away three penalties. For $600k’s sake, we can only hope he was crushing those one-percenters we hear so much about. 6
Time to cut the Adam Blair pension I feel. #NRLWarriorsStorm
— Warriors v NRL Referees (@war_refs) June 8, 2019
14 LACHLAN BURR: A shoddy response to being demoted to the bench, coming up with a lazy play-the-ball error on one of his paltry three runs in 29 minutes of game-time. Also racked up 30 tackles. 5
15 BUNTY AFOA: Another to produce a back-breaking defensive effort with 35 tackles, and racked up seven hit-ups in 41 minutes. Low on Bunty’s 2019 impact scale, though. 6
16 CHRIS SATAE: Cheap late-tackle penalty soon after entering the fray led to the Storm’s first try. Came up with two runs and 22 tackles in 17 minutes. Destined for a rapid return to reserve grade. 4
Score before Chris Satae did the dumbest shoulder charge this season: 10-2
Score since: 0-24#NRLWarriorsStorm— Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) June 8, 2019
17 KARL LAWTON: Did his best to spark things with five runs and 16 tackles (no misses) in 20 minutes subbing for Luke, but a holding-down penalty led to Vunivalu’s try. 5.5
Categories: Previews + Reviews, WARRIORS NEWS
Leave a Reply