Tohu Harris and a couple of young guns rose above several dismal performers in a 26-0 loss to the Panthers.
1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK (c): Celebrating his 27th birthday today, the skipper had one of his least effective games for the club. Made 174 metres but could not find any sort of cohesion with his playmakers or general impetus inside the Panthers’ half. 6
2 PATRICK HERBERT: His first half lurched towards Vatuvei-at-Parramatta-Stadium-in-2007 territory during the first half as he spilled three bombs, leading to two Penrith tries. Turned things around in the second stanza with a line-break and almost scoring a spectacular try, but overall not a great advertisement for him staying on the wing when Fusitu’a returns. 4.5
4 GERARD BEALE: One of his more sound showings for the Warriors – racking up 145 metres, a line-break and 19 tackles – was lost amidst a bad loss. 6.5
20 HAYZE PERHAM: Pitched into the centre role late (though it may have always been the plan) and gave a solid account of himself in tough circumstances. Ran for 146 metres and defended very well in his first NRL run-on game, despite arguably being better suited to fullback or five-eighth. 7
21 ADAM POMPEY: Getting barrelled into touch during a rare Warriors attack took the sheen off a decent display from a guy struggling to shake off the skeptics. Defused a number of dangerous situations from his spot on the left wing and ran for 122 metres. 6.5
6 KODI NIKORIMA: Lauded last week and it’s becoming apparent he may have got lucky courtesy of a couple of highlight-reel moments. Stuck to a narrow channel on the right edge when the Warriors needed his speed and spark to bob up in across the park, and did not ease the kicking load on a struggling Blake Green. Hard to believe this guy has played regular No.7 for Brisbane and New Zealand. 5
7 BLAKE GREEN: We stand by a generous rating (amid much criticism) for steering the Warriors to victory last week, but Kakariki’s display at Campbelltown a debacle from the moment his poorly judged kicked thundered into Matt Burton’s legs and gifted the Panthers their second try. Too slow and limited to spark anything on attack and has the weakest long kicking game of any team’s No.1 kicker in the NRL. A big headache for Kearney. 5
8 JAMAYNE TAUNOA-BROWN: Good opening stint and finished with 93 metres on 11 carries and a huge 39 tackles, but did not find the going as easy as against the Saints. 6
9 WAYDE EGAN: Refresh the stats page all you want, it’s still going to say the Warriors hooker had three runs for a total of seven metres. He’s a busy defender (45 stops tonight) but does not offer anywhere near enough on attack to justify Kearney picking him again next week. Comparisons with Cameron Smith are looking more ludicrous with every outing and the Warriors would be far better off giving Nikorima the No.9 and recalling Chanel Harris-Tavita to the halves. 4.5
10 ADAM BLAIR: Another ferocious opening stint but his 88-metre, 30-tackle effort in 49 minutes was largely overshadowed by the Penrith bookends. 6
11 ELIESA KATOA: A learning curve game for the Dally M Rookie of the Year contender, but the promising part of his performance – in which he made a couple of errors on both sides of the ball – was he never stopped trying to get involved, arguably as visible as any Warrior on the night. Finished with nine runs for 70 metres and 35 tackles with five misses and always on hand to attempt to clean up. 6.5
12 TOHU HARRIS: The Warriors’ best for the second week in a row, trumping both of last week’s tallies with a mammoth 220 metres and 57 tackles – team-high in both categories. Unsure why he is being listed as a second-rower when he’s clearly playing in the middle, but Harris is in elite form at present. 8
13 ISAIAH PAPALI’I: Hardworking on defence with 35 stops but racked up just six runs for 47 metres in a monstered pack. 5.5
3 KARL LAWTON: Originally chosen at centre, Lawton reverted to the bench and played 30 minutes – but only the last 10 at dummy-half in a too-little-too-late move from Kearney. Four runs for 40 metres and 20 tackles with no misses from a guy that does deserve a run-on appearance. 6
14 JACK MURCHIE: Little impact in his five carries but racked up 25 tackles in 32 minutes. 5
15 POASA FAAMAUSILI: The most encouraging takeaway after another sublime Harris performance. Big, imposing and mobile, the Roosters loan player carved off six runs for 64 metres and 27 tackles in 33 minutes on the field. Hopefully we can hang onto him for the season. 7
16 KING VUNIYAYAWA: A bad dropped ball while the Warriors were hot on attack during the first half was glaring but went well for the second week in a row, finishing with 116 metres and 27 tackles in 40 minutes of game-time. 6.5
Categories: Previews + Reviews, WARRIORS NEWS
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