Robert Anderson is a Brisbane-based Warriors fan and long-time member of the club. Throughout 2020, he will share his memories and thoughts on his beloved team for This Warriors Life. Here’s the ninth edition of Robert’s ‘Warrior-Roo’ blog (find previous entries HERE):
Well, after the unfamiliar territory of last week, we’re certainly back in familiar territory now. The euphoria of the Warriors’ 18-0 shut out of the Dragons now seems like eternity ago with another donut next to our name this week. Our good friends at FOX Sports didn’t even allow us one week to celebrate with Buzz Rothfield declaring us “not a good side” and Paul Kent claiming the Dragons were lucky they were only playing the Warriors, and not the Raiders or Storm. You held on as long as you could though, guys…
Unfortunately, watching the boys on Friday was much like watching the teams that ran out Rounds 1 and 2. We just looked completely blunt in attack and to be honest didn’t really threaten the Panthers’ line at all. And this was a Penrith team that played a full 90 minutes only five days earlier. Patty Herbert had a bit of a Manu vs Parra in 2007 game, spilling a bomb that directly lead to a try and looked all at sea under the high ball most of the night. To his credit he made a few good runs in the second half and came up with an amazing effort to almost pinch a try in the dying minutes. I think in his defence that he’s a natural centre and would benefit from moving in one place. Pompey and Beale tried hard but will never strike fear into the hearts of opposition defensive lines.
The lack of potency in attack is a concern, especially after pre-season suggestions that they were going to let the ball sing in 2020. If you take out the Round 2 penalty try then we’ve only crossed the try-line three times in four games. Admittedly, as good as the win against the Dragons was, all things considered I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t run in a few more tries. Coach Kearney has a lot to ponder ahead of Team List Tuesday, and hopefully some of the troops will make their way out of sick bay in time. There’s a lot of confidence and morale that needs to be regained and we desperately need someone to spark our misfiring attack.
Much like the first two rounds, defensively we weren’t too bad in losing and were on the end of a lopsided possession count. The Panthers’ three first-half tries were from Patty’s spilled lollies, a rebound from an average Green clearing kick, and an opportunist grubber after another high-ball catastrophe from ‘The Herb’. Just the two second half tries. But as I’ve just gone into, probably not our primary concern!
I’ve had a few mates who don’t normally follow league pledge their allegiance to the Warriors’ cause for the season. Also helps that we’re pretty much the only sport playing live worldwide. It’s been great to have all the extra support and after last week we were looking like a fuzzy, warm, feelgood bandwagon to jump on. In Brisbane if you don’t love the Broncos then you hate them so there are plenty of folks over here looking for a team to get behind. Needless to say, after last weekend the new recruits were pumped and optimistic about the remainder of the season. At fulltime I almost felt like apologising…welcome aboard the rollercoaster, fellas!
I’d like to think that we’ve still got some of that Round 3 feeling bottled up somewhere and can get those good vibes flowing again. If we can just get the juices flowing again and start getting the scoreboard ticking over then we’ll be putting plenty of smiles back on faces. The last thing we want is to fizzle out after winning the hearts of the rugby league world.
Let’s go out with a bang and not a whimper. Let’s force the hand of the Australian media and give them just as much reason to praise our on-field feats as those off it. Consistency is the key – one week we’re hot, the next we’re not. Sadly, a bit of a common theme for us.
I think Krusty the Clown said it best in a classic episode of The Simpsons – “That’s show business for you: one day you’re the most important guy who ever lived. The next day you’re some schmoe working in a box factory.”
Never too late to change that though!
Categories: FEATURES, Warrior-Roo Blog
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