Winners & Losers: Warriors in need of an early reset on and off the pitch
Losers The Warriors . . . real sports fans
The Warriors need a rapid reset on and off the field.
They’ll do one of those things, for sure. As for the other, not so sure.
The Cronulla Sharks didn’t do much more than produce a classic display of NRL resilience to beat the Warriors in the nicely hyped season opener at Mt Smart Stadium.
The Warriors were initially superb, then shot themselves in the foot as they fell well short of last season’s glories, ones that have made them — in many minds — title contenders in 2024.
It left a lot of concerns:
● After a superlative 2023, Shaun Johnson lost his way in the first round. He lacked energy and failed to direct the side — it was a reminder of his bad days.
● This club will struggle unless it finds a like-for-like prop to replace Addin Fonua-Blake when he leaves at the end of this year. Fonua-Blake had yet another storming game.
● Dummy half Wayde Egan is not only pivotal but — unfortunately — just about the most injury-prone player in the NRL.
● Returning superstar Roger Tuivasa-Sheck had a mixed night and didn’t look entirely at home in the centres.
● The immensely physical Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad is irreplaceable at fullback. Taine Tuaupiki ran around a lot but didn’t produce anything too convincing. Perhaps supercharged wing Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is a better No 1 option, unless coach Andrew Webster relents and switches RTS to fullback.
● Hard-working forward Jackson Ford’s fumbles have put a spotlight on his game. Marata Niukore’s brute power will be missed over the coming weeks. Or to put it another way, how on Earth did Eliesa Katoa end up at Melbourne?
Off the field, the atmosphere at Mt Smart was wonderful but also overly contrived, dominated by the ground announcer’s monotone shouting during the game.
It reminded me a bit of South Africa in 2010 when the Fifa World Cup was dominated and ruined by the noise of plastic trumpets.
Crowds should be allowed to create the atmosphere and choose when to hit the vocal overdrive to bolster their team.
This includes, nowadays, the ability for the crowd to react to decision replays on the screen, rather than having their collective voice overridden.
“Up the Wahs” has its place around the rise of the Warriors but not as a constant stadium voice-over.
Or to put it another way — people in the crowd know a lot more about the sport than the Mt Smart barker seems to.
I fear the club thinks it’s doing a great job of crowd control. For those who agree, try watching English Premier League or Six Nations games to discover what real (crowd) noise is all about.
Winner Athletics . . . Geordie who?
New Zealand athletics keeps bobbing to the surface thanks to characters such as Zoe Hobbs.
This includes high jumper Hamish Kerr and unheralded 1500m runner Geordie Beamish winning world indoor titles in Scotland last week, while more famous compatriots Eliza McCartney and Tom Walsh claimed silvers.
Some 1500m heavyweights such as Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr were missing but steeplechaser Beamish’s victory was still an “incredible upset” as one overseas writer put it.
There’s a further chance for athletics to grab a little bit of the spotlight, when the national track and field championships start in Wellington on Thursday, after buildup meetings in Christchurch and Auckland.
The stars include South African recruits Welre and Ethan Olivier, the brothers who are chasing Olympic selection in the triple jump.
Winner Matt Henry
The 32-year-old opening bowler has had a stunning series against Australia after living in the shadow of Trent Boult, Tim Southee et al. Indeed, New Zealand appears to have a production line of fantastic quick bowlers.
Winner Glenn Phillips
A wonder catch in the gully to dismiss Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne. Phillips’ fielding is worth watching alone.
Loser Our cricket preparation
Not for the first time, it felt as if New Zealand was in a bit of a sleepwalk as it approached a glamour cricket series against Australia. Despite Australia’s brilliant bowling attack, this series was winnable.
Losers The Crusaders . . . Rob Penney
A third straight loss in Super Rugby, this time in Fiji.
Have the repeat champions suddenly become New Zealand’s worst team? Hard to believe but possibly true right now.
The Crusaders stayed in-house, in a way, by choosing former Canterbury forward Rob Penney as their coach, replacing the supersuccessful Scott Robertson.
But it always looked a bit of a risk, given Penney’s quick sacking at the Waratahs a few years ago.
Winners Highlanders, thanks to . . .
. . . Tane Edmed. The unfancied southerners tipped over the Waratahs in Sydney but the home team should have nailed another Super Rugby victory over a Kiwi side. Goalkicker Edmed fluffed a straightforward penalty attempt on fulltime.
Winner Winston Peters
The master politician struck gold with the Hurricanes Poua haka controversy.
Peters knows his audience.
For those who missed it, the team unleashed a haka that appeared to, as Peters described it, “insult” the Government. And, yes, the Poua are in dangerous territory if they are making politically charged messages, ones in this case related to the Treaty of Waitangi.
I’d also question the workings of a sports team that claims all its members have or must have the same political thinking. This doesn’t sound particularly democratic. And why do we need the haka performed before domestic sports games?
On the controversy itself, the Hurricanes are claiming the revised haka has been misinterpreted.
In a world where both Mā ori and women have long been disadvantaged, it feels more invigorating to try and understand where the Hurricanes team is coming from than shout them down.
But political activism, noble as it is, is best conducted elsewhere.