Green enjoys his special run
He’s become one of the most important cogs in the Warriors’ winning wheel and master organiser Blake Green says his running game is a big part of that.
Green scored a try in the Warriors’ 20-4 Friday night NRL win over the Knights, just his second of the season, that probably better resembled one his halves partner Shaun Johnson would typically score.
Ten minutes into the second half, Green isolated some tired defenders around the ruck and accelerated through the line, fended off the cover defence and skipped past the fullback to score under the posts from 30m out.
The man himself appeared just as surprised with the feat as the
14,000 in attendance, as well as his team-mates, who mobbed the
31-year-old playmaker after he dotted down.
Best known for setting up others, it was a rare glimpse into what Green is capable of with the ball in his hands.
‘‘It was nice to get across the line. I do a fair bit of organising, directing and showing the footy so it was nice the way that sort of fell into place and opened up for me there,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve been running the ball, I just haven’t managed to squeeze through until tonight [Friday] so it’s important I continue to run the footy to keep everyone honest.
‘‘When I run the ball, the defence can’t just slide off so that creates space for Shaun and Roger on the edges.’’
Not one to bask in the limelight, Green was quick to credit his team-mates for his improved individual performance.
‘‘I thought our back five and middles laid a platform for us. It helps us halves when you are playing on the front foot.
‘‘I’ve played in some good teams but Roger [Tuivasa-Sheck] has been outstanding the last two weeks. I thought it was a real captain’s knock last week [when he ran for over 200m and came up with a vital try-saving tackle] and he backed that up again here
tonight,’’ Green said.
Tuivasa-Sheck ran for a whopping 338m in the side’s win, to go along with 11 tackle busts and two line breaks.
As a spine, Green still doesn’t believe the Warriors are firing on all cylinders, but concedes they’re close.
‘‘I thought we were close [on Friday] for it to really open up for us . . . I reckon we are not far away,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s just a few little micro skills. A few passes that are out in front of the right hand when they need to be out in front of the left hand, which just stops that real
slick passing game. You can skin defenders quite easy if those first two passes are slick.
With just three weeks left of the regular season, Friday’s win all but assured the Warriors will play finals football for the first time since 2011.
They will next travel to take on the Bulldogs in round 23 of the NRL on Sunday.