Dragons provide lesson in effort
OPINION: You wonder who the Warriors thought they were playing on Sunday.
St George Illawarra must be one of the least-talented sides in the NRL. But what they lack there, they attempt to make up for in courage.
The Dragons try very hard. Their forwards are willing to hit and be hit. There’s no frills. They just work to win the collision in the middle of the park and hope the backs don’t squander the frontfoot ball.
On Sunday the Warriors countered that with Charlie Gubb, Jacob Lillyman, Simon Mannering and Ryan Hoffman. Little wonder it was 20-2 to the Dragons by the time the middle-forward rotation started.
Gubb, Lillyman, Mannering and Hoffman all possess admirable qualities. Very admirable, in a couple of those cases. But they’re not abrasive players, they don’t dent or bend defensive lines.
It took James Gavet, off the bench, to do that. By then, though, the match was effectively over.
The Warriors aren’t built for the arm-wrestle. They’re just not a team that’s going to win 17-16 in golden point too often. Their best weapon is the brilliant attack of players such as Isaac Luke, Shaun Johnson and Roger TuivasaSheck.
Sadly, those guys can’t fire a shot unless the pack is winning the contest in the middle. Luke and Johnson, particularly, need space and a disjointed defensive line to run at and they saw precious little of that in Sunday’s 26-12 loss.
Kieran Foran’s late scratching was unfortunate and continued the torturous theme of his road back to football. But the Warriors lost because the Dragons’ pack was stronger and braver. That’s pretty galling. TIGERS COPYCATS It’s been hard not to think of the Warriors, as things (again) turn to custard at the Wests Tigers.
Jason Taylor is the latest coach to be punted by the club, following Wayne Pearce, Terry Lamb, Tim Sheens and Michael Potter. The Tigers have made the playoffs just three times since their inaugural season in 2000, winning the title in 2005.
The Warriors were admitted in 1995 and have made six playoffs appearances, most recently in 2011. They’re on their fourth head coach since then, not counting caretaker Tony Iro.
‘‘Put it this way: players get rid of coaches,’’ Sheens said after his contract at the Tigers was terminated.
‘‘It’s generally senior players, too.’’
All told, 11 men have coached the Warriors. Just about all their tenures ended in tears, amid talk of lost dressing rooms and potential going unrealised.
The Tigers and Warriors have both started this season with one win from four starts. At some point in each club’s history, the players have to stand up and take responsibility and justify their salaries. It can’t be the coach’s fault all the time. WORTHY WINNERS Elsewhere, some players continue to be worth every cent. For the umpteenth time in their careers, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk methodically engineered a comeback win for the Storm, on Sunday.
The Tigers were the beaten side on this occasion, having at least shown a degree of pluck to mark Taylor’s ousting.
The Storm are a perfect fourfrom-four, along with the Roosters. Of the two, the Storm’s history makes that form easier to trust.
Below them sit a variety of teams that are much or a muchness and will win as many games as they lose this year.
Down at the Warriors and Tigers’ end, the Bulldogs are playing coach Des Hasler out of a job after losing 36-0 to Manly on Saturday.