One game in and that familiar feeling
The Warriors started their 2020 NRL campaign with a 20-0 thumping at the hands of the Newcastle Knights.
Injuries forced coach Stephen Kearney into several positional changes, including selecting two debutants.
But it mattered for little. Kearney’s side was outplayed across the park on Saturday, failing to post any points on the board and was severely let down by poor discipline.
Here’s how the Warriors rated in the 20-point loss:
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck: 5.5
Tried hard but struggled to get anything going in good ball areas. A few uncharacteristic errors too.
Patrick Herbert: 5.5
Bit of a rocks and diamonds game with a few errors. Carried well when he got his hands on the ball and made several good spot tackles.
David Fusitua: 5
Clearly still adjusting to his new role of centre. Limited involvement, but some good tough carries coming out of yardage.
Peta Hiku: 5
Came in looking for work when the ball failed to find its way to edges. Strong without being overly threatening.
Ken Maumalo: 4.5
Extremely quiet game by his standards. Still managed 115m but no real punch.
Chanel Harris-Tavita: 3.5
The victim of the constant team infringing, yellow carded in the first 20. Went looking to get himself back in the game through defence, but couldn’t impose himself on the contest – not through lack of effort.
Blake Green: 2.5
Not the best game from the veteran. Managed one 40/20, but was otherwise poor with the boot and made some key fundamental errors. Solid on defence.
Leeson Ah Mau: 3
Just eight carries fom the starting prop, for a minimal 68m. Solid on defence in the middle but nowhere near busy enough.
Wayde Egan: 5
Playing behind a struggling pack was never going to be easy, but he made a decent fist of things. Crisp passing in horrid conditions early, and racked up 37 tackles.
Lachlan Burr: 6
No real sting in either attack or defence, but got through plenty of work. A real tough game, made a team-high 41 tackles.
Adam Blair: 4.5
Missed a one-on-one tackle which led to the Knights’ first try.
Threatened at times on the edge but still looks to do his best work in the middle.
Tohu Harris: 5.5
A quiet return by his standards, but one of the better attacking options when the ball did go to the wider channels.
Isaiah Papalii: 5
Solid without being great on attack, and typically got through a lot of defensive work. First stint was better than the second.
Kodi Nikorima: 5
Thrown into the action in the second half, and threatened. But it was tough going behind a pack going backwards.
Jamayne Taunoa-Brown: 7
Rolled up his sleeves when the side was on the back foot, and added some much-needed muscle to the middle third.
Eliesa Katoa: 7.5
On debut, he injected energy when he came onto the park. Best Warriors forward and one of the lone shining lights, along with Taunoa-Brown.
King Vuniyayawa: 5
Managed only 20 minutes but was solid.