Warriors hope Storm has passed
For the Warriors, the time for reflecting on the 70-10 loss to the Storm onMonday is over and Shaun Johnson says it’s now about how they respond.
It was the worst ever result in the club’s history and the team have been copping it from everywhere since then.
But putting the performance into perspective, yes, it was a truly abysmal last 30 minutes, but otherwise they played well and it had been a good start to the season.
Even so, the knives have been out and the best way to silence the critics is to beat the Raiders in Redcliffe today.
‘‘I’ve been on this side of the scoreboard a couple of times throughout my career and as a player, the best thing that can happen is you get a short turnaround and go out there to right your wrongs from the week before,’’ Johnson said.
‘‘The fact that we’ve only had to wait five days to go out there and show who we really are, that’s a positive.
‘‘With the short turnaround you can’t talk about it for too long, because before you know about it you’ve got the Raiders in front of us,’’ he added.
‘‘Those individual chats happened after the game and the following day and since then all of our attention has been on what does bouncing back look like and what does a good performance against the Raiders look like?’’
One issue the Warriors need to fix is how to win back momentum in a game. Once the Storm got on a roll in the second half, the Warriors were incapable of stopping it.
‘‘Momentum is a big thing in a game of footy,’’ Johnson said.
‘‘Being able to absorb it and slowly change it against those top teams is a hard thing to do, especially when you’ve had a couple of setbacks yourself, whether you lose a couple of players and have to rejig your line, it’s very hard to put a halt to it.
‘‘But is it impossible? No. Can we do it? Yes, we can.
‘‘So it’s one of those things where
‘‘The best thing that can happen is you get a short turnaround and go out there to right your wrongs from the week before.’’ Shaun Johnson
we look at areas and try to learn from it and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.’’
The Warriors have lost Chanel Harris-Tavita for about a month with a ruptured testicle picked up in the Storm loss.
In his absence, Daejarn Asi, who was only signed from the Cowboys a few days ago, could be rushed
straight into the side, although that is a risk.
Another option could be to move Reece Walsh into the halves, switch Rocco Berry to fullback and recall
Edward Kosi to the wing, or even give Junior Ratuva his first NRL game.
Ben Murdoch-Masilamay also be promoted from the extended bench into the 17, with either Eliesa Katoa or Jack Murchie making way for him.
Meanwhile, Tohu Harris says he’s on track to return in the next couple of weeks and has started full contact training again.
Harris hasn’t played since his ACL injury in July and has progressed well.
If it was down to him he’d go straight into the NRL team, but the coaches may feel he needs a run in the Queensland Cup for the Dolphins first.
‘‘That decision probably isn’t up to me, but I feel like I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself,’’ Harris said.
‘‘Personally I feel I can go straight in, but there are other people who assess that and make those decisions.’’
Closely related mares Sinarahma and Our Hail Mary may be signing off on their racing careers today.
Taranaki trainer Allan Sharrock said both Sinarahma, who contests the Group II Travis Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa, and Our Hail Mary, due to run in an open 2060m handicap at Wanganui, could be headed to the breeding paddock after they race.
Sinarahma, a daughter of Sharrock’s multiple Group I-winning mare Shez Sinsational, has been a reliable mare, winning the Listed Wairarapa Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) twice and adding the Group III Cuddle Stakes (1600m) for good measure this season.
‘‘It will probably be her last run and she’ll be off to the broodmare paddock next year. She’s done a bonny job for us,’’ the New Plymouth trainer said.
At her last start Sinarahma was a close second to Charms Star in the Group III Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (2000m), and she has trained well since, but Sharrock said she had a tough task at weight-for-age to beat Two Illicit, a Group I winner who finished third in the Group I Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) two weeks ago.
‘‘Our mare’s continued to work very well. I’m very, very happy with her,’’ Sharrock said.
‘‘But on paper we can’t beat Two Illicit. She’s got to have bad luck and we’ve got to have good luck.’’
Our Hail Mary has also put together a great resume, winning eight of her 24 starts, including last year’s Group III Trentham Stakes (2100m) and this year’s Listed Marton Cup (2200m).
However, since her Marton Cup victory she’s raced four times and finished no closer than fifth, which was where she finished in an open 2100m handicap in the hands of Leith Innes at Te Rapa on April 16.
‘‘If she runs anything like she did at Te Rapa she’ll probably be retired and go to stud as well,’’ Sharrock said.