Warriors thrash out issues
An impromptu meeting of the Warriors playmakers helped to fuel Sunday’s surprise 20-14 win over the Dragons, which has breathed new life into the Auckland club’s season.
Off the back of a dismal performance against Manly, which followed a comprehensive round four defeat against the Roosters, the portents were not good ahead of the clash with a St George team that had won four on the bounce.
But the Warriors produced arguably their most polished 80 minute effort of the season, in difficult circumstances, to bank their third win of the season.
Along with an impressive performance by the pack and a solid completion rate, the key to the victory was the control exerted by the spine.
After playing like strangers against the Sea Eagles, the combination between Roger Tuivasa-sheck, Kodi Nikorima, Sean O’sullivan and Wayde Egan was cohesive, calm and confident.
It wasn’t faultless, but there was more direction, better decision making and increased intent.
Egan revealed that the playmakers called their own summit meeting after the listless display against Sea Eagles, determined to right the wrongs.
“We blew probably six or seven chances against Manly,” Egan told the Herald. “We let the team down last week so we took a lot of responsibility for the loss and we got together after [that] game, just us as a spine.”
The quartet, along with injured half Chanel Harris Tavita and new signing Reece Walsh, convened last Sunday morning at the team’s Central Coast base.
It was uncomfortable viewing — as they watched clips from the Manly defeat — followed by a frank, honest discussion.
“We dissected the video and discussed between ourselves what we needed to be better at,” said Egan. “We went through it all and then we really took a big role [last week]. We put a lot of weight on our shoulders I guess [last] week to get the team moving forward.”
The soul searching and analysis paid off on Sunday. The attack was much sharper, with plenty of opportunities, particularly in the first half, off flat, fast ball.
“We knew our roles more this week and we had a game plan we executed really well,” said
Egan. “Last week we went away from what works for us.”
“Sean, Kodi and Roger were outstanding with their talk and the ball got to where it needed to go in most good ball sets.”
“Probably this one and the game against the Titans [in round one] were our best performances, where we started well and just kept building throughout the game.
Egan was also smoother with his transitions and took better options, after a scratchy effort a week earlier.
“I’m a lot happier,” admitted Egan. “I made a few poor choices last week, maybe trying to overplay my hand a bit. This week I went back to the basics, nice and simple and I got the ball where it needed to go most times.”
There is still plenty to work on, as the fifth tackle plays were bungled on several occasions and coach Nathan Brown felt they were overly conservative as a team in the first half, before they chanced their arm more in the second.
But Sunday’s victory was a massive result, the kind that can change the momentum of a campaign.
The alternative would have seen the Warriors heading to Melbourne on Sunday (8.15pm NZT) trying to stave off a fourth consecutive defeat, and the prospect of a 2-5 record, which would have been almost impossible to recover from.
Instead, a 50 per cent win ratio after a quarter of the season is something to build on, even though considerable improvement will be required to get anywhere near finals football. — NZ Herald