Stacey Jones predicts try feast for fullback Walsh
The Warriors legend tells David Long he’s been working with Walsh on his positioning, to improve his combination with Shaun Johnson.
Warriors great Stacey Jones is confident the tries will start coming for Reece Walsh, but acknowledges that his combination with Shaun Johnson is still a work in progress.
The Warriors star fullback is yet to score a try this season as teams have locked down the opportunities he gets to run the ball with space.
On Thursday the 19-year-old Walsh says he feels he’s not playing as well as he could this season but Jones, an assistant coach at the club, is confident the tries will come.
‘‘Reece is still working out how to get himself in the right position where he can best get the ball with his attacking threats, because we know every time he touches the ball he’s a threat,’’ Jones said.
‘‘Just because he’s not scoring a lot of tries, he is definitely asking questions of the defence, wherever he puts himself.
‘‘If you’re watching us, you’re going to try to put your defensive focus where Reece goes.
‘‘We’re trying to work that out with him and Shaun, with what the best place for him to be is.
‘‘Reece has had a massive focus on his defence, because that’s so important with the fullback’s role now, getting the right numbers and being in the right spot.
‘‘There are definitely parts of his attacking game that he can improve on and sometimes that will come with a bit more experience, but he’ll certainly score some tries this year and he is going to get himself in the right spot.’’
Today’s game against the Sharks will be the second at the club for five-eighth Daejarn Asi.
The 21-year-old from Christchurch had a stunning club debut last weekend, setting up a couple of tries in the 21-20 win over the Raiders.
Asi had only been with the Warriors a few days before that game and although he’s had more time to know the players around him since then, Jones says they’re still looking to keep things simple for him.
‘‘We’ve kept things very similar,’’ Jones said.
‘‘With Shaun’s experience and as a ball player and organiser on the field, we’ll let Daejarn do his thing.
‘‘Obviously we’ll give him a bit more, but not a hell of a lot more.
‘‘He’s getting a good combination, a bit like what Chanel (Harris-Tavita) had with Euan Aitken and he’s working out stuff with Reece, but we haven’t changed a lot with his role, he’s just getting a bit more comfortable knowing the players.’’
The Warriors’ coaches knew Asi had potential to play well in the NRL, but it did come as a pleasant surprise just how good he was and Jones says the club’s recruitment manager, Craig Hodges, deserves credit for picking him up from the Cowboys for the remainder of the season.
‘‘He was very good, he had played 10 NRL games, so had got a good feel for it,’’ Jones said.
‘‘The Cowboys’ halves stocks are pretty good, but it was a good coup for Craig to spot him and see a kid who’s not getting a lot of football.
‘‘The big thing for us was what happened with Ash Taylor (injured) and it was playing on the club’s mind a wee bit with where he was at.
‘‘It just worked out perfect timing for him to come and join us when Chanel got injured.’’
In the build-up to today’s game a lot has been made about how the Warriors will handle the Sharks wrecking ball centre Siosifa Talakai.
Against the Sea Eagles in round seven he destroyed Morgan Harper on their right edge, scoring a couple of tries in the first half.
But against the Broncos last week, Kotoni Staggs got the better of him and Jones says they took a lot out of how the Brisbane centre played.
‘‘What Kotoni Staggs did against him showed that they had a very clear game plan,’’ he said.
‘‘What he did the week before against Manly was an effort that you’d go a long time before seeing again.
‘‘But the Broncos and Kotoni in particular, showed how you can deal with Talakai and that’s taking away his time. With any good player, you’ve got to take away their time.
‘‘He’s very similar to a player we had at out club a few years ago, in Konrad Hurrell and we all remember how devastating he could be on his day.
‘‘If you give Talakai time and space he’s going to hurt you, so we’ve got to make sure our defensive line is moving up quick on players like him.
‘‘But he’s not the only one, they’ve got a handy fullback (William Kennedy) who does the same and is dangerous and they’ve also got two wingers (Sione Katoa and Ronaldo Mulitalo) that have the most line-breaks in the competition.
‘‘So they’re a very dangerous team out wide.’’