By @KeithSheldon
Yeah I am late, blame the University assignment for that. If this preview seems rushed, well that is because it is.
So we lost last week, but on the bright side I finally got a tip right!!!!!! In all seriousness though the loss last week generated mixed emotions from me. We did a hell of a lot better than I thought we would. Koroisau and Walker were both very impressive running halves last week, our forward pack dominated theirs for 60 minutes and Matai and Taufua improved a lot from their early season form. Trouble is, we really should have won and would have if we had a kicking game and/or not trash last tackle options. The best kick we had last night was put in by Vave, which is kinda tragic. I am happy with the fight we put up, but disappointed that we didn’t win. But now we go the New Zealand, after a decent 9 day rest to battle the Warriors.
Well the Warriors made it 2 in a row last week, edging out the Roosters in an absolutely nail-biting finish. It wasn’t the most technically amazing game I have seen, but it was very entertaining. That game just sums up why I think extra time should only be ended by a Try and not a field goal. The Warriors have now claimed victory over the 15th and 16th place Knights and Roosters, and are now trying to make it 3 in a row. I know it was against the Roosters, but the Warriors are looking like they are firing offensively, with RTS, SJ and Luke finally waking up and actually doing stuff. We really are up against them at a bit of an inconvenient time.
Team Lists:
The New Zealand Warriors:
1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
2. Tuimoala Lolohea
3. Blake Ayshford
4. Solomone Kata
5. Jonathan Wright
6. Shaun Johnson
7. Jeff Robson
8. Jacob Lillyman
9. Issac Luke
10. Ben Matulino
11. Simon Mannering
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Sam Lisone
14. Jazz Tevaga
15. Albert Vete
16. Charlie Gubb
17. Konrad Hurrell
18. Thomas Leuluai
The Manly Sea Eagles:
1. Brett Stewart
2. Jorge Taufua
3. Jamie Lyon
4. Steve Matai
5. Tom Trbojevic
6. Dylan Walker
7. Apisai Koroisau
8. Josh Starling
9. Matt Parcell
10. Nate Myles
11. Tom Symonds
12. Martin Taupau
13. Jake Trbojevic
14. Lewis Brown
15. Brenton Lawrence
16. Darcy Lussick
17. Siosaia Vave
18. Blake Leary
19. Luke Burgess
Josh Starling returns to the starting prop after his impressive performance last week for Brenton Lawrence, whilst Mateo has been dropped to make room for Tom Symonds who returns just in time to break Shaun Johnson’s leg again. The return of Jake Trbojevic also pushed Darcy Lussick onto the extended bench. The fact that we have an 18th and 19th man tells me that there are still some injury questions in the squad.
For the Warriors, Leuluai has been named in the for the first time in about 11 months since being injured, and is rumoured to start on the bench ahead of Jazz Tevaga.
Analysis:
This Warriors outfit is ridiculously stacked on paper. RTS last year was the form fullback of the competition, and after a meh start to 2016 he has been in very good form as of the last two games. In fact he led the game for running metres last year. Meanwhile Brett Stewart is a living legend, but in terms of speed and power he is completely outclassed by RTS. However he is still one of the best playmaking fullbacks in the game, and completely blasts RTS off of the park in this department, also unlike RTS he isn’t a turnstile in defence, which is nice. His game against the Rabbitohs was less than spectacular so Brett Stewart is really going to have to step up, especially if RTS plays as well as he did last week. Also fun fact, Brett Stewart hasn’t lost a game against the Warriors in his entire career.
Shaun Johnson is one of the most overrated players in the game. He is an insane talent sure, but he is less consistent than an order of chips at McDonalds. When effort goes into his games he looks like an incredible talent, but just like so many of the Warriors players, he goes missing all the damn time. However he is in form now… but he flickers in and out of it so much it means nothing really. Then we get to Jeff Robson, who is a sham of a playmaker. Keep a count of how many times he makes an error in an attacking position in our game today. His drop ball tally will be similar to Zorba’s ‘pies consumed during the game’ tally. However our halves…. well this is tricky. Koroisau had a very good game as a running five-eighth last week but he didn’t provide any last tackle options, which we needed with Walker being paired alongside him. Speaking off, Dylan Walker is literally just a third centre for us. Granted he is playing very well, however sides don’t run more than 2 centres for a reason. His passing game is just not good enough and his kicking game is terrible. I honestly think when DCE comes back Api needs to stay in first grade as a half, and one of Matai and Lyon need to be dropped. I hate thinking this because Lyon and Matai are living legends for this club but I just don’t think they are up to snuff anymore, especially when we have Dylan Walker.
Just like RTS and Shaun Johnson, Isaac Luke is showing signs of form after a lacklustre start to the season. It is just our luck to face the Warriors when all of their underperformers start to find form isn’t it? Luke is a hothead, with average service from dummy half. However he is the best Hooker in the game at exposing and taking advantage off of dodgy markers, meaning our markers need to be on their toes. However, as great as Luke is I honestly think Matt Parcell is a year or two away from being the best dummy half in the game. This is his fourth game as a starting dummy half and he is so explosive in the ruck. The way he gets our forwards on the front foot and his well-timed darts from dummy half are what you would expect of a seasoned player, not a guy playing his fourth starting dummy half game on Saturday. Luke may be dangerous, but I would rather have Parcell on my team any day of the week.
I think the Warriors have us on props. Ben Matulino is in career best form, Jacob Lillyman is a very decent first grade prop whilst both Vete and Gubb are very good young players. Meanwhile we have Nate ‘old man lowering himself into the bath’ Myles, Starling a bog standard player, Lawrence who is admittedly playing well, Vave who is also in decent form and Lussick who fades out of games at times. I think our bench is kinda equal in the prop department, but they have the advantage on us in terms of starters.
To contrast though, I think our second row is slightly better than theirs. Yes they have Simon Mannering, but he is much more effective as a Lock playing in the middle since his strength is tackling, he is certainly no edge runner. Meanwhile Ryan Hoffman is past it and fades in and out of games these days, whilst Lisone is a meh player and Hurrell is a centre with crap hands that is still adjusting to the forward pack. The second row of the Warriors is just really overhyped, especially whilst they are missing Bodene Thompson. Meanwhile Taupau is in career best form and has huge impact on the edges, Tom Symonds is a rather underrated player and Lewis Brown is an honest sort of utility player. Then we get to Jake Trbojevic, who is one of the best Locks in the game with many believing him to be the best young forward in the game and I agree with that sentiment.
Before I talk about the backs I have to ask why the hell Lolohea is on the wing. The guy is an immense talent that needs to be a half, but he is being wasted on the wing to fit in room for a plodder like Jeff Robson. He isn’t a winger wholly crap McFadden, no wonder everyone wants you fired. Anyway, apart from Lolohea the Warriors have very slim pickings in terms of backs. Kata is a good player to be fair, he runs hard, he tackles hard and reminds me a little bit of a young Steve Matai. However I think he has more tries scored than balls passed, he is a bit of a ball hog to say the least. Meanwhile Ayshford and Wright are both horrible players. They are ‘safe’, which is the most back handed compliment you can give a player in my opinion. This means that they are just disgustingly average and offer nothing in attack and are only acceptable in defence. Meanwhile Tommy Turbo is one of the form wingers of the game, Jorge Taufua is coming off of a good performance whilst Matai and Lyon…………. well they are better than Wright and Ayshford, which is the second most back-handed compliment I can give a player. To be fair Matai was alright last week but……. well they need to step the hell up.
Last week we were pathetic for 20 minutes, and very good for 60. We have done this a fair amount this year, where our attack and defence have switched on and off at seemingly arbitrary times. We need to sort this stuff out and play like the team I know we can be for 80 minutes. I know this sounds pretty obvious but I feel I need to stress this anyway, especially with DCE out.
I swear to god Api, Walker and Parcell better have gotten a crash course in kicking and last tackle options this week at training, because we need improvements from them in this department. I also think Jamie Lyon needs to come into the field on the 5th tackle to do some of the kicking. He spent about two and a half years playing for us in the halves, so he needs to take charge in the playmaking department.
It is pretty common knowledge, the Warriors are less consistent on the footy field than Keith Sheldon is in bed, which is already embarrassingly inconsistent. One week they will play like everything they touch turns to gold, other weeks it looks like they got tips on how to attack from the Dragons. This makes writing these previews really hard, since I don’t know what to expect at all from them really. However one thing about them is consistent, and that is that their defence sucks. They just seem too lazy to put in an 80 minute defensive effort, which was shown by how good plodding teams like the Roosters and Knights looked against them offensively at times.
Conclusion:
Well, considering I was right about the result last week I can go back to tipping Manly if I think they are gonna win. And guess what? I think we will snatch this one. The Warriors have beaten the 15th and 16th placed team on the ladder, which doesn’t exactly make an impressive form line. On paper they may outclass us in the prop and (arguably) fullback department, but we are equal or better than them in all other areas of the field, and for some reason I get this feeling we will win this. Hoodoos exist for a reason, I just can’t see Brett Stewart losing a game against the Warriors in his career, even without DCE. Besides Tom Symonds is playing again, so he will probably end up breaking Johnson’s leg 20 minutes into the game again. I predict Manly will win by 14 points, and I will go two in a row on the successful prediction front.
Yeah I am late, blame the University assignment for that. If this preview seems rushed, well that is because it is.
So we lost last week, but on the bright side I finally got a tip right!!!!!! In all seriousness though the loss last week generated mixed emotions from me. We did a hell of a lot better than I thought we would. Koroisau and Walker were both very impressive running halves last week, our forward pack dominated theirs for 60 minutes and Matai and Taufua improved a lot from their early season form. Trouble is, we really should have won and would have if we had a kicking game and/or not trash last tackle options. The best kick we had last night was put in by Vave, which is kinda tragic. I am happy with the fight we put up, but disappointed that we didn’t win. But now we go the New Zealand, after a decent 9 day rest to battle the Warriors.
Well the Warriors made it 2 in a row last week, edging out the Roosters in an absolutely nail-biting finish. It wasn’t the most technically amazing game I have seen, but it was very entertaining. That game just sums up why I think extra time should only be ended by a Try and not a field goal. The Warriors have now claimed victory over the 15th and 16th place Knights and Roosters, and are now trying to make it 3 in a row. I know it was against the Roosters, but the Warriors are looking like they are firing offensively, with RTS, SJ and Luke finally waking up and actually doing stuff. We really are up against them at a bit of an inconvenient time.
Team Lists:
The New Zealand Warriors:
1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
2. Tuimoala Lolohea
3. Blake Ayshford
4. Solomone Kata
5. Jonathan Wright
6. Shaun Johnson
7. Jeff Robson
8. Jacob Lillyman
9. Issac Luke
10. Ben Matulino
11. Simon Mannering
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Sam Lisone
14. Jazz Tevaga
15. Albert Vete
16. Charlie Gubb
17. Konrad Hurrell
18. Thomas Leuluai
The Manly Sea Eagles:
1. Brett Stewart
2. Jorge Taufua
3. Jamie Lyon
4. Steve Matai
5. Tom Trbojevic
6. Dylan Walker
7. Apisai Koroisau
8. Josh Starling
9. Matt Parcell
10. Nate Myles
11. Tom Symonds
12. Martin Taupau
13. Jake Trbojevic
14. Lewis Brown
15. Brenton Lawrence
16. Darcy Lussick
17. Siosaia Vave
18. Blake Leary
19. Luke Burgess
Josh Starling returns to the starting prop after his impressive performance last week for Brenton Lawrence, whilst Mateo has been dropped to make room for Tom Symonds who returns just in time to break Shaun Johnson’s leg again. The return of Jake Trbojevic also pushed Darcy Lussick onto the extended bench. The fact that we have an 18th and 19th man tells me that there are still some injury questions in the squad.
For the Warriors, Leuluai has been named in the for the first time in about 11 months since being injured, and is rumoured to start on the bench ahead of Jazz Tevaga.
Analysis:
This Warriors outfit is ridiculously stacked on paper. RTS last year was the form fullback of the competition, and after a meh start to 2016 he has been in very good form as of the last two games. In fact he led the game for running metres last year. Meanwhile Brett Stewart is a living legend, but in terms of speed and power he is completely outclassed by RTS. However he is still one of the best playmaking fullbacks in the game, and completely blasts RTS off of the park in this department, also unlike RTS he isn’t a turnstile in defence, which is nice. His game against the Rabbitohs was less than spectacular so Brett Stewart is really going to have to step up, especially if RTS plays as well as he did last week. Also fun fact, Brett Stewart hasn’t lost a game against the Warriors in his entire career.
Shaun Johnson is one of the most overrated players in the game. He is an insane talent sure, but he is less consistent than an order of chips at McDonalds. When effort goes into his games he looks like an incredible talent, but just like so many of the Warriors players, he goes missing all the damn time. However he is in form now… but he flickers in and out of it so much it means nothing really. Then we get to Jeff Robson, who is a sham of a playmaker. Keep a count of how many times he makes an error in an attacking position in our game today. His drop ball tally will be similar to Zorba’s ‘pies consumed during the game’ tally. However our halves…. well this is tricky. Koroisau had a very good game as a running five-eighth last week but he didn’t provide any last tackle options, which we needed with Walker being paired alongside him. Speaking off, Dylan Walker is literally just a third centre for us. Granted he is playing very well, however sides don’t run more than 2 centres for a reason. His passing game is just not good enough and his kicking game is terrible. I honestly think when DCE comes back Api needs to stay in first grade as a half, and one of Matai and Lyon need to be dropped. I hate thinking this because Lyon and Matai are living legends for this club but I just don’t think they are up to snuff anymore, especially when we have Dylan Walker.
Just like RTS and Shaun Johnson, Isaac Luke is showing signs of form after a lacklustre start to the season. It is just our luck to face the Warriors when all of their underperformers start to find form isn’t it? Luke is a hothead, with average service from dummy half. However he is the best Hooker in the game at exposing and taking advantage off of dodgy markers, meaning our markers need to be on their toes. However, as great as Luke is I honestly think Matt Parcell is a year or two away from being the best dummy half in the game. This is his fourth game as a starting dummy half and he is so explosive in the ruck. The way he gets our forwards on the front foot and his well-timed darts from dummy half are what you would expect of a seasoned player, not a guy playing his fourth starting dummy half game on Saturday. Luke may be dangerous, but I would rather have Parcell on my team any day of the week.
I think the Warriors have us on props. Ben Matulino is in career best form, Jacob Lillyman is a very decent first grade prop whilst both Vete and Gubb are very good young players. Meanwhile we have Nate ‘old man lowering himself into the bath’ Myles, Starling a bog standard player, Lawrence who is admittedly playing well, Vave who is also in decent form and Lussick who fades out of games at times. I think our bench is kinda equal in the prop department, but they have the advantage on us in terms of starters.
To contrast though, I think our second row is slightly better than theirs. Yes they have Simon Mannering, but he is much more effective as a Lock playing in the middle since his strength is tackling, he is certainly no edge runner. Meanwhile Ryan Hoffman is past it and fades in and out of games these days, whilst Lisone is a meh player and Hurrell is a centre with crap hands that is still adjusting to the forward pack. The second row of the Warriors is just really overhyped, especially whilst they are missing Bodene Thompson. Meanwhile Taupau is in career best form and has huge impact on the edges, Tom Symonds is a rather underrated player and Lewis Brown is an honest sort of utility player. Then we get to Jake Trbojevic, who is one of the best Locks in the game with many believing him to be the best young forward in the game and I agree with that sentiment.
Before I talk about the backs I have to ask why the hell Lolohea is on the wing. The guy is an immense talent that needs to be a half, but he is being wasted on the wing to fit in room for a plodder like Jeff Robson. He isn’t a winger wholly crap McFadden, no wonder everyone wants you fired. Anyway, apart from Lolohea the Warriors have very slim pickings in terms of backs. Kata is a good player to be fair, he runs hard, he tackles hard and reminds me a little bit of a young Steve Matai. However I think he has more tries scored than balls passed, he is a bit of a ball hog to say the least. Meanwhile Ayshford and Wright are both horrible players. They are ‘safe’, which is the most back handed compliment you can give a player in my opinion. This means that they are just disgustingly average and offer nothing in attack and are only acceptable in defence. Meanwhile Tommy Turbo is one of the form wingers of the game, Jorge Taufua is coming off of a good performance whilst Matai and Lyon…………. well they are better than Wright and Ayshford, which is the second most back-handed compliment I can give a player. To be fair Matai was alright last week but……. well they need to step the hell up.
Last week we were pathetic for 20 minutes, and very good for 60. We have done this a fair amount this year, where our attack and defence have switched on and off at seemingly arbitrary times. We need to sort this stuff out and play like the team I know we can be for 80 minutes. I know this sounds pretty obvious but I feel I need to stress this anyway, especially with DCE out.
I swear to god Api, Walker and Parcell better have gotten a crash course in kicking and last tackle options this week at training, because we need improvements from them in this department. I also think Jamie Lyon needs to come into the field on the 5th tackle to do some of the kicking. He spent about two and a half years playing for us in the halves, so he needs to take charge in the playmaking department.
It is pretty common knowledge, the Warriors are less consistent on the footy field than Keith Sheldon is in bed, which is already embarrassingly inconsistent. One week they will play like everything they touch turns to gold, other weeks it looks like they got tips on how to attack from the Dragons. This makes writing these previews really hard, since I don’t know what to expect at all from them really. However one thing about them is consistent, and that is that their defence sucks. They just seem too lazy to put in an 80 minute defensive effort, which was shown by how good plodding teams like the Roosters and Knights looked against them offensively at times.
Conclusion:
Well, considering I was right about the result last week I can go back to tipping Manly if I think they are gonna win. And guess what? I think we will snatch this one. The Warriors have beaten the 15th and 16th placed team on the ladder, which doesn’t exactly make an impressive form line. On paper they may outclass us in the prop and (arguably) fullback department, but we are equal or better than them in all other areas of the field, and for some reason I get this feeling we will win this. Hoodoos exist for a reason, I just can’t see Brett Stewart losing a game against the Warriors in his career, even without DCE. Besides Tom Symonds is playing again, so he will probably end up breaking Johnson’s leg 20 minutes into the game again. I predict Manly will win by 14 points, and I will go two in a row on the successful prediction front.
