New Zealand Warriors

Returning Troops a mixed blessing

2010-07-15T03:21:00.002Z

Tate, Hohaia, Seymour and Locke are all fit to play against the Storm Saturday night. This is good news but is almost a disaster because they have to shift Ropati out of fullback and Brown back in to the second row when they have both played so well at fullback and centre respectively. Moon, Tupou (hand injury) and John (knee injury) dropped.

Sad to see Isaac John lost for the season as he has been something of a revelation but its great to have the experience of Seymour back in the side to partner Maloney.

The return of Tate, Locke and Hohaia I am just not sure about. Yes they are all quality experienced starters but we have to weigh that against the disruption to what has been a winning unit caused by their return. Cleary knows what he is doing however and there were some tired players after last weeks heroics so we have to bank that the freshness of the returning senior players can galvanise the side to lift against what will be a very challenging Storm side.

Am looking forward to the Storm game Saturday where I will be joining the Wellington Warrior at Mt Smart once more. My only worry is that the TAB has placed the Warriors as favourites for this match. That is never a good sign. Particularly when this is a full strength Storm side who smashed us last time we played them. We have to hope that pyshologically the Storm just aren't up for this game which will be played in the cold and wet at Mt Smart (forecast is rain for game time again).

I would say right now Maloney and Lewis Brown are battling for Warriors player of the year honours.

In transfer news it looks like Matai is keen to join the Warriors for next season so that should give us even more depth.

Everything is looking bright for the Warriors. Only problem is that it is at times like these that the wheels have in the past come off. Lets hope thats not the case this week!

Awesome defensive win

2010-07-11T09:08:00.003Z

Well that was a big time win for the Warriors. With the ref putting them under seemingly endless repeat sets in their own red zone for the entire second half they managed to keep Penrith out. Nice work and its one win closer to the playoffs. With this kind of form we can start thinking about finishing in the top 6.

This setup with Brown in the centres and Ropati at the back is producing some great performances and some big wins. Isaac John looks like he may have a knee injury which should hopefully be covered by Seymour's return. As for Hohaia, I don't know if he is a starter right now, even if fit.

Great trio of wins for the Warriors now the run home

2010-07-10T20:31:00.002Z

So three nice wins in a row for the Warriors. The most recent an awesome performance smashing of the Eels at Mt Smart in the pouring rain. I was there to watch and although I really like the view from the lower eastern its not much fun to sit in the continuous rain and cold for three hours.

I like Lewis Brown in the centres. I think he is a good option there to produce line breaks with his speed and power. He can also rotate into the middle for hit ups when required. There is alot of interchangeability developing in the squad. Born out of necessity due to the horrible run of injuries the team has suffered. When will Seymour return?

Anyway the Herald is pegging 30 pts as the cut off for the playoffs. I tend to think with the Storm out of the equation 28 points would be enough. Mid round we sit on 20 points. So either way we need 4 or 5 games out a remaining nine. Looking back on my earlier post 12 games out about the run home we have managed to win all three of our games so far. Nice. So the remaining games look like this:

Round 18 - Panthers - 2nd - (a)

Round 19 - Storm - 16th (=about 4th) -(h)

Round 20 - Rabbitohs - 7th - (a)

Round 21 - Titans - 5th - (h)

Round 22 - Sharks - 14th - (a)

Round 23 - Knights - 12th - (h)

Round 24 - Sea Eagles - 6th - (a)

Round 25 - Broncoes - 8th- (h)

Round 26 - Eels - 11th - (a)

This is looking feasible. We only have to win half or just over half our games. Sharks, Knights and Eels should be automatic wins if we are half way serious about a playoff run and can maintain consistency in our form with players returning from injury to inject some added firepower.

So thats leaves us looking for one or two more wins to lock in the playoffs. Today would be a great game if we could pick up a win it would put us into really serious contention. However its likely no more than a 50/50 proposition at best. I do think we can win two out of our four games v the Rabs, Titans, Sea Eagles and Broncoes. Any two will do.

I think the great thing about this years comp for the Warriors is none of the teams look that scary. The Storm on their day are terminators, but we don't have to worry about them this year. So that leaves what to my mind are marginal contenders in the likes of the Dragons, Panthers and Sea Eagles. If our squad was fit I think we are good enough to join a top four with those three teams. Other teams have had their moments, in particular Souths and the Tigers but none have really established consistency. This is the time of the season to do it and without wanting to get too excited if we play our cards right we could be this seasons Eels.

Warriors Bye - Great week for the All Whites

2010-06-19T10:46:00.002Z

Well no Warriors this week. Great week for the All Whites drawing with Slovakia. England are not going to get out of their group they are so bad. And the Lakers won the NBA title. Again. However one thing I do like about the Lakers is Ron Artest. You have to love that psycho. Check out his post game press conference. Bro nice work to thank your psychiatrist in your postgame interview.

Great win for the Warriors after tight game in Newcastle

2010-06-13T06:28:00.005Z

Nice work on the win tonight. Warriors squeaking home 32-24 over the Knights in Newcastle. Maloney, Vatuvei and Moon all putting in strong performances. Maloney kicked six from six goals which is sweet. However without wanting to cut him down unnecessarily many of those shots were from straight out in front.

Some shocking errors and ghastly defensive lapses made this game alot closer than it needed to be. Locke is turning into a major defensive liability. With that said the Knights looked good on attack on the wing but pretty poor throughout most other facets of the game.

Andrew Johns - OMG- how many PR howlers can the Johns brothers generate in one lifetime? These guys are a shocker on so many levels. How do you reconcile Joeys talent for the game with his drug abuse and racism? Its not a good look for a game under pressure when one of the arguably greatest players ever and a massive media star has so little perception of how to behave in a public setting. Origin is intensively competitive but lets retain some self respect people.

This win basically keeps the Warriors alive in the competition. A bye this week and then they need six wins from eleven remaining games - starting with the Roosters in Christchurch. This is a nominal away game so lets hope the Cantabs can turn on a good home crowd atmosphere for the Warriors.

Am looking forward to the first of the All Whites games this week - should be alot of fun. As for England v USA - a good game to watch but England looking typically subdued and vulnerable. They have the talent - they just don't know how to combine it to deliver strong performances consistently. Capello is a great coach so I am hopeful of improvement. As for Robert Green - his name will live in infamy after one of the worst goal keeping errors of all time in a World Cup match.

Oh and cheers for the candid Queensland origin squad photos Ali - keep up the good work.

Bros Icing Bros

2010-06-10T08:49:00.003Z

I don't much like Smirnoff Ice, but I do like this game. Nice post on the NY times about it here. I want to see more of this in Auckland.

As for Warriors v Knights- I think its pretty even match up but the TAB has the boys as long dogs. Guess its the second string halves combination and the absence of Tate. However the Warriors need the win pretty bad.

Its hard to retain focus on the NRL with the World Cup kicking off this weekend but more sport is good.

Second half of the season

2010-06-07T07:37:00.003Z

Good game vs St George in dire rainy conditions. A really strong effort from the boys but just too much dropped ball against a pretty classy side. Pity about the result and a pity about Tate's jaw putting him out for the season. So we face the remainder of the season, and next season, without Tate and Price.

Vatuvei came through the game fit and Mannering is fit and solid. So this is good news. Isaac John put in a good performance and Seymour will be fit and back in the side eventually. I am banking on Seymour returning in time for the Warriors v Eels on 4 July (round 17) - when I will be in attendance at Mt Smart once again. Lets hope the weather is a bit better then.

Before then we have to face the Knights away next up (rnd 14) followed by a bye week (round 15) and then the Roosters away (round 16). Right now we sit 11th - 2pts outside the eight with one game left in the round).

So with only 12 games left to play - lets have a quick look ahead to the countdown to oblivion. I estimate that with the storm out of the picture this year we need only at least 28 points to make the playoffs. Right now we have 12 points with a bye in hand - so that will give us 14 points. So we need a further 14 points, or seven wins at least out of our last 12 games - to make the playoffs.

Our run home looks like this (table positions are as of right now with one game left in the round):

Round 14 - Knights - 12th - (a)

Round 15 - bye

Round 16 - Roosters - 9th - (a)

Round 17 - Eels - 8th - (h)

Round 18 - Panthers - 2nd - (a)

Round 19 - Storm - 16th (=1st) -(h)

Round 20 - Rabbitohs - 6th - (a)

Round 21 - Titans - 5th - (h)

Round 22 - Sharks - 13th - (a)

Round 23 - Knights - 12th - (h)

Round 24 - Sea Eagles - 3rd - (a)

Round 25 - Broncoes - 7th- (h)

Round 26 - Eels - 8th - (a)

So of all these teams only the Knights and Sharks are placed lower than us in the table. Fortunately we get to play the Knights twice. So we have to beat them both times to stand a chance. We also likely have to beat the Roosters so we need our next two games to be wins.

So lets say we can beat the Knights twice, and get wins against the Sharks and Roosters, thats four wins in hand - we need to find three more - looks tough as we have to play the improving Eels twice as well as the 2nd place Panthers, the 3rd place Sea Eagles, 5th place Titans and the Storm, again.

I would say Broncoes and Rabbits are winnable - so that means we need at least one more win and Titans at home is where I am going to hang my hat. Although splitting our games with the Eels would also help.

Dragons are a scary prospect

2010-06-03T02:33:00.002Z

I am very worried about the Warriors prospects this weekend. Seymour will not be playing and will be out another 4 weeks with a minor fracture. This means we will be starting Maloney and Isaac John in the halves up against the best team in the competition. This is far from ideal.

On the flip side Mannering, Luck and Vatuvei will all start. This should give us some hope.

Considering the pulverisation the team received last week at the hands of the Tigers I am keeping my expectations extremely low.

New look Warriors side next year

2010-05-29T20:08:00.003Z

Well that loss to the Tigers was so bad I am going to pretend that it didn't happen. Seymour's injury is apparently not serious (knee bruise) so hopefully next week we will have Maloney and Seymour both starting and we need the direction. We also need Vatuvei back pretty desperately to add some strike power.

I don't think this season is a total write off yet but its starting to look like the end of an era at the Warriors. Price will be retired next season. Wade Mac has been sold. Tate is unlikely to re-sign with the Warriors as he wants to go back to Queensland.

This article discusses what kind of a hole this leaves in the Warriors team. In fact with the acquisition of Inu and Mateo - the Warriors have adequate cover at centre, prop and fullback.

So what to do with the gaping space in our salary cap. Acquire a megastar seems to be the undercurrent - a game breaking hooker for example. The fact the Storm are going to have to carry out a dramatic financial restructure means there may be some mega talent on the market and the Warriors are one of the few teams with the legitimate cap space (there will be more scrutiny next year after the Storm experience) to spend big. Names being suggested include Inglis and Cam Smith.

This article from the SMH touches on the same issues - with Melbourne Storm hardman Brett White being the name in the frame for the Warriors.

In addition apparently Price's heel situation continues to be so bad he is seeking second medical opinions from overseas specialists in a last ditch attempt to get on the field this year.

So what could a 2011 Warriors side look like - presuming no injuries. Lets start by assuming that they sign no one further.

1. Hohaia

2. Vatuvei

3. Ropati

4. Locke

5. Inu

6. Maloney

7. Seymour

8. Rapira

9. Packer

10. Heremaia

11.Mannering

12. Mateo

13. Luck

14. Lillyman

15. Henderson

16. Ta'ai

17. Brown

And we actually have even more depth beyond this already. With the addition of a $400k plus megastar (Cam Smith anybody?) - this team could have serious potential in 2011 if it stays healthy.

Real world issues

2010-05-19T09:46:00.002Z

Seymour returns and Warriors win strong at home

2010-05-15T23:37:00.006Z

Great win for the Warriors last night to halt the slide towards oblivion.

Watching those three losses in a row was hard to take. Injuries played there part with Seymour, Price, Mannering and Vatuvei missing - but the balance of the squad had some really bad performances. I have said it before and I will say it again - I don't mind losing. If I did, supporting the Warriors would be unbearable. But what I cannot accept and what this franchise should not accept from its players is utter and total capitulation. Those losses against the Storm, Panthers and Raiders were a progressive descent down the tubes with each loss worse than the last. This decline must be arrested as soon as possible and last night the signs were there that this ship can be turned around.

My guess is Price will not play at all this season. He might make a late season cameo or even suddenly become available for the playoffs but basically the team is going to have to manage without him. Mannering is due back next week but his injury must be pretty serious when you consider he basically has been out since incurring the injury eight weeks before round 1 (thats 18 weeks of recovery time and he is only now available?). Vatuvei limps off again last night and his injury looks bad as well. M and V may be both out for the bulk of the season at this rate.

So we are left with Seymour to provide leadership and direction to what has been looking a rudderless squad. And last night he showed that he can be that guy with the Warriors looking much more assured generally, taking a calmer less helter skelter approach and much better last tackle options.

Maloney looked much more comfortable partnering Seymour than having to manage the playmaking and kicking duties on his own.

My favourite player of the last few rounds and putting in another sterling performance last night - Ukama Tai. He is Mr Effective for the Warriors forward pack at present. Much improved performance by Locke as well and I thought Ropati also made a big contribution.

Interesting stories out there re Wade Mac. He has been dropped to reserve grade for the last two weeks. I still think he is probably worthy of the bench and he provides useful cover should yet more injuries in the back line occur. But he has clearly lost his spark after knee surgery. He is not the same player he was. Interestingly it appears Wade Mac and Price are two of the Warriors highest paid players. Price is going and if Wade Mac were to go as well this would leave a lot of cap open.

This brings me to the signings of Mateo and Inu. Both these players have the reputation of being freakishly talented but lacking in the hard work and application department. Cleary has to know this already and if he can draw the best out of them - these are fantastic additions to the squad. On the other hand the Warriors is a bad place to be for those who are less than true believers in the cause. Psychological fragility is this clubs calling card. We need players who work hard and never take a game off. Campion, Price, and Cleary are all examples of this. Toopi, Lau'atiti and Sione Faumuaina are all examples of fantastically talented players at the Warriors who just weren't mentally committed all the time for the good of the team. Sometimes these guys looked like they would rather be somewhere else. This is a culture and a mental outlook that needs to be ruthlessly avoided and I will be watching Mateo and Inu closely to see what their work ethic is like next year before I put my hopes on them being the saviours of the franchise.

And finally Lebron James James James James James. Another exit from the NBA playoffs. This time in pathetic fashion after the Cavs have been the NBAs dominant team for the entire season. Not good enough. Some serious soul searching is required. Iverson, Malone, Barkley, Ewing, Stockton - these were all great players. But no rings means they cannot hope to approach the status of Jordan/Kobe/Magic. Lebron needs to perform when it counts. You can't blame it all on him - after all its a team game. The organisation he chooses to join at this juncture of free agency needs to be structured around him to produce a winning unit. But the kind of capitulation we saw this week is unacceptable by the standards of performance he has demonstrated himself capable of many times before. Lebron has to ask himself - can he accept being just a super talented player but an overall loser like Tmac - or does he want to join the pantheon of the greatest of all time.

BOOM!

2010-04-22T08:50:00.004Z

Yes that is the sound of the the Melbourne Storm imploding. Stripped of their 2007 and 2009 titles and basically disqualified from the 2010 season. These guys are screwed after systematically scheming to bypass the salary cap for years.

To cap it off we will be playing them this weekend. Unscripted drama. It surely cannot hurt the Warriors chances.

In other news Clinton "toops" Toopi has made the starting lineup for the Titans. But sorry toops you are way overshadowed by the most explosive penalty ever handed out for salary cap rorts.

Bye bye Storm your franchise is finished for the foreseeable future.

And if all that is not enough shocking news for you - Eric Watson has broken his back whilst ski-ing in Switzerland. He is apparently alive, not paralysed and should make a full recovery.

Injury crisis continues - Locke dropped

2010-04-21T09:02:00.001Z

Well this injury crisis is like a cloud of volcanic ash that just
keeps on hanging around. When will we ever get to start Price,
Mannering, Vatuvei and Seymour at the same time. Luck and Ropati are
back but thats cold comfort as we head towards the storm. Locke has
been dropped, and lets face it he has been pretty poor the last few
weeks. At a minimum we need to be tough in defence. Its the only way
this team can survive right now.

Abysmal, ghastly, dire and embarrassing

2010-04-18T04:26:00.002Z

Welcome back to the future. Penrith 40, Warriors 12 - at Mt Smart. The Yo yo Warriors are back in town. How bad was that performance? Well lets put it this way, Penrith did not even have to play that well to be up 22 nil inside of 20 minutes.

Too much dropped ball. Too many stupid mistakes. Too many poor last play options. Too many missed tackles. Not enough pride. You can't pin this on one player. This is the pent up result of all the top stars having been out for so many weeks. Its just not good enough. We need to some leadership back in the side asap.

Second half there were hints of a fight back but that got snuffed out pretty quickly.

The only good thing that happened today was Man U beating City to crawl back into the premier league title race after Chelsea's surprise loss to Spurs.

Falling behind in a great season

2010-04-13T09:49:00.005Z

Hey guys sorry I have been falling behind on the blog. We just moved house and the broadband only just got activated after almost 3 weeks! A real pain but at least now I am back online and MySky is in effect so its all good from here on in.

And how good is this Warriors season shaping up to be. I note the disappointing loss to Manly - which I attended at Mt Smart. Good fun and really tight game. An arm wrestle. Lack of strike power was notable in the absence of Vatuvei. Tupou showed promise but he is not the finished article just yet. I sat in the Western stand and it was pretty cool but I think I like the Eastern stand better. Let me know your thoughts.

As for the game vs the Dogs - my goodness the NRL and the Warriors in particular deliver an entertaining product sometimes. What more could you ask for than tied at 24 in the final minute with a miracle try off a Lewis Brown kick to win the game for the boys. Unbelievable. Lewis Brown is a star in the making - and he is a great centre/2nd rower in the Mannering mould. And despite the no doubt excessive attention after a few hot performances - Maloney is starting to make me believe he is the real deal.

This team has a lot of potential, especially when you start considering the injury report. Its almost a whole team worth of players waiting in the wings. Cleary may end up with some real selection battles if these guys all get fit. For example when Seymour is fit how will he restructure a halves combo that seems quite effective at present? Moon looks most likely to be dropped but he shows some real signs of improvement as well. But what about the Hiho/WadeMac scenario. you can't drop Hohaia on current form so how do we put this jigsaw together if Seymour is good enough to start? Depth is a good thing so lets hope all these guys can be fit soon.

Tupou will start in place of Vatuvei this Sunday vs the Panthers at Mt Smart - he is a good prospect, but he is a long way from being the beast.

Injury Report

Steve Price - heel infection - ever? round 7?

Mannering - hamstring - round 7 maybe?

Vatuvei - hamstring - round 7 maybe?

Ropati - hamstring - round 7 maybe?

Seymour - broken thumb - round 9?

Michael Luck - broken right index finger - round 6

Henderson - knee injury - made it to the bench in round 5 and will be on the bench again in rnd 6

Sione Louisi - leg infection

Isaac John - foot

Shawn Johnson - ankle

Elijah Taylor - serious knee injury - maybe out till 2011

I also think at least one player - Locke - is carrying injuries that have not been openly admitted. In a recent interview he said that he was having problems with his shoulder rotator cuff - such that he had difficulty raising his arms to catch the high ball. I also wonder if he doesn't have a knee injury as well. His form has not been that great so far but he has alot of talent if he is fully fit.

This is Clearys team for the match v the Panthers this weekend - interesting to see him start WadeMac at fullback with Hohaia in the halves pushing Moon to the centres:

1 WADE McKINNON
2 KEVIN LOCKE
3 BRENT TATE (c)
4 JOEL MOON
5 BILL TUPOU
6 LANCE HOHAIA
7 JAMES MALONEY
8 SAM RAPIRA
9 AARON HEREMAIA
10 JESSE ROYAL
11 LEWIS BROWN
12 BEN MATULINO
13 JACOB LILLYMAN
Interchange:
14 IAN HENDERSON
15 JEREMY LATIMORE
16 RUSSELL PACKER
17 UKUMA TA’AI

Most entertaining Warriors game ever?

2010-03-28T04:48:00.002Z

What can I say. I feel as if my brain has exploded. A 48-16 win for the Warriors away to the Broncoes at Suncorp stadium in front of 30,000 plus fans - most of whom seemed to be Warriors supporters. Most points ever conceded by Brisbane at Suncorp.

A hat trick of tries for Maloney who only narrowly missed out on a multi-game suspension in front of the judiciary mid-week. He also scored 28 total points matching Ivan Cleary's single game point scoring record for the Warriors. Maloney may never reach quite these heights again but he is a real find and more than just great cover whilst Seymour is injured.

After early tries to each of Vatuvei and Mannering both were lost to what look to be serious hamstring injuries after about 20 minutes. This is a major loss but the scale of the acheivement in the win overshadows these apparently serious injuries. The surviving Warriors players put in one of the all time great performances for the club and the jersey and the fans. Maloney was an obvious stand out but his points should not cause fans to ignore the strong performances right throughout the side with Tate, Hiho, McKinnon, Ropati and Locke in particular all contributing big time. The forwards were also solid for the whole game - Packer is a big unit.

What more is there to say - the physios will be working big time this week to try and field a side next week with players like Locke, WadeMac and Heremia also apparently injured during the game but playing on. No doubt there will be a drop off after such a spectacular result but as a fan you cannot ask for much more than this.

Amazing entertainment and spectacular play by the Warriors.

I am exhausted after watching that game - amazing to think the Broncoes led 16-14 shortly after halftime - that means the Warriors scored 34 unanswered points in the second half.

Halves crisis averted as Maloney found not guilty

2010-03-24T20:35:00.003Z

Wow great news with Maloney being found not guilty by the judiciary of a dangerous throw vs Sharks.

This means Cleary is left with his second option at halfback available - as does not have to look further down the depth chart or restructure the team entirely. However it will be interesting to see how Hiho is used.

Warriors win big over Sharks at Mt Smart

2010-03-20T19:25:00.004Z

Well first off - what a great game last night. The Warriors storming out of the blocks to go 16-0 up and despite wavering in the run in to halftime coming back strong to win the game 30-16.

Big bummer of the year is the thumb injury to Seymour that ruled him out of last nights match and may well see him out for 6-8 weeks. This is the nightmare come to fruition for the team because most opponents will be a lot harder to beat that the miserable Sharkies. As we saw last night with a number of conversions missed in his absence, Seymour is far and away the number one kicking option in addition to being critical at halfback. Without points from conversions we will have to score 1.5 times as many tries to end up in the same place. The Warriors concealed the Seymour injury in the leadup to last nights game in the hope it would throw off the Sharks gameplan. Thats all good but I was pretty disappointed to only find out as the teams ran onto the park that Seymour was not starting. There is a hint in this article from the SMH that maybe the thumb injury did not happen during last weeks game vs the Titans but in more controversial off-field circumstances - does anyone have anything on this?

I did however have a really good time attending the match last night. We decided to travel to and from the game by public transport which was a roll of the dice but it worked out ok. We started off with a bus from New Lynn bus depot. Thank goodness that place is about to be demolished, its even more desolate that I remember. The bus wound its way through Owairaka and 3 Kings before rocking up right outside the entrance to Gate C exactly on time. How convenient.

I have been away so long I have never sat in the new eastern stand and it was great, good facilities and seating. It was easy and quick to get beers and the view from the stand was excellent.

The match itself was great fun. Outside of a knockon from the initial kickoff - for the first 20 minutes or so the Warriors were utterly dominant and at 16-0 I thought maybe this was going to be a 50 point blowout win. The Warriors had a number of line breaks including a few great runs by Tate, Hiho, Locke and Lewis Brown who really impressed me all round. A couple of the line breaks happened right in front of our seats and seeing these guys chew up the metres with the entire Sharks pack chasing them was really fun to watch.

But then the dreaded pre-halftime drop off occurred with several soft tries being conceded. This collapse was so total that the Sharkies were able to climb all the way back to 16-14 at halftime and all the way to 16-16 with an early penalty in the second half.

A word has to be said about the quality of the refereeing. It was terrible. Please NRL can the Warriors get a game with a decent ref please? At one point a number of dodgy decisions stacked up (if there are two men in the tackle its a strip bro) to make it look at times like the officiating team had money on the Sharks.

So going into the second half the Warriors still had work to do but they managed to stabilise and dominate the second half through repeat sets, a low error rate and solid defending. The continuing bad refereeing decisions didn't help but the Warriors were assisted by the fact that the Sharks are ghastly. We can feel pretty happy that this is not the club we have to support. They are miserably pathetic. Trent Barrett had nothing.

Vatuvei was his usual powerhouse self - seemingly unstoppable from 10 out. However he needs to ensure he is not the channel through which soft tries are scored in his corner. This has happened two weeks in a row now. The Beast is a legend but in a similar vein to Lomu he needs to defend strong too. But don't get me wrong - he is a megastar right now and he does his work when needed - when he takes the ball up the middle he takes it with power.

There was some minor tension in the second half but the result was hardly in doubt and finally Rapira sealed the game with a barging try late on and it was all over.

So overall a good win that was well needed. The loss of Seymour is a real worry but we just have to move on and assess the alternatives in his absence. Maybe Hiho in the halves is an option? Not all teams we play will be as poor as the Sharks. Teams like the Dragons, Storm and Eels will not give up 16 point starts and will blow us off the park if we lapse like we have done in the late first half of the first two games.

It was really fun to be at Mt Smart - checking out the atmosphere and the various members of the Warriors entourage. Notable gear bag and water boys spotted during the game included Ruben Wiki, Ian Henderson and Jerry Seuseu. Steve Price was also a prominent presence on the sideline coming out at the end of the game to congratulate the team on a job well done. The word is that the 36 year old Price is in full training and may be in the starting line up for next weeks game away to the Broncoes. This is good news.

Feel free to place your comments on the game or anything I've said by clicking on the comments button below.

Lets hope the winning continues for the Warriors next week in a tough away game in Brisbane.

Only hours to go till season 2010 kicks off at Mt Smart

2010-03-20T04:11:00.002Z

Not long now till the Warriors home game vs Sharks. I will be heading off to Mt Smart shortly.

Lots of articles in the various press today focussing on Mannering's first game of the season and first game as captain. We can expect alot of attention on him from the Sharks. Frankly he is not the key player for the Warriors in this game - his contribution is of course important as his leadership as captain but we need crisp energetic performances in the back line to win.

Seymour vs his old club should add a bit of spice and I would expect a) that the Sharks will try and smash him and b) that he will be amped to beat his old club. So an interesting sub-plot there. Seymour played well last week and kicked very well at goal - lets hope this continues.

To win this game the Warriors need to shut down Trent Barrett and maintain defensive concentration for the whole 80 minutes and in particular the last 10 of each half.

The TAB has the Warriors as shortening favourites in the live betting market ($1.42 as of right now) so lets hope thats right.

Mannering back for first home game of 2010 vs Sharks

2010-03-19T01:00:00.005Z

Well the first home game of the year looms against the Sharks at Mt Smart. This one has to be a must win game with the Sharks one of the few teams in the comp the pundits rank below the Warriors. Seymour up against his old club should be interesting - he will know many of the players well. In addition the Sharks now boast star power in the form of Trent Barrett who used to be awesome but is getting on a bit.

Anyway it shapes up as a very winnable game at home in front of the Mt Smart massive. TAB has the Warriors as firm favourites which is always a bit of a worry.

I have my tix for the 7.30pm kick off Saturday night (Eastern Stand Lower section 31) and I hope to see you all there. After the game I will post a match report and hopefully some candid photos.

Disappointing loss to Titans after strong start

2010-03-14T04:52:00.004Z

Great to see the NRL finally kick off this weekend and to see the Warriors back on the field in DB Bitter style 1995 retro blue and green uniforms.

As for the game it was at times tough to watch, with tons of dropped ball by both teams, the Warriors bombing tries and ghastly and bizarre refereeing decisions.

The Warriors started strongly and looked fast, organised and well drilled in the early exchanges with some nice tight angled passing behind the ruck. The Titans on the other hand looked shaky and sloppy in the first 20 mins or so. A great lead up of slick passing and then a bit of luck led to the Warriors first try. Seymour and Heremia both looked good. The Warriors scored two unanswered tries to lead 12-0 - both came from Seymour kicks to the wing with one each caught by Vatuvei and Locke.

After the first 20mins the game started to deteriorate with the Titans regaining possession from the restart after the Warriors second try by way of a short Preston Campbell kick off (which the Warriors better learn to deal with) and turning it straight into points through a soft soft try that should never have been scored. That defensive lapse opened the chink in the Warriors that ultimately cost them the game.

The Warriors did manage one more try before half time with good play delivering 4 repeat sets in the red zone ultimately ending with Vatuvei finding himself all alone on the left wing with a clear run to the line. Seymour kicked the conversion -he made 3/3 on shots at goal. This guy's form is now effectively the arbiter of our season. At this point if the Warriors had held out to halftime without conceding they might have survived the game. Unfortunately they were far too soft and sloppy for that. The Titans managed a further soft try before halftime taking the score to 18-12 at the break.

In the second half the result looked inevitable. The Warriors were sluggish and error prone. The Titans weren't that much better but they looked like they had more energy and the skill level and speed of Prince and Campbell in particular really started to show through. Other Titans stars like Matt Rogers and Greg Bird made little impact.

The Warriors had a few chances, but blew them all with poor finishing. Two further Titans tries and it was game over.

Hard to know what Cleary will make of this. The Titans played poorly and still won. That is a signature of playoff teams. The Warriors on the other hand controlled much of the game, had tons of possession and still lost. That is very worrying.

So on the plus side - there is hope in the halves and Vatuvei and Locke had some good moments. On the downside - we need to see a lot more from Brent Tate and we need some more experience in the forwards - aka Mannering and Price. Luck looked lost at times and when the Warriors reached the red zone they looked a but disorganised. High kicks to the corners are effective - but you need to be able to score tries through clever passing through the middle as well.

Most importantly to have a hope of improvement the Warriors need to maintain the energy and zest with which they started the game for the whole match and crucially they need to maintain defensive concentration for the 10 minutes prior to halftime.

TAB odds on Warriors v Titans

2010-03-10T06:18:00.003Z

The TAB has the Warriors as long underdogs, with the head to head win paying $3.30 for a Warriors win, and Titans $1.30. A 12 and under win for the Warriors is paying $4.50.

SMH pre-season power rankings are also now out - pretty predictable at the top,

1. Storm

2. Eels

3. Dogs

4. Dragons

5. Tigers

6. Titans

and at the other end of the scale

13. Newcastle

14. Raiders

15. Warriors

16. Sharls

Warriors team named for round 1 clash with Titans

2010-03-09T03:26:00.003Z

Cleary has named his first team for NRL season 2010 this afternoon. The team is as follows, with the big news being the fact that Mannering's hamstring will keep him out at least until round 2.

Michael Luck will be stand in captain. Hohaia starts at Fullback with Wade Mac on the bench and Maloney will start at standoff partnering Seymour in the halves.

Price and Henderson remain out with injuries.

VODAFONE WARRIORS

1LANCE HOHAIA
2KEVIN LOCKE
3BRENT TATE
4JEROME ROPATI
5MANU VATUVEI
6JAMES MALONEY
7BRETT SEYMOUR
8SAM RAPIRA
9AARON HEREMAIA
10RUSSELL PACKER
11LEWIS BROWN
12BEN MATULINO
13MICHEAL LUCK (c)
Interchange:
14WADE McKINNON
15JEREMY LATIMORE
16JESSE ROYAL
17SIONE LOUSI
18JOEL MOON

I also just noticed that Clinton Toopi is on the Titans roster these days. He only signed this week in a shock comeback to the NRL. Its a crazy world. I am kind of surprised the Warriors did not sign him? Apparently he is on the bubble to make the starting lineup at the Titans but he could well be on the interchange bench for round 1.

Sydney Morning Herald and TAB rates Warriors as no hopers for 2010

2010-03-09T02:06:00.002Z

Well the SMH have issued their predictions for the season. Picking the Warriors to come at best 13th and at worst 16th (wooden spooners).

The SMH likes the Storm as the stongest favourite with the top teams being the Eels, Tigers, Dogs and Dragons. Interestingly going into round1 Brad Walters is picking the Titans to win the minor premiership, placing a lot of weight on the recruitment of Gred Bird as discussed below.

The bookies also have no faith in the Warriors, The TAB puts the Warriors chances of winning the NRL title at $25 ahead of only the Sydney Roosters, Canberra, Newcastle and Cronulla. The Storm and Eels are joint favourites at $6.

Sonny Bill Williams to play for the Warriors?

2010-03-07T22:43:00.002Z

Well todays monster rumour is that discussions are underway to bring SBW back to the NRL to play for the Warriors.

This is pretty far fetched but apparently it would require paying off the Bulldogs in an amount of $1m to compensate them for the contract they still hold on SBW until 2013. Apprently Eric Watson is willing to pony up to bring SBW back.

This strikes me as bull because my guess is that SBW is using a Warriors bid as leverage with the NZRU to get them to pay big money to bring him to NZ as an All Black. SBW to the Warriors would be awesome as he is a mega-talent. But it would be a big gamble and would require mortgaging the entire salary cap in his favour. If he was injured seriously or did not perform - it could screw the club for multiple seasons.

In other Warriors news, CEO Wayne Scurrah is apparently fuming over the Titans decision to play their home game vs the Warriors this Sunday in their white away strip rather than in their home strip. The decision will mean the Warriors have to wear their black strips in super hot 1pm gametime Queensland temperatures which could lead to Warriors players over-heating. This seems like a storm in a tea cup. For one thing the home side is entitled to wear whatever they like and second the Warriors should consider having a third strip - e.g. striped black and silver - for such eventualities.

One week to go till Warriors kick off vs Titans

2010-03-06T21:14:00.007Z

Only 7 days to go until Season 2010 - Cleary Year V - kicks off for the Warriors away vs the Titans at Skilled Park. The game will be 4pm Sunday NZ time.

You can check out all the pre-game matchup details here. The Titans are not a super-elite club by any means but it will not be an easy game for the Warriors, they have lost their last three against the Titans and both the last two meetings at Skilled Park.

It is important for the Warriors to start the season strong with a few early wins to banish the pain of last years disappointment. The Warriors first 8 games are - Titans (a), Sharks (h) (tickets are already on sale), Broncoes (a), Manly (h), and Bulldogs (a), Panthers (h), Storm (a), Raiders (h). I am thinking that four wins out of those eight would be a good performance and anything else a bonus. The Titans game looks to be one of the more winnable matchups. Check the full Warriors season draw here.

Big questions remain throughout the side. Who will be first choice goalkicker? Is Mannering up to the captaincy? Can Wade Mac and Tate return to past form? How many games will Price actually manage? How best to use Hohaia? Can Seymour translate his pre-season form into consistent regular season performances as the playmaker of the side and avoid back sliding on his alcohol issues?

The Warriors last met the Titans at Mt Smart in Round 22 last year. In that game the Titans won 30-10. The Titans lost their last three games last year vs Manly, Brisbane and Paramatta. But those last two games were in the playoffs after the Titans finished 3rd for the year. They probably had designs on a run to the grand final but were knocked out by the fantastic Eels cinderella run to the grand final from 8th spot. In terms of regular season games the Titans have won four of their last five.

The Warriors on the other hand are coming off four losses out of their last five regular season matches - and finishing 14th overall for 2009.

Big story for the Titans this off-season is the controversial signing of former NSW Origin player Greg Bird. In February 2010 Bird was acquitted of allegations of physically assaulting a woman in a Sydney nightclub. Bird was previously sacked by Cronulla Sharks over allegations that he "glassed" his girlfriend Katie Milligan.

In August 2008, Bird, was accused of recklessly wounding his American girlfriend, Katie Milligan, following an early-morning drunken argument. She sustained a fractured eye-socket and damage to her eye but when the pair arrived at hospital they pointed the finger of blame at Bird’s flat-mate, Brent Watson. They claimed he had thrown a glass at Milligan – despite the fact Watson was actually out playing golf at the time. The pair refused to give statements to police at the time of the attack or in court when it came to trial, and Bird was found guilty and sentenced to a maximum of 16 months in jail. He immediately appealed and was eventually cleared of all charges after convincing the court that Milligan’s drug usage had caused her to behave erratically and that he was only defending himself. The presiding judge labelled their web of lies “extremely foolish”. The Sharks had already cut their losses and released him in January 2009

Bird's deal with the Titans contains strict behavioural clauses after his recent quashed assualt charges. Bird is expected to partner Scott Prince at the Titans scrum base with Matt Rogers moving into the centres.

So no doubt this shapes up as a tough match - but they are all going to be hard. Lets hope the Warriors can put the puzzle together and win their first game for the pride of the club. And lets also be thankful that the Warriors in general actually behave pretty well as individuals and we don't have loads of assaults and drunken outbursts to deal with (barring the odd Sione Faumauina).

Warriors draw 16 all with Manly in final trial match at North Harbour

2010-02-27T08:39:00.002Z

Well the Warriors have managed a 16 all draw with Manly in their final trial match tonight in great conditions at North Harbour Stadium.

Tate managed 45 minutes in total game time - a 22m and a 23m stint.

WadeMac came on at halftime at fullback replacing Hohaia who started at number 1.

The Warriors trailed 16-10 for much of the second half (those 10 points coming from tries to Vatuvei and Moon) and withstood sustained pressure from Manly, preventing them from scoring in the final 40 minutes. The Warriors then managed to come back with a try late on to new signing Jeremy Latimore under the posts. The try was converted to lock the scores at 16 and that was how the game ended. Of course in a real NRL game - there would have been golden point overtime to try and decide the game.

But a draw is a good result against a serious Manly side as the Warriors continue to build towards round 1. It looks like only Mannering, Henderson and Price remain doubtful as round 1 starters.

Tate and McKinnon will play in trial match

2010-02-26T19:25:00.003Z

Well after going through the motions with the team listed earlier in the week ommitting Tate and McKinnon, today its become clear that both will play and maybe start in the trial match vs Manly tonight.

Both present problems however in figuring how they will slot into the team named below. I figure one of Moon or Maloney goes to the bench and then Tate plays Centre. Then its a toss up as to whether Cleary starts McKinnon or Hohaia at fullback. If he goes for WadeMac then Hohaia could play some time at 6 - or he could just return to his faithful role as utility back substitute. Not his best role mind you - but one he has done plenty of before.

Great weather in the Auckland area at the moment so should be good conditions for the match at 5pm tonight. The game will be a full 40 minutes per half affair rather than the "summer heat" trial match format where there are four 20 minute quarters. Manly have said they are going to play a strong side - so this game should be a good measuring stick of where the Warriors are actually at as they look towards round 1.

Cleary names strong side for final Manly trial match

2010-02-25T07:43:00.003Z

Well Cleary has now released his team for the Manly trial match and its not that dissimilar from the guess best set out in the post below but still has some differences at centre. Basically because Tate is still not fit to play he doesn't even make the bench in the official squad list. However Cleary says while Brent Tate hasn’t been named in the squad it’s possible he will come into the line-up for his first outing since his second major knee injury in three seasons. So we will have to wait until game time to see if he really does lace up on Saturday. Mannering and WadeMc won't appear until round 1.

VODAFONE WARRIORS

1 LANCE HOHAIA
2 KEVIN LOCKE
3 JOEL MOON - not Tate
4 JEROME ROPATI -
5 MANU VATUVEI
6 JAMES MALONEY - not Moon - who is playing centre because Tate is still injured
7 BRETT SEYMOUR
8 SAM RAPIRA
9 AARON HEREMAIA
10 RUSSELL PACKER
11 LEWIS BROWN
12 BEN MATULINO
13 MICHEAL LUCK (c)
Interchange:
14 ALEHANA MARA
15 JEREMY LATIMORE
16 SIONE LOUSI
17 PATRICK AH VAN
18 SHAUN JOHNSON
20 JESSE ROYAL
21 JACOB LILLYMAN
22 BILL TUPOU

Injury worries

2010-02-24T20:43:00.004Z

The Warriors are training this week towards their final trial match at North Harbour Stadium vs Manly. Cleary says he is going to field his best side against Manly - subject to fitness. Tickets for the trail are available from Ticketek and it will cost $15 for an adult. Through My Ticketek there is also a buy 3 get 2 free deal - so you can get 5 tickets for a total of $45 - thats only $9 each. Bummer about the match being at North Harbour through - what a hassle to get to the stadium! There are public transport options available but they will require alot of patience.

Lots of interesting selection choices to be made to find the best possible team out of the available players, particularly around the fullback area. Lets review the injured players to start:

Wade McKinnon (fullback) - ankle injury picked up during training for the last trial match in Cairns - apparently not serious but won't play this week - hopes to be fit for round 1

Steve Price- (prop) - still nursing "complications" following off-season heel surgery - no hope of a return any time in the imminent future

Mannering - (centre/2nd row/captain) - hamstring injury incurred in off-season sprint training - should be fit for round 1

Ian Henderson - (hooker) - knee strain - likely to be out until at least round three

Brent Tate - (centre) - recovering from knee reconstruction - probable against Manly in Saturday's trial match

Vautvei will be fit and available after completing his All-Star commitments.

So who do we have in the guess best 13 to play Manly taking into account of the injury situation.

1 - Fullback - Hohaia

2 - Right Wing - Locke

3 - Right Centre - Tate

4 - Left Centre - Ropati / Ah Van

5 - Left Wing - Vatuvei / Tupou

6 - Stand off - Moon

7 - Half Back - Seymour

8 - Prop - R. Packer

9 - Hooker - Heremia

10 - Prop - Rapira

11 - second row - Matulino

12 - second row - Brown

13 - loose/lock forward - Luck

There is of course the substitute bench - and quite a lot of rotation could be possible - throughout the squad.

Taking a look at Manly they have named a strong side to play in the trial this Saturday. Clearys official team sheet should be out later in the day.

Warriors beat Cowboys in monsoon conditions for second 2010 trial match win

2010-02-21T19:41:00.005Z

Another great trial win for the Warriors this week, beating the Cowboys 28-6 in Cairns in monsoon conditions. The Cowboys did not seem to be able to deliver much on attack in the wet and the Warriors scored three tries late on to blow the score out a bit. Headline of the game - "Cowboys hung out to dry in wet paddock". The Warriors were still not able to field their strongest line up with Price, Tate, WadeMc, Mannering and Vatuvei playing no part in the game.

However an encouraging result- although as always lets exercise caution in reading too much into these trial results. They are meaningless games where coaches experiment - and don't typically field their strongest teams or play to win at all costs. In particular the Cowboys did not play their star playmaker Jonathan Thurston.

Some of the media coverage of the trial match has focussed on big Willie Mason's first appearance for the Cowboys however it seems to have been a bit of a non-event. In fact Mason made only a cameo appearance in the first grade trial after also playing for the Cowboys reserve grade side in the curtain raiser (and having to travel to Cairns by bus after the first grade team had flown in - boo hoo).

Warriors win big in Rotorua trial

2010-02-13T09:21:00.009Z

Well sorry guys I have not made it to Roto tonight for the trial. So no first hand info this time I am afraid. But, as Seymour would say, next time will be different.

On the plus side after putting the team through what Cleary has called their most rigorous off-season training program ever, the Warriors have won strongly, beating the Roosters 26-8.

The Herald managed a big feature on the Warriors halves options today. Worth a look at the graphic on the actual hard copy of the paper if you haven't seen this Saturdays (13 Feb) paper yet - its page B18. Basically it looks like Seymour as first choice and then a question of who will pair with him out of Isaac John (21), Joel Moon (21), James Maloney (23) and Shaun Johnson (19). The young guys all looking promising but it looks like Moon and Seymour will be the starting combo.

With that in mind lets not forget about Seymour's past troubles with alcohol and while I am in no doubt that he has the talent to be the playmaker he has to stay on the wagon. So any info or photos or spottings of Seymour on the town or in bars or hotels would be worth letting us all know about. I don't want to be too hard on Seymour, we all like a drink and he had a good game in the trial today apparently - his first game for the Warriors and his first top flight outing for eight months or so.

On the captaincy front in the absence of Mannering - Seymour actually captained the side in tonights trial on debut for the club. An interesting development and something we could see more of. While injured Mannering has been doing referee training courses to better understand how to hassle referees in his anticipated new role as captain. If Seymour emerges as a real captaincy option whilst Mannering and Price remain injured - are we going to have another round of the captaincy drama?

Alot of new exciting talent emerging at the Warriors this year and that could be the story of the season. In particular - outside of the young halves already mentioned - there is the development of Locke to watch. Also the new Vatuvei apparently in the form of the 19 year old Elijah Niko. This guy has a younger brother Kenny thats 106kg and wants to play second row. Um, thats big, and thats his younger bro.

Of course no Price or Tate in the trial either. They are on the mend but are not back yet. Interesting article also from the Herald re the Warriors being "fitter than they look". Weird title and a weird concept generally. Basically the idea is that it looks like all the stars are injured but that in fact its not that bad. Hmmm not sure I feel so confident. Price won't play round 1 - he's got an infection after off-season heel surgery. He is also 100 years old. Tate is coming off his second knee reconstruction in 3 seasons but will theoretically play at least one pre-season game and feels like he owes the Warriors a decent season. And Mannering should also be back soon. So I guess its not all that bad, but I would feel a lot better if these three were all match fit, training at full tilt and ready to run out in round 1.

The inaugural NRL All Star game was last night as well. I didn't actually watch the game but the Indigenous all stars won 16-12. I like the idea of an All-Star game but am not sure about the format. I guess they are trying to retain a distinction between this and what is the real All-Star competition - State of Origin. The worlds most elite rugby league competition.

Mannering injured in preseason

2010-01-15T19:18:00.005Z

Well seemingly the only Warriors news so far in 2010 is the announcement today that Simon Mannering has a hamstring injury incurred in pre-season sprint training.

This does not sound like the worlds most serious injury and Mannering should be back for round 1, however this is our captain we are talking about with the dumping of Price - so the question is who is the captain in the absence of Mannering? I doubt the team can turn back to Price in these circumstances - not after all the swirling political in-fighting that surrounded his demotion. So who is the alternative?

As an aside my sources say Mannering was recently spotted at new years in Nelson, and he is described as "lean but massive" (all those who were in Nelson for new years please feel free to provide more info). Sorry no better goss than that at this stage.

Before I go let me mention the first Warriors trial game for the year - Saturday Feb 13 in Rotorua vs the Roosters at Rotorua International Stadium. I will most likely be there and you should be there too. My intention is that now I am back on home soil I can be the eyes on the ground for those who can't make it. I will have my digital camera ready for those candid moments that the team don't normally publicise.

Finally let me just say I love United but I hate the Glazers.

I remember the best days of the Warriors, do you?

2009-12-27T08:39:00.001Z

Who should the warriors sign?

2009-12-27T06:17:00.004Z

Just had a great afternoon out at Piha. Its great to back in NZ. The weather over this xmas week has blown me away. This country has a lot going for it and the outdoors is a jewel in the crown that cannot be ignored.

As for the team, God knows who the Warriors should sign this offseason. They have the cap room to make a major move but should they go big now or wait till next offseason?

These are big questions with no clear answers right now. Paramatta clearly have a problemo and its name is Jared Hayne, too much talent located in one player wins games but eats salary cap space.

So we are talking about relatively big name Eels stalwarts like Luke Burt being on the trading block not to mention lower tier Eels players who are flying under the rader such as Krisnan Inu, who looks like a utility back of the future.

Development of Locke this year will be a an interesting thing to look forward to. Wade Mac will have to produce or will face an ignominious exit.

And if the xmas season has jaded you right out just sit back relax and listen to this.

Tua v Cameron

2009-12-23T23:51:00.000Z

Its Always Sunny at Mt Smart

2009-12-13T04:25:00.006Z

Why do the Warriors always turn on their veteran players? The latest saga sees Steve Price dropped as captain for vague and uncertain reasons. Now we have a host of rumours, that he has fallen out with and lost the respect of the rest of the squad, that the management want him to quit rep football but he refuses, and that he is seeking an early release to join the Broncoes on a one year deal.

Steve Price himself coming out today and denying all the rumours but again voicing openly the tension between himself and the club over the demotion and the representative football issue.

My favourite quote about the various other rumours being "There have been plenty of [other wholly untrue] things that have been much more difficult to deal with," he says. "When you hear that you're gay, you've moved out on your wife and are living with your lover, that you're a rapist ... I don't look at them as challenges but things that make you able to adapt and understand things a lot better. At the end of the day, not everything goes your way."

Why Why why do the Warriors always do this? The unceremonious dumping of ageing stars is so poorly managed. We all know these guys cannot play forever but why treat you one of your most talented players with so little respect. The rep footy issue is a problem - Price will never be available for a full season - even without rep footy his body won't deliver 26 rounds plus playoffs.

There is turmoil here behind the scenes and the Warriors need to clean house. The tone of the Price interview has him talking about guys in the squad being "weak" and "gutless" for talking about him behind his back. Who is he referring to? This is the kiss of death for team bonding.

This kind of internal dissension can destroy a team quickly so the management need to decide, do they really still want Price? If so they need to back him publicly and reprimand and punish those who are bad mouthing him or failing to support him within the squad. If they don't want Price, release him and move on. One way or the other I don't care but what I cannot stand is going into a new season with open dissension, a lack of clarity on the issue and no clear public statements from Cleary or anyone else in the management. Lets get this all out in the open now before we lose another season down the tubes.

Time to get this blog back on the road with some all time Warriors highlights

2009-11-24T01:43:00.000Z

Travelling

2009-07-27T14:03:00.002Z

Hello all

I am travelling for a few months and no doubt the blog will end up way out of date. I checked up on the Warriors in an internet cafe in Italy just now and I see they lost to the Dragons and their season is slipping into oblivion so we will have to hope for better next year.

The herald seems to have done a countdown to oblivionb calculation all their own and have concluded that the point of no return has been reached with the boys needing to win all their remaining six games for a mathematical shot at the playoffs.This seems unlikely. See you in a few months.

The run home

Saturday: v Panthers (a)

Aug 9: v Titans (h)

Aug 15: v Eels (a)

Aug 23: v Raiders (h)

Aug 28-31: v Bulldogs (a)

Sept 4-6: v Storm (h)

Maximum points possible: 29

Warriors 13th on 17 points

Sitting eighth (bottom playoff spot): Cowboys 22 points

All Whites v Iraq

2009-06-20T10:46:00.002Z

No Warriors this weekend so all my hopes are on the All Whites squeeking out a pride win over Iraq in the confederations cup in SA. Unlikely maybe (All Whites are paying NZ$9 to win) but vaguely possible. Its also now clear that the dream matchup vs North Korea will not happen for the All Whites in their World Cup qualifiers, instead it will be home and away against the winner of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Iraq have in recent seasons been much more successful than either of these teams - but NZ need to prove they can last against these kind of teams. Even nil all would be a good result against Iraq.

Another win another week

2009-06-12T22:26:00.002Z

Nice win for the boys. Although winning ugly at home is not that nice really. A win is a win and I cannot complain but you need to be able to beat top sides with quality which is evidently not what the Warriors have at present.

Still I guess I should not be too bitchy when the season is still alive and Locke is shaping as a prospect. He, Hohaia, MCK and Mannering are the bedrock of this side and they need to hang on until Tate returns. Price is a god but will leave us all soon.

Countdown to Oblivion

2009-06-08T12:40:00.006Z

Well first up terrible lost to the Sharks leaves the Warriors playoff hopes hanging by a thread. Second if you have not yet watched the Pepe Silvia video below, do so now before the really depressing reality of the Warriors season sets in. Third and on an upbeat note I am loving the prospect of the All Whites having to play North Korea for a shot at world cup qualification. Frankly if the All Whites go to the 2010 football World Cup this blog (in content at least) may temporarily become an All Whites World Cup supporters blog.

Now back to the ugly reality of the Warriors season. At the halfway stage - the Warriors have played twelve games and had one bye. They have won four games (8 pts), had one draw (1 pt) and had one bye (2 pts) for a total of 11 pts. To make the top eight they need a minimum of 28 pts. So they are 17 big points short of the promised land at this stage. There are 13 rounds remaining in the season. The Warriors have one further bye (round 15) so that takes the points required down to 15. But they have only 12 games in which to get those points. So its basically 8 wins required from 12 games. We have all seen the Warriors do the seemingly impossible in the past - but this quite frankly looks bad.

Warriors form line for rounds 1-13 is:
WWLLWWDLBLLWL

Warriors beat Tigers

2009-05-31T10:58:00.002Z

Great result for the Warriors - a 14-0 shut-out vs the Tigers.

Rookie Kevin Locke giving Warriors fans reason to hope once again.

In other sports news the Cheifs got spanked, Lebron got knocked out of the playoffs and Chelsea won the FA cup. So not much good news there.

Warriors v Tigers

2009-05-30T10:35:00.003Z

Well its about the time of year when the midseason NRL malaise sets in. It really is a long season - maybe there are too many games. Or maybe its just the fact that its always about this time of year when the Warriors seem locked in a kind of mid table purgatory - trying to squeek a win here or there to maintain the mathematical possibility of a playoff spot. One win in their last eight games is not good enough - and over reliance on the prospect of a miracle late season winning streak does not necessarily seem the best strategy. With that said - as I am noted in the past - maybe the first half of the season doesn't matter and its all just warm up for the run in to the playoffs. I just don't know and frankly I bore myself complaining about this team as its just the same indifferent mideseason Warriors form that we are all so accustomed to. Maybe we have to give it up for this year and focus on next year (when by the way this blog is going to go stratospheric). But what this team needs right now - is some wins.

So where are we - it could be a time warp reading some of the material out there on the Warriors weaknesses. Big men running at Stacey Jones to exploit defensive weakness - is this 2003? The bench is the place for Jones these days and this is hopefully what Cleary has learnt to date.

Last couple of games have been thrashings. Somehow after appearing to have great depth in the halves - the Warriors have spiralled back to complete reliance on Jones. The release of Fien perplexes me. Clearys steady hand may be starting to waiver.

Anyway Warriors (11th) play Tigers (10th) at home on Sunday. A win is desperately needed - as is some solution to the conundrum in the halves. Cleary is rejigging things a bit with the call up of two rookies - half/hooker Aaron Heremaia and under-20s star fullback Kevin Locke. Maybe its all just preperation for the future. Lets hope it works.

Pub talk

2009-05-30T10:10:00.004Z

Hello everyone - hope you liked that Pepe Silvia clip - its from a show call "Its always sunny in Philadelphia".

I was told last night by a somewhat drunken individual that they only get their Warriors news from this blog and that due to my slackness in updating - they had no idea how the Warriors season was getting on. I kind of like the narrowness of this worldview - the idea that the world wide followers of this blog - in their thousands for sure - wakes every day and logs on to this site - only to have their hopes of a dose of Warriors news with no possible alternative dashed by my lack of an update. If you want to use this blog to the exclusion of all other news sources, be my guest, I just hope I don't dissappoint you.

Anyway lots going on outside of Warriors world at the moment - busy work - and packing up my life here in London for my imminent return to NZ. Will fly out from UK for good on 5 July, back in NZ by the start of December 2009.

But for now its saturday, twenty degrees and sunny and I am not at work right now - so things are looking pretty good.

A big day in Sport today, FA Cup final, Super 14 final and Game 6 of the Cavs v Magic NBA playoff series. After dominating the entire season Lebron finds himself one game away from elimination (Orlando lead 3-2 in the best of seven series), how did the Cavs blow it so badly? Kobe by the way has just got himself and his Lakers into another NBA finals series. So that mouth watering Lebron/Kobe matchup is still a mathematical possibility - but would require a series of uninterupted Lebron miracles for it to happen.

I will try and catch some of the Cheifs game - they seem a bit like the Warriors of the super 14 to me - always alot of promise but until now - not much in the way results. Lets hope they can pull off a win.

FA Cup - I have to admit I really don't care that much about the result other than to say if Chelsea lose it would be preferable as Moyes really does deserve a trophy.

And finally I would just like to say - North Korea - wtf are you thinking?

As for the Warriors -now I have got everything else out - my next post will bring us up to date!

pepe silvia

2009-05-30T10:06:00.001Z

Must update blog

2009-05-30T10:01:00.001Z

Yeah I know I must update the blog - sorry peeps have just been too busy lately. Will get it done later today. In the meantime - wtf is this:

Eric Watson back on the radar

2009-04-22T15:29:00.004Z

Eric having dinner in London last night with celebrity model Kelly Brook?

Warriors come back to win in golden point overtime!

2009-04-19T07:43:00.001Z

This is sweet, great comeback by the team to beat the Roosters at home 17-16 on a Stacey Jones field goal in golden point overtime.

A years subscription of bad Roosters puns

2009-04-17T11:35:00.002Z

Hello again, I hope everyone had a good Easter break. I must apologise for being a bit slack in keeping up the blog so far this season. The demands of work together with the Easter holidays and planning for the winding up of our time in London at the end of June this year are meaning I am devoting less time than I would like to the blog. With that said, there is so much material in the Warriorsblogosphere that I would like to touch on that I almost don't know where to begin.

First up a narrow loss last week to the Knights sounds like a real nailbiter. A whole season can get decided by tight losses like this one and the Warriors need to be able to win these games when they are in with a shot. I got a text about this result whilst I was in sunny Port Isaac in Cornwall for the Easter holidays.

This weeks game at home against the Roosters is looking like a good chance to get the season moving once again in the right direction with the return of Price and Vatuvei. The team need support more than ever so try and get along there for the kickoff at 2pm if you are going to be in Auckland.

The Hoff reckons this season is over already and that we should start planning for next year. Cleary Year V may well be one to look forward to - particularly since I should be back resident in NZ by then and hopefully with season ticket in hand. But lets not give up on Cleary Year IV just yet.

Did any readers of this blog snap up tix for Simon and Garfunkel in Auckland by the way? I would be there in a shot if I was in AK, Bridge over Troubled Water is like a Warriors anthem!

I also saw this article about the opportunity for the Warriors to play at Eden Park - this just seems wrong to me. For one thing Eden Park as the article suggests is not a great rugby or league ground anyway - its a cricket ground. As such the stands are not that close to the sidelines. Also despite the fact that it can seem a bit desolate at times with the new East Stand Mt Smart delivers a decent match day experience and has developed a history as the Warriors home such that it would seem unfortunate to just toss away. Why the club/council didn't pursue a redevelopment of Carlow Park we shall never know as that to my mind would have made the Warriors into a central part of the Auckland city scene in the way that the caketin in Wellington fits elegantly into the life of Wellington as a city. Anyone with any thoughts or first person closeup views on the Eden Park redevelopment progress please feel free to chime in on this.

Big couple of weeks in the English football season. Massive Champions League second leg results this week with Man U overcoming Porto on a Ronaldo wonder goal and Arsenal destroying Villareal at home. Now Man U play Arsenal in one semi and Chelsea play Barcelona in the other. This is champagne football and one of the best sporting products out there. This week we have the FA Cup semi finals which I understand are on free to air live TV in NZ? Man U v Everton and Arsenal v Chelsea present another couple of very watchable encounters.

As the NBA Playoffs begin - you know I am going to be backing Lebron and the Cavs to win it all this year, qualifying first in the east with the best record in the NBA and only losing two games at home all season so far.

And after all that I haven't even mentioned the now slightly old story about former NRL player Todd Carney who took nude photos of himself on a temporary mobile which he then returned to Telstra who gave the phone with said photos to someone else who then disclosed them to the papers. You may also enjoy this old article, headline "Todd Carney revelation: I've been an idiot". I could not make this stuff up if I tried. I would call this a brain explosion but its a much more long term thing than that. More like permanent brain injury.

Good times don't last long

2009-03-31T20:15:00.002Z

Well the good times didn't take long to go bad this season did they. Tate out for the season and now it looks like Vatuvei is facing knee surgery as well.

Thats two seriously big time players out long term. The replacement at centre for Tate will be Patrick Ah Van. Follow the link above for a good video piece on Vatuvei's injury and Ah Van as a replacement.

Loss to the Broncoes was a real dissappointment but they look to be the form team of the competition and early title favourites with Manly yet to record a win. This week's game vs South's looks to be another tough one with Souths showing some excellent early form with two wins out of three leaving them second in the table in points diff.

With all the doom and gloom we have to remember its early days and based on last year the first 12 rounds don't actually matter that much. The Warriors need to stay strong and beat the bottom half teams and they will still be in contention when some of these injury worries blow over.

I thought it was pretty cool to see the Bulldogs lose two competition points in round 3 for fielding 14 players in their win over the Penrith. Those of you who are old enough will remember that a similar points deduction in the Warriors first season after a win over the old Wests Magpies was the start of the derailment of that Warriors inaugural year and in the end the club missed the playoffs by - you guessed it - two points. In that case the Warriors used five interchange players instead of four so their big win 46-12 was annulled and the points deducted. So a nice harbinger to see it happen to someone else - apparently it has happened six times in history with the Warriors one of those. However no way should Penrith get a rematch - if they do we need to replay the NRL seasons right back to that Warriors game in 95 to be sure we get a fair result.

I just got back from Poland on Sunday so am a bit slow to update the blog. I did however get an email from Ali G out of the blue - how goes it in Aussie Ali?

G20 summit in London this week and major protests against the banks and capitilism generally are expected to shut the city down for the next two days. Large scale "G20 Meltdown" riots and protests centred around the Bank of England are on the cards.

Great first up win for Warriors over the Eels

2009-03-14T18:56:00.001Z

Well the Warriors off to a great start for 2009 with a win at home vs the Eels. A few shaky moments and errors but overall a good performance. There is a certain symmetry in being able to put away a Daniel Anderson coached side and lets hope its the start of a big year for the team.

Damning with faint praise

2009-03-10T16:36:00.002Z

There are no bounds to the optimism coming out of NZ about the Warriors prospects this year. Striking a bolt from the blue - even Chris Rattue of the Herald a long time Warriors knocker and fair weather supporter if there ever was one - is picking a grand final spot for the team this year. That said - he is not exactly gushing in his support.

This mini-Manly implosion has got to be a good thing for the Warriors prospects though - you will recall the Warriors minor premiership and grand final appearance in 2002 was favourably assisted by the massive points penalty suffered by a fantastic Bulldogs side for salary cap breaches and it would be nice if Manly could take themselves out of the running one way or another.

I really enjoyed the Phil Gould suggestions that all NRL players should be contractually forbidden to drink for the duration of their contracts. Geez Phil don't you think thats a bit draconian?

Weight of expectations

2009-02-25T09:33:00.004Z

Well two good trial wins for the Warriors so far including the most recent 32-28 win over the Cowboys at North Harbour in Albany. Almost 30,000 fans turning out to watch the two trial matches. Bookies placing Warriors fourth in the running for the NRL title this year. All the noises out of NZ seem to be predicting a massive year for the Warriors this season (including new high tech jerseys).

I too can sense the quality and enthusiasm coming out of the squad this year. But forgive me for being a spoilsport, lets temper our expectations. I have been here too many times before to get over-confident about this club. They have looked great on paper many times in the past and not delivered. Trial games are also virtually meaningless. So quiet and restrained optimism is my outlook for the early season games. I really hope for the best for the team and there is a groundswell of support for them out there and the return of Jones has got to help as he is an icon of the club and the sport.

In other team news Lauaki has been released and Eastwood may well get picked up in what seems like a player merry go round with the English Super League. Eastwood is one of several ex-NRL players signed by Super League clubs but prevented from playing because the British High Commission has refused work visas. A series of brain explosions and criminal convictions has left a number of brain dead players in limbo. Eastwood, 21, is a useful utility who played lock, five-eighths and centre for the Brisbane Broncos from 2005-08. He made the Kiwis under Brian McClennan and it was McClennan who enticed him to sign with Leeds Rhinos but, two games into the Super League season, there is no sign of the High Commission backing down on its decision, which relates to traffic offences.

And a strong squad has been named for the Warriors final trial vs the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday night.

Finally Leeds play Manly in the World Club Challenge in the UK this week. I can't tell you what a non-event this game is in the UK with a round of Champions League round of 16 matches, FA Cup replays and the Carling Cup final also on this week. The biggest story around this game is that Leeds Australian player Danny Buderus has torn cartilage in his knee so will miss the game.

Season preview

2009-02-14T10:13:00.007Z

Well the Warriors have had an excellent win in their first trial down in Hamiltron vs the Storm.

The win included a big contribution from many players young and old including Warriors legend Stacey Jones.

This season could well be a good one and if Cleary can harness the emotion swirling around this team and direct it into their play they could be an unstoppable force. With that said psychological fragility is the Warriors calling card and added emotional weight may hurt rather than help. So the question may be one of which will implode first, the Warriors season or the world financial system. I really hope the team can keep it together and deliver what we all know they are capable of.

My hopes are for a top four finish with a definite home semi first up.

Also good news to see Mannering has extended his contract until 2012, he is a great example of the Warriors bringing local young talent through. I have to say when I saw the headline "Mannering resigns with Warriors" I thought it meant he was quitting the team - but fortunately thats not the case.

Sonny Fai Memorial Season

2009-02-14T09:57:00.002Z

I have had difficulty knowing how to deal with the loss of Sonny Fai on this blog.

It is an unmitigated tradgedy for someone so young and with such potential to be lost like this. I can assure you that even for those of us living outside NZ hearing the news and letting it sink in has been deeply upsetting. The team will carry his memory with them forever.

This is now the Sonny Fai Memorial Season and the Warriors will do him proud this year.

Been a long time

2009-01-01T18:44:00.002Z

Hello all - I guess by now many of you might have thought this blog was dead however I would consider it more of a hiatus. After watching the Warriors get kicked out of the NRL playoffs by a rampant Manly I couldn't stomach thinking about the team for a few months.

Anyway its a new year and a new season awaits once the interminably long off season ends. The draw for the season and the game by game schedule for the first five weeks of games has been released. The first few games are as follows:

Round 1 - Saturday 14 March - vs Eels at home

Round 2 - Sunday 22 March - vs Manly away

Round 3 - Saturday 28 March - vs Broncoes at home

Round 4 - Sunday 5 April vs Rabbitohs at home

Round 5 - Sunday 12 April vs Knights away

So we will know pretty early how the Warriors shape up with a few tough games in the opening set. The big question based on last years shock run to the semi-final has to be - does the regular season even matter at all? Or put another way - do we really need to worry about how the team goes across 26 rounds - when a late season push can take you within 80 minutes of the grand final. I would suggest that maybe Cleary has developed a new strategy - that is - forget about the first half of the season. Think of it as a training exercise in finding out who your best team is. After that put together 10 or so wins towards the end of the season and ideally squeeze into fourth spot on the table and enter the playoffs with big momentum. This might be wishful thinking but I think we can all agree the NRL is too long a season, rendering the individual regular season games somewhat meaningless (ala NBA) . If you had a 15 or 20 round season - each game would take on much more significance (see the NFL for a good precedent on that front).

The return of Jones to the playing squad is an interesting role of the dice, will be interesting to see how that develops and if Jones - rather than being the pivotal player he once was can be a role player or bench support to add depth if need be. His leadership and reputation can't hurt - because as always the Warriors biggest enemy is inside their own heads so I am hopeful his addition to the squad will be a plus rather than a negative.

Biggest game in six years - Warriors v Manly

2008-09-25T14:10:00.004Z

First up for those in London - hope to see you all at Walkabout Temple branch Saturday morning for the 10.45am kickoff.

Building up to the Warriors game this week has made me reminisce about years gone by and in particular 2002. That game vs the Sharks which got the Warriors to the grand final for their first and only time to date has to be regarded as their most important win ever (close call vs recent win over the Storm).

I watched that game in NZ with my mates and it was a special game full of excitement. Highlights for me were Motu "Tony" Tony stripping the ball near the Sharks line and scoring as well as Toopi burning down the left wing for a 50m run to score in the corner. As I remember it was an extremely stormy day in West Auckland that day, I watched the game in Swanson and we had been worried all day that the weather would knock out the SkyTV at an inopportune moment. As it happened it all worked fine throughout the match and only on fulltime after the Warriors were confirmed winners did the screen go blank. It seemed fitting for the moment which felt like a miracle.

The Warriors find themselves once again on the cusp, back to their usual status as long underdogs. I always feel uncomfortable with the Warriors as favourites, in general they are too inconsistent to deserve it. But it has to be said the last 10+ games the Warriors have delivered consistency and solid defence together with insightful attacking play. The game is there to be won, the Warriors are more than capable of delivering on the dream, lets just hope Menzies and co don't spoil our party.

All the best for the weekend, its either going to be amazing, or not.

Warriors hammer Roosters

2008-09-19T10:51:00.003Z

I hope I never wake up from this dream. The Warriors have beaten the Roosters and are into the semi-final vs Manly - one win away from the Grand Final vs either of the Sharks or Broncoes!

Warriors vs Roosters on Setanta

2008-09-17T09:12:00.002Z

Just for the information of those Warriors fans in the UK, Setanta have now confirmed the Warriors v Roosters will be shown live at 9.30am this Friday morning. I may have to come to an arrangement with my employer to enable me to watch it. However if anyone has thoughts on bars etc that may be showing the game in London let me know. I spoke yesterday with the Walkabout (Temple branch) and as of yesterday that were not planning to open early on Friday.

Let me know what your plans are to watch the game where you are in the world. I note Dan Ham has already got his tickets to attend the match at Mt Smart. Nice work - lets hope the home fans can make it a cauldron.

Greatest Victory in Warriors history, Warriors stun Storm

2008-09-14T08:15:00.004Z

Unbeleivable, the Warriors have gone and done the upset of the century, Mr F Witt with a try in the final two minutes to win it, Warriors beat the storm 18-15. I hardly know what to say, will add more when I have had more time to digest. Home semifinal next week against the Roosters, bring on the sellout.

Can you feel it?

2008-09-11T21:10:00.003Z

Well the Warriors on a hiding to nothing this weekend but a part of my gut is starting to think they have a chance. These are the reasons:

1. They are spiritual brothers with the England football team - who blew out the cobwebs and the Croatians with a blockbuster 4-1 victory in Zagreb last night as massive underdogs, who knew they could deliver like this - Capello thought should be Cleary thought (you kindof little red book Mao style) - lets get a meeting of the minds between these two battlers who like nothing more than to lift a phoenix from the ashes;

2. Melbourne have some injuries, looks like they are going to play a dude only a week after knee surgery -aka the kiss of death for that poor mans leg, Warriors have full strength minus only WadeMac (AKA capitano insano (Paulos Ballos you feel me raglan style?) on a ban for spit;

3. Melbourne are just way too favoured and the Melbourne public do not give a toss; and

4. forecast is for Mt Smart style crap ass rainy cold windy weather, Warriors need to specialise in this shit. Lets face it you are not going to beat Slater in the sun on dry ground are you?

Anyway thats it for me, I am feeling it, is the Warriors massive still out there?

PS. Poll data suggest Obama is on the ropes

Warriors Storm playoffs

2008-09-08T08:59:00.005Z

Congratulations to the boys on a big win away against the Eels to make it to the playoffs for only the fifth time in fourteen seasons in the NRL.

Unfortunately the reward for this impressive performance is instant death away at the minor premiership winners Melbourne Storm. Whilst a massive upset is possible and would be fantastic this has disquieting overtones of the Warriors first trip to the finals in 2001 when they met the minor premiership winning Eels away and sufferred an absolute hammering. The Eels at one point so far ahead that their coach played a man short voluntarily as part of a man-down drill. This was embaressing stuff.

The weird thing about the Warriors that we all recognise is that they could beat anyone, its just highly uncertain that they shall do so. No eighth place team has ever beaten the number 1 team in the NRL McIntyre finals system.

Everything aside I am delighted that they have qualified, a win at the Storm would put me and the club into the stratosphere. However one way or another the club have to learn how to get the team to perform in the first half of the season.

Another thought I have been having lately arises after reading recent commentary about the England football team. The key point being that the team on paper has the quality to be at the top tier of international football but that psychologically they are to fragile and uncertain to deliver. The problem is not with their football skills, it is in their heads. Does this sound familiar at all? There is money to be made if someone can crack this conundrum. How to get teams like the Warriors and the England football team into the mental state to consistently deliver their potential?

A final thought - I love the beards! Keep them for next season - we can have a whole team of mountain men by next year!

Warriors playoff hopes on Knife edge

2008-09-05T13:00:00.003Z

Well its been a big week for the Warriors. I managed to watch a replay of some of their great win over the Panthers on Setanta this week. A couple of things struck me.

One was how most of the team have great beards. When did this trend emerge? I had a pretty good beard rocking for a while this year and it makes me think that unintentionally I may have been displaying my unity with the boys.

The other thing that struck me was that Wade Mac has a psycho streak. This is emphasised by the beard. I have to say I like it. The guy is clearly a quality player and his ban for alleged spitting is unfortunate, he brings an edge to the Warriors that they have been missing, he just needs to avoid the pitfalls of the sporting pyscho edge - when the red mist descends someone has to keep him in line to avoid any Rooney-esque dismissals/bans. His ban will be be over by the time next season rolls around so I am not too worried.

Anyway the game vs the Eels shapes up as a screamer with the Warriors actually favourites away despite the absence of WadeMac. I couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon at the TAB for Warriors to win by less than 12, about the most marginal bet I have made in a while.

Knights were well beaten by Broncoes Friday night so based on my understanding of the table that means a win for the Warriors should put them at least in eighth and maybe seventh. While playoff qualification at that level is better than not making it all but its basically instant death at the hands of either of the top two in an away qualifying final. But who can complain while the season is still alive. Lets go and do it!

Warriors winning run continues

2008-08-18T06:23:00.005Z

What is it with the Warriors and late season runs of form the last few years? Anyway after a fine 18-4 win at home over the Sharks the Warriors are in the top eight with 26 comp points for what seems the first time this season and are starting to look plausible to actually finish in the top eight as well.

A dyabolically bad points difference (-81) means it may be harder this year than in previous years to hold that spot - i.e. 30 points may be required rather than 28. If thats the case my thinking is that two wins from the remaining three will do it. I have adjusted the countdown to oblivion accordingly.

Overall a great sporting weekend for NZ with a good ABs performance in SA, Olympic golds and the Warriors win.

Final three games are
Round 24, Sun, Aug 24 (3.00pm), DRAGONS at WIN Stadium, Wollongong (7th - 26 points)
Round 25, Sun, Aug 31 (4.00pm), PANTHERS at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland (9th - 25 points)
Round 26, Sep 5-8 EELS at Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta (13th - 22 points)

So of these three games the next two obviously take on additional importance as they likely represent chances for a 4 point swing against other top eight contenders.

WadeMac returns and Warriors scrape past Broncoes

2008-08-09T10:36:00.002Z

This could be a last game of the season squeeker at this rate.

Warriors lost away to Rabs last week (appauling) yet managed to beat the Broncoes at home thsi week benefiting from the contribution of WadeMac in his first game of the season after knee surgery has kept him out.

So in fact the Warriors retain the very real possibility of making the top eight, needing two wins from four games Sharks (h), Dragons (a), Panthers (h) and Eels (a). With Wade Mac back this looks plausible although eighth spot is of course a direct route to playing the number 1 side.

Warriors turn around

2008-07-27T08:09:00.003Z

Yes I have been slack on keeping the Warriors updated but if they are going to string together wins like this you can't complain too much. Big win over the Storm at Mt Smart. I actually tried to bet on the Warriors mid week to win twelve and under but the TAB won't take bets during the NZ night, so due to the time difference the bet was rejected, as risk manager closed. I forgot to go back and put it on so anyway the Warriors did win against heavy odds and that is great.

By my calculations Warriors have now won four straight games and with 22 points need at least a further six competition points to make the top eight. So thats three wins from six remaining games. Those games are Rabbitohs(a - 14th), Broncoes (h - 5th), Sharks (h - 4th), Dragons (a - 7th), Panthers (h - 6th), Eeels (a - 13th). So presuming the boys can beat the Rabs then two further wins will be needed, no real easy games and the games vs the Drags and the Panthers are crucial as those teams will be competing for the bottem end finals spots just like the Warriors.

Once again Cleary is on the verge of pulling the rabbit from the hat but I am still left wondering why this club can't perform with this kind of consistency from day 1 instead of leaving it so late.

In other team news I not Eric Watson is on the rack at the moment with the fall of Hanover. Lets hope the Warriors don't suffer any financial consequences.

Dire

2008-06-14T20:52:00.004Z

Well through the freakish pervisity of freeview Setanta coverage since their live transmission of the Warriors match today vs the Sharks carried on past midday UK time I was able to watch the final 17 minutes or so of the game live at home on my couch in my London flat. Who would have thought such an occurrence would seem remarkable?

Anyway what a 17 minutes it was - it makes me realise just what I haven't been missing. This was truly poor. Warriors going into the second half with a narrow lead 8-6 and then failing to score a point in 40 minutes and giving up what appeared to me to be three carbon copies of the same try - by way of bomb to the right wing corner. In a game this tight this was unforgivable - as was the constant turnovers and lack of cohesion or line breaks from the Warriors whilst they were in possession of the football and still in with a chance. What a pitiful mess this team is right now.

The Australian commentators seemed to delight in pointing out that the Warriors failure to pick up any points in this game likely eliminated them from playoff contention and I have a hard time arguing with that. Its now seven wins needed from eleven games to have a chance at eighth spot. Unlikely I fear.

rise the phoenix from the ashes

2008-06-13T08:11:00.006Z

First up I have to admit this blog has been sliding in terms of keeping up to date. The fact is I find it hard to maintain my enthusiasm for discussing the Warriors when they are doing things like dropping points to the Rabs at home. Most recently my sporting attentions have been focussed on Euro 2008 which in the absence of England is really an exercise in enjoying football purely for the sake of the quality of the participating teams. Portugal look the real deal and the Croatia v Germany game was a fascinating contest. I have been assisted by the fact that I am off work at the moment and kick off times of 5pm and 7.45pm have made for some convenient viewing.

Getting back to the Worriers at hand, facing up to the Sharks at Toyota Park this week it seems Clearly is desperate to get this team back on track - but if he in fact knew how to do that the team would not find themselves in as dire a situation as they have now got to. Injuries haven't helped but you cannot play this competition and hope to compete at a high level by hoping for a miracle seven or eight game win streak late in the season to get you into the upper top eight. This club has got to find consistency - but in saying that this has proved elusive for thirteen years and I don't expect it to suddenly emerge now. Cleary may not in fact be the man for the job - Daniel Anderson has said he shall quit SuperLeague coaching soon and a part of me can't resist wondering whether it would be worth giving him a 2 year contract to try and rebuild this team.

Some of the quotes re Cleary's predicament in the Herald are pretty awesome - i.e. "For a coach who doesn't panic and certainly doesn't do scary, Ivan Cleary was in an ominous mood on Friday night after his side threw away a golden chance to claim consecutive wins for the first time this season". Hugh McGahan has asked in the Herald if it is time to "push the panic button" - and frankly I would say yes - push it repeatedly as fast and as many times as you can as if it is small punch and you are trying to beat Blanka with Guile with cheap tricks on street fighter II.

So Cleary has threatened major changes if things don't improve - but what changes could really be made to make a positive change? The return of Price and Tate can't hurt - but wholesale benchings on grounds of poor defense doesn't seem like it is really going to happen. Luaki seems to have been the scapegoat and has been dumped for the Sharks match this week.

Looking at the Sharkies they have managed to produce consistent results with a team that does not look stunning on paper. "Their defensive record is good, 160 points better than the Warriors who are letting in an average 30 a game while the Sharks concede around 16."

I will this week be reinstating the countdown to oblivion in the status window to the right. This is based on the assumption that to make the top eight you need a certain number of points. In recent seasons this magic number has been 28 points. The Warriors currently have 12 points so need an additional 16 points to reach the magic threshold. They have a bye in hand which is good for 2 free points so they will need 7 wins from 12 remaining games to make the top eight cut-off. We have seen this team pull a rabbit out a hat before so the time is now for them to do it again - but lets face it - this is not the way to win titles and this club again needs to go back to the drawing board for a fundamental rethink.

First away win of the season

2008-06-01T09:52:00.001Z

Finally the Warriors squeeze out a win away, scraping home against the Knights.

crowd goes wild

2008-05-22T09:41:00.002Z

Just a quick note this week as have been busy elsewhere - Penrith result is sickening. As noted in previous posts I don't mind losses but hate utter capitulation. This season is a right off unless Warriors win the next five straight games or something similar. Bring the young up and coming players in en masse now.

Anyway I am hung over to death after watching Man U squeek past Chelsea in Moscow. What an advertisement for the sport - a real thriller. State of Origin - for some reason I like Queensland - I guess it goes back to the Wally Lewis/Graham Lowe days and the 91 series (best ever) - if you are ever bored or waiting for a bus or flight try to name as many players as you can who took part in that series. Anyway NSW win game 1 and that is lame. But hey I could not give a toss at this moment Man U have gone and won the double.

NRL fatigue

2008-05-12T15:03:00.004Z

Well I have realised 10 weeks into the season that my freeview Setanta subscription is insufficient for me to see any NRL live in the UK this season. The reason being that the games are played at like 7 or 8am in the morning and Setanta on freeview is closed down between 3am and midday. If I was on Sky digital or Virgin cable media Setanta plays 24 hours a day and you can watch NRL. What a mozzer.

Anyway to be brutally honest I have been ignoring league over the past couple of weeks - tests don't pique my interest like they used to. Champions league semi-finals and the last day of the premier league have been providing my sporting entertainment of late. And great results for Man U including a Scholes screamer to get them to the Champions league final in Moscow and last day heroics from Ryan Giggs to win the title have left me feeling pretty satisfied.

With that said the Warriors still are the vehicle for my unrealised hopes and dreams - the perpetual battlers fighting against the tide. Next up its the Panthers away. They have an identical win loss record to the Warriors but with a better defensive record for points conceded. However if I recall correctly the Warriors have not managed to win away yet this year - so thats a significant psychological barrier for them to break through. Panthers also coming off a big win against a depleted Dogs side so I would consider the Warriors to be heavy underdogs going into this one.

ANZAC

2008-04-24T23:28:00.001Z

Had to have a crack at the cowboys somehow

2008-04-21T10:59:00.002Z

Well I hate losing the Cowboys - they were always the junk team of the NRL - in fact we always seemed to play them late in the season to decide who would get the wooden spoon. To seem them playing at an elite level and knocking the Warriors out of the playoffs last year hurts. Although I bet the rest of the NRL feels the same way when the Warriors beat them - nights like Meli's five try demolition of the Doggies in the playoffs a few years back does help undo a lot of the pain of the Warriors dark ages. Anyway without further ado on the cowboys are objects of ridicule theme check this:

Warriors capitulate to cowboys

2008-04-19T19:57:00.004Z

I can cope with losses but pathetic blowouts I really tire of. Are the Warriors going to win a game away this year? If they can't they might as well not bother. Looks to me like all the Queensland teams are at an elite level this year - the Warriors however are not.

I watched Man U play Blackburn this evening, a win would have guaranteed the prem title they scraped a 1-1 draw in the final minutes with a Tevez header. A pretty important goal and an important point leading into the crunch match vs Chelsea with a three point lead. Man U play Barca away, Chelsea away and Barca at home all in a period of 7 days starting Wednesday.

Massive win over dogs - you just know that something good is going to happen

2008-04-13T21:22:00.005Z

Man bring on the Vatuvei cost benefit analysis - great win over the Dogs - this is the yo yo of Warriors fandom at its best. Into the top eight. Lets shoot for a perfect home record.

Doggies and Ridge vs Wiki

2008-04-11T10:56:00.004Z

Friday again thank goodness for that. Another riveting week at work flys by leading to another exciting weekend of sporting action.

Man U v Arsenal on Saturday is the big prem game of the week and with Arsenal out of the champions league at the hands of Liverpool mid-week (great game by the way shown on free to air TV here in prime time Tuesday night) this game is even more massive than usual as an Arsenal loss is basically their season over. Man U cruised past Roma and look set to have a real crack at the double .

As for the boys they face up to what will no doubt be a Doggies side desperate to redeem themselves after a Mason pounding. SBW is going to be dangerous and I have my doubts about the Warriors capacity to win this one. Lets hope they can. Only a couple more weeks till Price returns and hopefully gets the season back on track. I thinks its clear however that the Warriors are going to struggle to be top four material unless they improve significantly.

Also enjoyable this week was the minor Wiki vs Ridge spat. With Ridge, echoing comments from the hoff (does he read this blog?) and in a view I am tended to share, suggesting that Wiki was past his use by date - "Ruben quite simply can't keep up with the pace any more," Ridge told the readers of Sunday News. "It really pains me to say this, but there comes a time in a player's career when he has to sit back, take stock, and ask himself a simple question - am I still cutting the mustard?". Wiki on the other hand retorting that he was still doing his best for the club and that the "fire was still burning inside".

Notably Ridge also indicated he thought there was zero chance of the Warriors winning the title this year - fair comment and Ridge basically slams the whole squad as unfit, too big and not organised on defence. This is tough to take on two counts - one - because it is probably absolutely correct and two - Ridge was with the Warriors when they never even made the playoffs - this group of players have finished in the top four and played a home semi. So lets not fire Cleary and dump the squad wholesale just yet.

Warriors scrape past nights

2008-04-06T08:33:00.002Z

Close game vs Knights at home but a win is a win. 26-20 is an ok scoreline when you are struggling. Nice start by Shortland (sleeper rookier of the year?) with two tries. A .500 record is a place to start from so the season does not get away on us but frankly the Knights are bottom of the table material. The Warriors are in desperate need of improvement in order to be able to compete at a Storm/Broncoes level.

By the way snowing in London this morning, its crazy.

Knights at home

2008-04-02T11:34:00.005Z

Its hard to come up with the adjectives to describe how bad the result against Manly really was. Second worst Warriors losing scoreline of all time probably says it all. To say Ivan Cleary was speechless is the understatement of the year.

I hope this is a blip and not a harbinger of the season ahead. Anderson's downfall came as a surprise after a series of strong seasons and I hope last season was the first step in a climb to the grand final rather than the crest of the Cleary wave. Losses like this lay bare the Warriors weaknesses on defense and their lack of leadership in the absence of Price and Wade Mac. Although the Herald's Chris Rattue is not that interested in the Warriors - generally I agree with the tone of this piece on the potential debacle that awaits. Not sure if I agree however that the key flaw in the Warriors set up is the lack of quality kiwis in the skill positions.

You have to hope it can get better at home this weekend against the Knights. The Knights were dire last season so the Warriors need to assert themselves and smash them at home. However it should be noted that on the table the Knights are third with a 2-1 record and a +16 points diff, whilst the Warriors are 14th with a 1-2 record and a -46 points diff. SMH power rankings for this week put the Warriors 12th (not at the bottom yet!) and the Knights 8th with the Broncoes ranked as the top team at present.

So its not going to get any easier and Cleary knows this - a win as always is vital to maintain at a minium a 0.500 record at least until Price returns to inject some fortitude into this teddy bears picnic.

Ugly - its a Manly rout!

2008-03-31T09:38:00.002Z

Well last time I could bear to look the score was 48-6 to Manly. This is not the type of scoreline any of us want to see and it always brings on the chills associated with the dark era of Warriors history when such scorelines were all too common.

Your thoughts on what went wrong would be appreciated.

Monday morning football - 16-0 down

2008-03-31T08:39:00.002Z

Well I am following the game on a sportal text feed at work - Monday morning by the way - just went onto daylight savings so 9am feels like 8am.

And at 9.40am the score with 31 minutes played is 16-0 to Manly. This is terrible - what is going on here? This is a pretty big hole for the boys to dig themselves out of - need to score before halftime really bad.

NZ organised crime

2008-03-28T21:28:00.003Z

Bit of tangent from the warriors I know but check out this article about organised crime in NZ from Christchurch (I know lame city what can I do about it).

Frankly what bothers me about this is there is so little doubt about who is running hard drug distribution in NZ. It is the headhunters at the top with the others gangs working for them nationally. I would suggest, that the government knows exactly who the top people are in these gangs. And to put it bluntly due process does not concern me. I would recommend raiding and then bulldozing their headquarters on mass at 5am nationally and then arrest all the top membership.

The only reason I can see that the perpetrators are not arrested when the police know who they are is that there is enough money involved to prevent real enforcement. If I were an officer in west auckland earning $30k and I am making $30+k on the side from being relaxed about p distribution the economics are simple. Someone needs to make a stand and its not going to be me but its needs to happen now.

My proposal is this - Bring p possession in anything above 1g up to a 2 year mandatory prison sentence. You then give all gangs 48 hours to surrender in amnesty all drug stocks and precurser stocks and surrender all guns and then you raid all the headquarters and tinny houses nationally at the same unannounced time.
We have to do it now before it is too late.

lets go to work

2008-03-25T21:02:00.005Z

Great win for the Warriors over the Eels in fine Auckland conditions. Vatuvei coping with the pressure and HiHo holding up at fullback. Price injury is a worry as is Ropati. However great to get a win - SMH is now ranking the Warriors eighth in their new power rankings (ala ESPN).

Back at work today after my easter holiday - extraordinarily lame.

Next up Manly on Monday night - maybe I shall finally be able to watch a game on my retro Setanta subscription. As noted previously this is rather like having UHF sky in the early nineties. One sports channel with not a lot on is how I would describe the service. If you like Scottish premiership football and/or 10th division football you are in for a treat.

Fascination

2008-03-07T15:02:00.003Z

This post has a soundtack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvD6maGRh7c.

Anyway as for the latest updates, not much has changed in Warriors land, other than that we are now only 1 week away from the kick off of Cleary Year III.

As for me it has been an eventful week and it is just going to get more interesting.

Sunday 2 March I ran the 10k at Clapham Common - it actually went quite well as I am by no means a highly trained runner. I did one of these last year and my time was five minutes faster this time around so thats a good improvement.

After that I headed straight out to Heathrow and flew out to Cairo on Sunday night for a series of work meetings on Monday and Tuesday. I had no time to partake in any tourist activities during my visit and spent almost the entire time in an office or a hotel room. However there were a few cultural moments likely being repeatedly awakened by various calls to prayer during the nighttime and the general Mr Matthew formality of the various hotel staff.

Back to London Tuesday night and this week is now just about over. I am going to stay at a cottage in the Cottswalds for the weekend for a birthday party - then back to work Monday and Tuesday before flying on Wednesday to Geneva to bus on to the ski resort at Val-d'Isere in France. Am staying there for three days and then returning to Geneva for two nights before flying onto Moscow. Will be in Russia until the end of easter.

So its pretty full on, I will be in Russia for the Warriors second and third games of the season so you will all have to keep me updated via text and email. In addition I suspect the blog may ended up lagging a bit behind.

As to the season ahead I think the expectations are up there - top eight would be the absolute minimum acceptable result. In fact if we don't make the eight I would fire Cleary. With that said top four is a reasonable goal but the absence of Wade Mac is going to hurt - fullback is such a crucial position - especially for a team such as Warriors that has perenially needed a strong player to provide solidity and leadership from the position (e.g. Ridge and Cleary). Had Wade Mac not been injured my expectations would have been at sky-high minor premiership levels.

Overall with all things considered top four and a home semi has got to be the goal, the Warriors now have the pedigree to be considered an elite NRL club and they should start acting like it.

Those of you in NZ for the Warriors game vs Eels at home on Sunday, March 23, 2008, 4pm should get along there to partake in the free Fat Freddys Drop gig which is being held at the stadium straight after the game - apparently you need to register with the Vodafone Warriors supporters club "onetribe" to go to the gig.

Warriors lose final trial to Manly

2008-02-29T15:26:00.006Z

Well its been a fairly lacklustre trial campaign with the only win vs a non-NRL Auckland side, the Warriors going down on Friday night away to the Manly Sea-Eagles 24-16.

As always one can't read too much into trial results as the teams try out a lot of subs and combinations and generally don't always play to win.

There little to add other than that this was Tate's first game in a Warriors jersey and Aidan Kirk and Hohaiha split duties at fallback.

As for me - I am doing a 10k run down at Clapham Common on Sunday so that should be interesting - and immediately following that I shall be flying out to Cairo for a series of meetings on Monday and Tuesday. Hope you all have a pleasant weekend - only two weeks to go until Warriors kick off Cleary Year III vs the Storm on a Monday night.

For a guide as to the Storm's current form (and latest squad) I note that the Storm are in the UK tonight to play in the world club challenge vs Leeds Rhinos. Strangely the NRL champs typically lose this game because of the jet lag and the timeing at the begining of the new NRL season but mid-way through the British season. Its a bit of a non-event actually as far as the NRL concerns, but that does not mean I don't I long for the day when the Warriors play in this game.

New Era for Hiho - or another false dawn?

2008-02-23T08:38:00.006Z

Well the Warriors have strolled home in their second trial, winning 50-0 against an Auckland selection.

One of the talking points is clearly the fullback position and Cleary has opted for Hohaia to take the reins and he appears to have impressed, scoring two tries, albeit against half assed opposition who aren't at NRL level. So that is encouraging, but Hiho is a tough one to rely upon - inconsistent form is his hallmark. At his best, e.g. in his breakthrough early seasons he was unstoppable on attack and impressive on defense, a real star. However where has he been the last few years?

Several tries for players who are yet to acheive an NRL start including Kevin Locke which is a name which is started to turn up more and more. Maybe this guy can be the Warriors rookie sleeper for Cleary Year III?

Anyway the media is clearly of the view in Australia and NZ that the loss of Wade Mac seriously damages the Warriors chances this year. Check out this SMH season preview of the Warriors which has been carried by some NZ papers as well where Brad Walter generally says that "the Warriors boast perhaps the best pack in the NRL" and look improved by the addition of Tate but that the absence of Wade is a season killer.

Wade Mac out for the season

2008-02-20T13:07:00.003Z

Well you may have heard by now that star Warriors fullback Wade McKinnon is most likely out for the 2008 season with an ACL injury. These injuries are career killers as they typically require reconstructive knee surgery to overcome. This type of surgery has a decent success rate but the recovery time is long and the chance of full recovery is not 100%.

This is pretty serious news for Cleary Year III, the Warriors do not have great cover at the fullback position. Has anyone heard of untried squad fullback options Ray Wallace, Nafe Seluini, Arden McCarthy, Kevin Locke, or Howie Matthews or will Cleary opt for a utility back like Aidan Kirk or Patrick Ah Van to plug the gap?

We all know how rudderless the Warriors looked initially upon Cleary's retirement. Bring back Brent Webb!

Warriors lose first up trial match to the Knights at North Harbour

2008-02-15T15:31:00.003Z

Well the Warriors lost their trial tonight at North Harbour stadium to the Knights, 22-14, however if its any consolation its noted that the Warriors were up 14-0 whilst playing their number one side in the first half, and only fell away in the second when they made a significant number of substitutions, including giving a number of the junior Warriors a run who had already played a game as the curtain raiser that evening.

If anyone attended the game, let us know your thoughts.

Tea Ropati cleared on all charges

2008-01-31T09:51:00.000Z

Yes its true - not guilty on all charges.

I was thinking about the case this morning and the question that popped into my head was, would the Whiskey bar be happy about the case or unhappy? On the one hand no one could ever dream of this much free publicity, on the other hand, do people want to go and drink at a crime scene? I think I have been to the Whiskey once and it struck me as an extremely tiny but extremely trendy place where the punters did not seem overly impressed with my presence. That was over five years ago now, I have no idea what it is like these days. In fact if anyone would care to comment on the Ponsonby scene generally these days I would be interested.

The Warriors are in their midst of their now familiar brutal summer training regime, including beach runs at bethels beach, a training trip to Te Kaha on the east coast, and a cross training exercise from Takapuna beach to Rangitoto island. This is good stuff and the Warriors as always should be aiming to be the fittest as well as one of the biggest teams in the NRL. Its a fast game these days and recent years have shown that having a giant pack (forward pack that is) is not going to overcome speed, skill and intelligent play at the finesse positions.

A little over two weeks until the first preseason game vs the Knights so the wait is nearly over for Cleary Year III to kick off.

fun and games

2008-01-22T10:28:00.000Z

Hello everyone. The offseason continues. However there are a few matters to discuss, notably Tea Ropati and the NZRL coaching fiasco.

I think Tea Ropati's crimes have been public knowledge for some time however name suppression was only lifted quite recently. Its an ugly story and consensual or not - it is a bad bad look and your reputation is over dude. When your defence is premised on the basis that you, your alleged victim and your friends have been quote "binge drinking, taking cocaine and marijuana" so as to justify or excuse your deviance, the damage is done. Maybe you and Brent Todd can form a disgraced ex-players support group and hang out?

As for the NZRL if this was some form of farcical TV sitcom it might be ok - unfortunately the NZRL are not actually meant to be a joke and are supposedly managing the future of the national side and the game in NZ generally. Kemble has now gone - maybe Bennet can clean house and bring some sense to the madhouse?

Warriors trials start soon - three games in February - so not long to go now.

This is for all my peeps

2008-01-02T15:16:00.000Z

I wonder if many of you are back at work today like me, finding the office dull and quiet and pondering those things that are a little more interesting on the web. This stikes me as a fine time to start stoking the fires of Warriors fandom as we zero in on NRL 2008 and Cleary Year III after an interminably long off-season.

With the addition of Tate at centre the Warriors shape up well after a strong finish to 2007, with the exception of a couple of lacklustre playoff performances. In fact after perhaps the worst alltime year for New Zealand sport, the Warriors may be the only feel good story coming out of 2007. In addition if anyone else like me, still feels slightly queesy at the thought of watching Rugby Union, the Warriors are the antidote.

The 2008 NRL draw has now been released. Those of you who live in Auckland should seriously consider becoming a Warriors season ticket member, you can see all the home games for as a little as NZD270. Warriors open the season Monday 17 March against the Storm, which could be a rude awakening, followed by the Eels on Sunday 23 March and Manly Monday 31 March. So an early opportunity to find out if you like Monday night football or not. I guess the only downside is having to wait all the way through the weekend for the game, and potentially having the team play two games in six days or less in a worst case scenario.

I have got Setanta pay TV at the flat now in London so I will be locked and loaded for Cleary Year III, finally able to watch the Warriors play live every now and again.

Please let me know your thoughts for the year ahead, discussion points include the potential starting line up, whether Hiho can ever recapture his form of 2001-2002 and how Tate will gel with the boys.

Hope you all had a great xmas and new year. Let the 2008 games begin.

Police battle lawyers in Pakistan

2007-11-05T15:00:00.001Z

Oops sorry thats an actual news headline and not some oddball attempt to be funny.

Anyway fantastic match Man U v Arsenal, a draw was the only fair result and 2-2 is plenty of excitement for all the fans concerned. I watched at the Clapham North pub and was impressed with the local rastas dancing for the Arsenal goals as well as the rabid Man U supporters who must have thought they were at old trafford what with the songs and chanting.

We are headed to Old Trafford this coming Sunday for Man U v Blackburn so I will give you a full match report and some pics on that in due course.

In the NFL the Patriots squeezed out the Colts 24-20 in a superbowl preview.

As for the Kiwis I don't think they even deserve a mention. I have accepted the fact that international rugby league is a joke, its about time everyone else did as well. Willie Mason is a nutjob and the Warriors should not sign him no matter how cheap he gets.....Yours please...

Anticipa.............tion

2007-10-31T22:40:00.000Z

Don't you think it is interesting how sometimes it is more interesting to think about things and anticipate them than to actually do them? Like for example isn't it more interesting to talk about playing Monopoly or Table tennis against your mates than to actually play those games?

Or to put it in context isn't it likely to more in large part more interesting to anticipate Man U v Arsenal than to watch Man U v Arsenal? Well I anticipate its going to be stunning game but that may not be the case and right now I am able to imagine an infinite variety of matchups and events that the actual team lists and the reality of the game and conditions will no doubt displace.

Anyway a massive game coming this UK saturday morning, with a 12.45pm kickoff time I may have to lever myself into the pub no later than midday Saturday, oh the hardship.

A quick wrap on the other sports interesting me at present:

NFL

Massive game in the NFL this week - kindof a mini-super bowl with the hot as fuck unbeaten New Patriots vs the super bowl champion and also unbeaten Indianapolis Colts this Sunday. Peyton Manning(Colts QB) is probably the best player of his generation chased closely by Tom Brady (Patriots QB) so a close one is in store. For a few years past the Patriots had a habit of knocking Indy out of the playoffs every year and Peyton and the Colts were accused of having big game-itis second only to the All Blacks.

Anyway Indy won the Superbowl last year so maybe Peyton and posse are over that but certainly a massive game in store.

NBA

A brand new season started yesterday so a world of possibililty awaits, will the big combo in Boston be able to deliver? My opinion, no, they won't, each of Garnett, Allen and Pierce are individually stunning players but all are too old and too used to losing to put it together. I predict a series of serious injuries leading to a cold towel to the lottery for Boston.

My love goes to Lebron, go and get it this year bro. Spurs have got to be too old this year - I have been saying that for about five years now - does Duncan not age?

Anyway I reckon Houston v Cavs in the finals, Cavs in seven.

We out, Bring on Cleary Year III

Post-RWC season overview and objective reflection

2007-10-16T13:23:00.001Z

Hello people, I know it has been a while but I thought it was probably the right time to deliver a quick re-cap on the Warriors season. The All Blacks debacle just goes to show how fun it is to support a team like the Warriors, low expectations are a wonderful thing.

A Storm v Manly grand final was to my mind a fair representation of the NRL season 2007 with those two teams a step ahead of the chasing pack for the whole year.

Finishing fourth in a very even and tough 2007 NRL season is great acheivement by the Warriors, in fact placing Cleary Year II in elite company in respect of all-time Warriors seasons, with the second highest regular season premiership finish ever - behind only the 2002 golden team and a healthy fourth in all-time win percentage:

Year Coach Owner CEO W L D Win % Table Playoffs
1995 Monie ARL Robson 13 9 0 59.09% 10th* none (*2 point deduction for 14 players on field)
1996 Monie ARL Robson 10 11 1 45.45% 11th none
1997 Monie/Endacott ARL MacGowan 7 11 0 38.89% 7th none(SL)
1998 Graham Tainui+Lowe McKewen 9 15 0 37.50% 15th none
1999 Graham Tainui+Lowe McKewen 10 14 0 41.67% 11th none
2000 Graham Tainui/Watson McKewen 8 16 2 30.77% 13th none
2001 Anderson Watson Watson 12 12 2 46.15% 8th qualifying final
2002 Anderson Watson Watson 17 7 0 70.83% 1st grand final
2003 Anderson Watson Watson 15 9 0 62.50% 6th semi-final
2004 Anderson/Kemp Watson Watson 6 18 0 25.00% 14th none
2005 Kemp Watson Watson 10 14 0 41.67% 11th none
2006 Cleary Watson Scurrah 12 12 0 50.00% 10th* none (*4pt deduction - salary cap breach )
2007 Cleary Watson Scurrah 13 10 1 54.17% 4th - qualifying final and semi-final

So overall you have to be pretty happy with Cleary - he has this team on a positive track upward. Its a pretty fine margin between greatness and mediocrity - the margin vs Eels in the home semi only two points (same as ABs losing margin v France). Losing a home playoff game is pretty grim considering they come along once in a blue moon at this franchise but hey - its a lot better than waiting four years to be knocked out at the first elimination stage.

Clearly looks to be slowly building a team that can contend - next year could be the last for Price - so lets hope they can make the most of it.

Cardiff is now but a dim memory in my new and improved positive outlook on the months ahead - bring on Cleary Year III.

Season tickets are already on sale - get yours now!

End of season mode

2007-09-17T15:38:00.000Z

Well the Warriors are out of the playoffs after what can only be described as a stunning and humiliating collapse in Townsville.

The blog is of course pretty horribly out of date as I have just been away in France for a week watching the ABs demolish Italy and Portugal. Nice weather there too.

So to summarise the Warriors are out, the blog is out of date and I am back at work in London.

Its not cool.

I will update the blog though, just give me time, and if you are looking for a silver lining, look at it this way, Cleary Year II still ranks overall as one of the top five warriors seasons ever, and you have the rest of the RWC to look forward to.

Countdown to D-day

2007-09-06T09:44:00.000Z

Well only 24 hours to go until the biggest game in recent Warriors history and not a single comment on the blog? Where are you Warriors fans?

Hope someone of you managed to get tix to the game - I love the quote from the Mad Butcher ("Butch") saying that he would "spit in the faces" of scalpers denying true fans the chance to attend the game. Hey mate why don't you show a bit of emotion - its almost like you don't care enough about the Warriors....um.. not.

Anyway I am pretty pumped up - both about the Warriors and that this is my last day at work for a week as we are flying out tonight to Marseilles for the All Blacks first RWC game vs Italy on Saturday.

A massive sporting weekend awaits, if I can watch the Warriors in Marseille tomorrow morning I will do so - should be 10.30am kickoff by my reckoning.

I hope all of you have a great weekend - get yourself a slab of lion red and enjoy the big games!

Go the Warrriors!

Booyaka - Into the TOP FOUR!!!

2007-09-01T11:23:00.000Z

A win over the Panthers and the boys have done what I had thought was unthinkable only a month or two ago. The top four, it does not seem real. A new golden era awaits!

Anyway so now we look forward to a home semi next week. Who will the opponent be - I am trying to figure that out now but if you know already let me know - Broncoes or Eels if they win tomorrow I guess?

Stunning stuff I am excited! Hit me with your thoughts Warriors fans.

A big apology by the way to all those readers who may have noted my rather slack posting over the last couple of weeks, its hard to keep up with the blog sometimes but I will try and do better during this crucial time.

Warriors in the playoffs Hooray!

2007-08-30T16:05:00.001Z

Hello again - what can I say - Warriors back in the playoffs for the first time since the Anderson era. Feels good doesn't it! A win against Penrith and a top four spot with a home semi the following week - you lucky Auckland residents - better start queuing for tix at the Mad Butcher now! I officially announce that unrestrained gushing over the Warriors can begin. This team looks like they may have what it takes to go to the grand final.

Anyway I watched the highlights of the Manly game on TV3 website - you have got to love Wairangi Koopu - as I understand he has been injured for a large proportion of this season but I would have to say he is about my favourite all time Warriors player. Well maybe him and Mr Effective and Tookey.

Anyways Penrith game should be a win - if the Warriors want to go to the grand final they should consider this game a qualifying final and bag that top four spot which will give them a bye in the second week of the playoffs.

First round playoffs will likely be a tough match but a home game makes it much more likely to be a win. Keep me up to date with your texts.

Also I never heard from the Wellington Warrior re his trip to Auckland for the Manly game - did it all happen in the end bro? I recall on your last trip your airline went bust at the crucial moment and you had to buy a substitute plane ticket.

As an aside I note Andrew Johns has indicated he has been on drugs. This is a pretty strange story - first of all he manages to get busted in possession whilst in London and then goes on to admit to drug use "throughout his career" so as to escape from the high pressure as a player of his stature. It wouldn't surprise me if Johns has been on pretty heavy pain mediciation for much of the last ten years but why he would choose to make this kind of admission unprompted kind of escapes me.

Go the Warriors!

Manly at home - Game of the Year?

2007-08-23T16:52:00.000Z

Well Canberra loss was a real bugger. Warriors stand on the precipice and could either storm into the playoffs or snatch another year in playoff wilderness from the jaws of top eight qualification. I think its clear that if the Warriors don't win at least one of their final two games their top eight hopes are slim to nil.

Manly at home up first and a massive game is in the offing with a sell-out crowd for the first time in what seems like eons. Its definitely winnable but I would be careful of taking this team lightly even with the controversial "resting" of five starters.

I am going to the Lake District for the long bank holiday weekend and if I can manage it will try and catch the Warriors game at 3am Sunday if the hotel has Setanta - otherwise I am reliant on my peeps to keep me up to date with the score.

Was a terrible sports weekend last week with Man U losing to Sven's rejuvenated Man City side and the Warriors losing a heartbreaker in Canberra. I watched England lose to Germany last night as well so I need some positive results to improve my mood.

By the way - Corey Haim and Corey Feldman are cool.

Those of you who attend the Manly game this week - what about dropping your thoughts on the blog when you get home afterwards. Here's a discussion topic to get you started - Whats your favourite seating area in Mt Smart to watch the game?

trash of the titans

2007-08-11T12:06:00.000Z

Another great victory for the boys over the Titans 30-6 in front of a stunning turnout at Mt Smart of over 20,000!

Nothing to complain about here with Rovelli delivering a master class performance with three tries.

Warriors now stand 4th with the balance of the round pending on Sunday. 25 points in hand with three games left, Raiders and Panthers away and the Sea Eagles at home. I think the goal now should be to win all three of these games and storm into the top four or win two with a chance for the top four. Cowboys results will be crucial as for the last few weeks it looks like they could be our playoff week 1 opposition - either home if we finish 4th or away if we finish 5th.

Anyway this season is starting to look like the real deal. Consistency is key and if we can win both our remaining two away games it bodes very well for our playoff future.