Pick Your Team NZ Warriors v Cronulla Sharks - [Round 5, 2026]

sup42 · Mar 29, 2026

Boats n Hoes said:
Even the dud coaches Nathan Brown etc know the game better than us but the weaknesses in their coaching philosiphies can stand out like dog balls at times....

.....and thats what i thought these forums we're for....punters can post

One thing regarding the Tigers game i have a big question mark over and i havent seen much mention of.....since when did Stowers Smith leap frog Demetric?
Dont get me wrong i like Stowers Smith and thought he was pretty decent but for me Vaimauga just offers more prescence, physicallity and energy when he comes on which i thought we were lacking.....strange call by Webby there i thought....id be interested in his reasoning.

I have to put my hand up here. I get annoyed with the quick turn on a great coach after one loss and dudes dredging up their pet small issues as the whole reason things went wrong (the irony is that don't they realise that an NRL coach has already thought of their idea and made a calculation in another direction because they have multiples of factors we are not privy to in making those calls).

But I should take a leaf from your book and shut up on it. I know this isn't confessional so I will skip the hail Mary's and our Father's (I'm not Catholic I just love them for the myriad of pop culture references, thank you Papists!). On to the footy....well with Tanner I was wondering whether Webster thought (as others have said) that he would rotate the young forwards, and perhaps....he thought the Tigers would be a safer option to do that little experiment with?

wizard of Tauranga · Mar 29, 2026

Boats n Hoes said:
100% agree....even the worst coaches know more about the game than all of us put together.

However it doesnt mean coaches cant make mistakes, errors, misjudgements.....happens to the best of them. Daniel Anderson in 2004 bulking up an already physically huge team in favour of cardio was a massive mistake and pointed out by many punters at the time.

Even the dud coaches Nathan Brown etc know the game better than us but the weaknesses in their coaching philosiphies can stand out like dog balls at times....

.....and thats what i thought these forums we're for....punters can post their own "Opinions" where and how their team is going good, bad, or otherwise.....if u dont agree with that opinion (and im not meaning u in particular) argue, debate, counter....i love that sort of thing about this forum, it can and often gives u a different perspective on things.....rather than just taking the "well the coach said it was so it must be" line.

Even the dude who wants to replace the first graders with the entire NSW cup line up.....lol it cracks me up and even tho we would be getting done by 100 every week.....have your say bro.....but own your opinion and be prepared to take flak for it.

One thing regarding the Tigers game i have a big question mark over and i havent seen much mention of.....since when did Stowers Smith leap frog Demetric?
Dont get me wrong i like Stowers Smith and thought he was pretty decent but for me Vaimauga just offers more prescence, physicallity and energy when he comes on which i thought we were lacking.....strange call by Webby there i thought....id be interested in his reasoning.

Must be something more to Vaimauga?

Team requirements just went against him on the day? Off field penalty? Rest and rotation?

TSS didn’t get on agains the knights and leapfrogged Vaimauga this week?

Boats n Hoes · Mar 29, 2026

sup42 said:
I get annoyed with the quick turn on a great coach after one loss and dudes dredging up their pet small issues as the whole reason things went wrong

So do i

Lol top 6 last year and a vocal few here were still calling for Webbys head during the season.....but fuck....each to their own.

wizard of Tauranga · Mar 29, 2026

Boats n Hoes said:
So do i

Lol top 6 last year and a vocal few here were still calling for Webbys head during the season.....but fuck....each to their own.

Coaching and most complex decision making comes down to playing odds.

Will it work vs will it backfire.

Webster was very risk averse previous years to the point the opportunity cost impacted the teams potential. I commend him for taking risks in selection this year. I hope he experiments now, early season and becomes more conservative towards the finals.

Sometimes there are no right or wrong decisions. Eg Metcalf has to come back and it will be a negative in the short term to get to the positive in the long term.

If every decision was black and white we would all be successful coaches.

Stalefish540 · Mar 29, 2026

sup42 said:
I have to put my hand up here. I get annoyed with the quick turn on a great coach after one loss and dudes dredging up their pet small issues as the whole reason things went wrong (the irony is that don't they realise that an NRL coach has already thought of their idea and made a calculation in another direction because they have multiples of factors we are not privy to in making those calls).

But I should take a leaf from your book and shut up on it. I know this isn't confessional so I will skip the hail Mary's and our Father's (I'm not Catholic I just love them for the myriad of pop culture references, thank you Papists!). On to the footy....well with Tanner I was wondering whether Webster thought (as others have said) that he would rotate the young forwards, and perhaps....he thought the Tigers would be a safer option to do that little experiment with?

I think it was purely circumstantial, and the new six man bench gives you a fair bit more wiggle room for changes on the run mid game. Which i'm sure theres a plan A, B, C for whatever scenario arises.

Laban can't get through 80 week on week yet and Marata covers both middle and edge. Don't think it's any more complicated than that.

jonesy101 · Mar 29, 2026

wizard of Tauranga said:
Coaching and most complex decision making comes down to playing odds.

Will it work vs will it backfire.

Webster was very risk averse previous years to the point the opportunity cost impacted the teams potential. I commend him for taking risks in selection this year. I hope he experiments now, early season and becomes more conservative towards the finals.

Sometimes there are no right or wrong decisions. Eg Metcalf has to come back and it will be a negative in the short term to get to the positive in the long term.

If every decision was black and white we would all be successful coaches.

He literally rolled the dice with the starting 13 most out there were asking for.

Beastmode · Mar 29, 2026

Dannevegas said:
Ye cos our backline was so solid last night ay. Getting torn up by Adam Douehi.
Douehi’s never ran track like that before.
Our backline is too old and slow, simple as that

That same old and slow backline that scored 120 points consecutive 3 weeks earlier and conceded bugger all points?? That same old and slow backline was it????

Hopefully RTS pulls his head in. Love the guy but making a public announcement on game day that you’re leaving is amateurish. Did CG and the club sign off on that announcement???? He’s owes the team two tries and a win against the Sharks to make up for that performance.

Pompey should be given two weeks paternity leave to be with his new born. Priorities. Family first.

Metcalf could do with time in NSW cup to get his rhyme and timing back. Let me make it clear - he’s no Nathan Cleary nor a proven or seasoned FG veteran like Barnett. Hes played bugger all FG during his injury proned career. NSW would do him good to shake off that rust.

Rant over.

Let’s go Warriors. In Webby I trust.

Dannevegas · Mar 29, 2026

Beastmode said:
That same old and slow backline that scored 120 points consecutive 3 weeks earlier and conceded bugger all points?? That same old and slow backline was it????

Thanks to the forwards and spine. Our backline has been out played by the opposition backline in all 4 games so far

Worried2Death · Mar 29, 2026

jonesy101 said:
He literally rolled the dice with the starting 13 most out there were asking for.

We didn't mean rest Demi and play Barney on an edge though, but I suppose he's still learning to trust our advice.

JustLikeStartingOver · Mar 29, 2026

I think the 6 man bench is causing some overthinking with the subs, they should treat it more like the old 4 men bench with two “break glass in case of emergency” players.

Like, capewell is out, so we need another edge in the 17, don’t have this weird rotation of ford, Barnett and Niukore rotating between middle and edge, just pick the next man up, which they did do with Gannon, unfortunate he got knocked out, the next edge up is Kayliss in jumper 17.

CWC · Mar 29, 2026

Worried2Death said:
We didn't mean rest Demi and play Barney on an edge though, but I suppose he's still learning to trust our advice.

Nor Leka at right centre, again

I think the last time he played there he dropped the ball hot on attack and To’o ran away with it

sydneywarrior92 · Mar 29, 2026

The game on Friday made it clear why Webby prefers Leka off the bench. The Leka-Mets edge was an issue all night. I know Capewell is due back next week not this week, but when he is in the frame, he comes straight back into the back row for me. We never worry about that edge when Capes is there. It's always the other edge that drives us nuts.

Other than that, no need to panic. I'd persist with the same lineup as last week. There was always going to be teething issues with Mets coming back. Unlike Hanson last week, Tannah has never played with Mets and it showed. Only way to improve the connection is to play more games with each other.

Warriors4eva95 · Mar 29, 2026

sydneywarrior92 said:
The game on Friday made it clear why Webby prefers Leka off the bench. The Leka-Mets edge was an issue all night. I know Capewell is due back next week not this week, but when he is in the frame, he comes straight back into the back row for me. We never worry about that edge when Capes is there. It's always the other edge that drives us nuts.

Other than that, no need to panic. I'd persist with the same lineup as last week. There was always going to be teething issues with Mets coming back. Unlike Hanson last week, Tannah has never played with Mets and it showed. Only way to improve the connection is to play more games with each other.

Also didn't get a proper captains run so no cohesion was the obvious here, Sharks just played a massive game against the Raiders, that will come into effect will be back to the way we were playing round 1 and 2 I'm almost 95% on that also short turn around I got a good feeling we'll grind the Sharks out of the game
36-12 my prediction

Up The Fkn Wahs !!
Lesss goo !!
For this game my team would be
1. CNK 2. DWZ 3. Leiataua 4. Pompey 5. RTS 6. CHT 7. Boyd 8. Fisher Harris 9. Egan 10. Ford 11. Laban 12. Halasima 13. Clark

14. Metcalf 15. Vaimauga 16. Stowers-Smith 17. Barnett
18. Gannon 19. Ieremia - Toeava Chur Chur
Never change a winning formula maybe Healey for Metcalf that's about it

Webby went web wild this week for some unknown reason

sydneywarrior92 · Mar 29, 2026

Warriors4eva95 said:
Also didn't get a proper captains run so no cohesion was the obvious here, Sharks just played a massive game against the Raiders, that will come into effect will be back to the way we were playing round 1 and 2 I'm almost 95% on that also short turn around I got a good feeling we'll grind the Sharks out of the game
36-12 my prediction

Up The Fkn Wahs !!
Lesss goo !!

Raiders played into their hands by making it a game of touch football. We have the forwards to stand up to them in a grind which is how we need to approach this game. We've won the last 3 games at Shark park, so the $1.55 price for the sharks is good value.

CWC · Mar 30, 2026

Both raiders and sharks were gassed for the last 15min lol they looked horrible, raiders did 4d chess brain fart then sharks did their best to hand it back to them

Nicho missed a kick literally right in front to push the lead to 12, I was surprised the commentators didn’t react more to that shocker

mrblonde · Mar 30, 2026

sup42 said:
I have to put my hand up here. I get annoyed with the quick turn on a great coach after one loss and dudes dredging up their pet small issues as the whole reason things went wrong (the irony is that don't they realise that an NRL coach has already thought of their idea and made a calculation in another direction because they have multiples of factors we are not privy to in making those calls).

Webby's fine. Just so long as there's no Webby Has The Full Support Of The Board move. Then we'd need to get Dan Ginnane in to give Webby the news and who steps up/in?

You see it in every sport: The Coach is the Public Face of the club in a way that even Captains/Senior Players aren't, so they're the easy focus when things go bad. Never forget the fact that Bad. News. Sells.
Fans are quietly pleased after a win and Severely. Pissed. Off. after a loss and will post to forums and social media accordingly.

Your comment about "we are not privy": The discussion on Mr Boyd was based on what we saw last season. Same about whoever looked sharp last season.
Pre-season can change things.

Not happy about Friday but never expected to be 3/4 (I expected we'd lose to the Raiders and had my doubts about the Knights) so...Not exactly devasted right now.

sydneywarrior92 · Mar 30, 2026

Don't change the halves- give time for Boyd and Mets to work. Healey also doesn't deserve to be dropped- he changes the momentum sometimes when he comes on with his running game.

Warriors4eva95 said:
Also didn't get a proper captains run so no cohesion was the obvious here, Sharks just played a massive game against the Raiders, that will come into effect will be back to the way we were playing round 1 and 2 I'm almost 95% on that also short turn around I got a good feeling we'll grind the Sharks out of the game
36-12 my prediction

Up The Fkn Wahs !!
Lesss goo !!
For this game my team would be
1. CNK 2. DWZ 3. Leiataua 4. Pompey 5. RTS 6. CHT 7. Boyd 8. Fisher Harris 9. Egan 10. Ford 11. Laban 12. Halasima 13. Clark

14. Metcalf 15. Vaimauga 16. Stowers-Smith 17. Barnett
18. Gannon 19. Ieremia - Toeava Chur Chur
Never change a winning formula maybe Healey for Metcalf that's about it

Webby went web wild this week for some unknown reason

Sir Arrow · Mar 30, 2026

Boats n Hoes said:
Gotta add for those that want Leiataua rushed back in, saw enough in that NSW cup game that despite scoring a try and is a strong runner ball in hand.....he is still lazy asf off the ball. The first try they scored simply no urgency and burned on the outside....constantly backing off when they spread the ball his way.....showed zero urgency on that long Mellars break despite being the closest to him to get into a support position...lazy fucker didnt even get out of 2nd gear....has his up sides but c'mon dude, going a hundy when youve only got the ball in your hand is soo old school warriors.....get with the program.

I know he has it in him, that performance against Croker in his milestone game was near perfect.

Cces · Mar 30, 2026

sydneywarrior92 said:
Healey also doesn't deserve to be dropped- he changes the momentum sometimes when he comes on with his running game.

Healey isn't going to miss out on the 19 but the notion that he has to get minutes every week isn't one I would subscribe to.

Healey's stints so far in 2026:
vs Roosters 2-8
vs Raiders 22-0
vs Knights 8-6
vs Tigers 4-10

2025 (off bench):
vs Cowboys 0-0
vs Bulldogs 6-12
vs Dragons 4-0
vs Panthers 0-12

These stats paint him as a flat track bully, which he is much more than, but utilizing him is very much dependent on match circumstances

Warriors4eva95 · Mar 30, 2026

sydneywarrior92 said:
Don't change the halves- give time for Boyd and Mets to work. Healey also doesn't deserve to be dropped- he changes the momentum sometimes when he comes on with his running game.

Yes change the halves Metcalf was mud, CHT n Tanah have earnt the right from the first 3 games, at least CHT won't be dropping off tackles and leaving gaping holes that the opposition can get through with ease, Metcalf shouldn't have been rushed back so early should of at least had 2 to 3 cup games to prove he's worth otherwise, Boyd and CHT have earnt the sorry about the language but they've earnt the fkn right to be there, I'm actually full pissed what happened to Webby holding players liable that play mud he said they'd be dropped to NSW cup to get their confidence back up what a crock of shit he hasn't done any of this, words are cheap, actions are priceless

Pick Your Team NZ Warriors v Cronulla Sharks - [Round 5, 2026]

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