General 2020 WILL THE WARRIORS MAKE THE TOP 8?

[gREVUS]

So, we didn't make the finals but given all the disruptions this year including restarting the season, change of coach, Green leaving (which looks more like a positive now) players going home, loan players.... plus a few dozen other things, for the first time since 2011, I'm really proud off the team, coach and staff.

What remains to be seen is whether the attitude amongst the team/squad remains the same next year. There has been so very few times in the last decade when the Warriors side has got me out off my seat (except to look for something to throw at the TV) but the freedom and spirit they've played with over the last few weeks has had me jumping around the Lounge and, even though we haven't made the finals, renewed my passion for the team again.

Brown, please, please let them play with this same freedom. No, more than that, encourage it, build systems around it and let them play at the level we've seen them throughout the second half of this season next year. A few of the teams in the finals this year will be looking over their shoulders to see the Tamworth Warriors chasing after them for their finals spot!!!

i wish i could see your enthusiasm for the future under brown. But looking back at his results and the style of play they did under him. Im seriously thinking of adding thunderclouds to my thumbnail.

With a best possible result now 9 and a worst of 13 I really dont see how this season on paper looks all that different to previous years. especially considering the lack of wins against top 8 sides. Really not to different to the sharkies either.

Throwing the ball around is definitely edge of the seat stuff, but the results still arent there. Maybe a more settled squad would have improved on this, but given its a whole new team, with a different coach next year (yes one i dont rate) then i feel a fair bit of doom and gloom looking forward. Or maybe thats just lockdown me talking

 

[Makasene]

No

 

[Off The Bench]

i wish i could see your enthusiasm for the future under brown. But looking back at his results and the style of play they did under him. Im seriously thinking of adding thunderclouds to my thumbnail.

With a best possible result now 9 and a worst of 13 I really dont see how this season on paper looks all that different to previous years. especially considering the lack of wins against top 8 sides. Really not to different to the sharkies either.

Throwing the ball around is definitely edge of the seat stuff, but the results still arent there. Maybe a more settled squad would have improved on this, but given its a whole new team, with a different coach next year (yes one i dont rate) then i feel a fair bit of doom and gloom looking forward. Or maybe thats just lockdown me talking

I think this year has to be taken in context .
If we had started the year playing like we finished playing we would be celebrating .We were in line to get the spoon for a while .

 

[gREVUS]

I think this year has to be taken in context .
If we had started the year playing like we finished playing we would be celebrating .We were in line to get the spoon for a while .

Maybe, but to often i am told that blaming the ref is making an excuse, well so is blaming anything else, including the season from hell. For all we know they played better because of the reorganisation and the introduction of loan players into the team. Watching the game last night i wonder if the application of a bit more of the process would have helped them not look like headless chooks so much.

For me its all about balance. Warrior Ball and the proccess are at either end of the spectrum and finding that balance probably in favour (just a bit) towards the Process is probably the way to get more wins.

My thought is that NB is going to be all about his version of the process. I hope to be proved wrong.

 

[Stone]

The positive I am taking into next season is the fight/mental resilience this team has shown during the back half of this season.

How often have we Warriors fans bemoaned our teams lack of mental toughness over many MANY previous seasons ???

How often have we seen the Warriors fold like a cheap lawn chair when the going gets tough ???

Sure, we didn't make the finals this season, but we stood strong & showed some real character under extremely taxing conditions.

This team had every excuse to put the cue in the rack & just go through the motions after the whole covid situation.

Many Warriors teams (too many) of the past would've done exactly that, but not this team.

This team dug in & had a real crack, while missing a considerable amount of experience & ability & that's something I haven't seen from a Warriors outfit in quite a while. (even the 2018 team didn't have this level of fight about them IMO)

Also, as I said in another thread, Brown doesn't have to do too much IMO, the nucleus of a good team is there, they just need to build on the foundation of what has been built this season, which is consistent effort & a willingness to fight for everything.

And as far as I'm aware, the nucleus of this team will be here next season. (please correct me if I'm wrong)

To put it another way, I'd much rather support a less talented team (skills wise) of scrappers who will stay in the fight & at least go down swinging than a more talented team who buckle under a bit of pressure, which is what this franchise is historically known for.

So yeh, at the very least, I for one will be heading into next season feeling much more optimistic about our squad & our chances than I did this season.

 

[Tianasnow14]

Farrk last nights game was a kick in the guts. I didnt want open this thread up until we actually made it the finals. When Rudolf scored the sound of silence was playing in my head . Love this team WARRIORS FOR LIFE

 

[mrblonde]

I have to admit for the first time since late-2000 I'm less worried about the state of the club on-field than off it.

My reasoning (yes, logic and being a Warriors fan can co-exist!):

It's looking increasingly likely the Warriors will be based on Redcliffe next year. If pre-season is start in November, surely things have to be sorted by mid-October at worst. Or, at any rate, 6 weeks before pre-season begins. I'd say it's 80% likely those drums at Mt Smart will stay silent for another season.

Therefore, the Warriors can kiss goobye to money through walk-up crowds on gamedays, merchandise sales, corporate boxes etc etc. And, of course, sponsorship. Which'd mean the Warriors could go back to just being referred to as the New Zealand Warriors as no-one would be found to be a main club sponsor. Autex might not mind losing a bit of money on their Warriors investment, although they wouldn't like being like an ATM the Warriors frantically shove their card into every month. Quite rightly, they'd divest themselves of that sideline rugby league investment Mark Robinson was so keen on if their core business comes under serious threat. And who'd pick the club up?

Furtermore, how many people who were happy to say "Okey-dokey, Warriors, keep my money for my 2020 season ticket and use it for 2021!" will be keen to do that again next year? I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where it won't be a hard call to roll it forward, but a fair number of season ticketers probably won't be. If I was to ask for a refund, that would be based more on the existence of the club becoming less sure than the location of the club. I haven't heard anything from the NRL about any club's future, Cameron George might have been over-egging the situation last week to get the Government to harden up and get that Tasman Bubble sorted (a more public version of his "everyone's against us!" schtick) and I'm sure the NRL really, really wouldn't want New Zealand out of the NRL, but who really knows?

So, with no money going in, there's more going out. The sands empty out that hole in the bucket even faster now the hole's bigger. Nekk minit, no Warriors no mo'.

I'm sure I'm doing my own over-egging of the situation regarding the Warriors' continuing existence, but this doesn't feel like a comfortable place to be right now.

 

[Off The Bench]

The positive I am taking into next season is the fight/mental resilience this team has shown during the back half of this season.

How often have we Warriors fans bemoaned our teams lack of mental toughness over many MANY previous seasons ???

How often have we seen the Warriors fold like a cheap lawn chair when the going gets tough ???

Sure, we didn't make the finals this season, but we stood strong & showed some real character under extremely taxing conditions.

This team had every excuse to put the cue in the rack & just go through the motions after the whole covid situation.

Many Warriors teams (too many) of the past would've done exactly that, but not this team.

This team dug in & had a real crack, while missing a considerable amount of experience & ability & that's something I haven't seen from a Warriors outfit in quite a while. (even the 2018 team didn't have this level of fight about them IMO)

Also, as I said in another thread, Brown doesn't have to do too much IMO, the nucleus of a good team is there, they just need to build on the foundation of what has been built this season, which is consistent effort & a willingness to fight for everything.

And as far as I'm aware, the nucleus of this team will be here next season. (please correct me if I'm wrong)

To put it another way, I'd much rather support a less talented team (skills wise) of scrappers who will stay in the fight & at least go down swinging than a more talented team who buckle under a bit of pressure, which is what this franchise is historically known for.

So yeh, at the very least, I for one will be heading into next season feeling much more optimistic about our squad & our chances than I did this season.

As far as I see it

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck , Pernham ,Chanel Harris-Tavita ,Kodi ,Egan ,Katoa ,Harris ,Jazz .
That's the players from this year that play next year .You can swap
Pernham for Hiku but I can assure you both won't be playing .

So this is my concern about next year . Maybe it was the team that played well this year .
An well they are not there anymore .An what coach is going to be allowed to bench the most expensive players on his roster if it turns out it was this bunch of guys

 

[JaggedJ]

It's been enjoyable not waking up and having that sense of dread.

On the other hand I've seen the "2021 teams" people keep naming and can't help being underwhelmed.

So glad I don't dread game day at the moment but not sold on 2021 being a big step forward because of it.