The Broncos were the better team but those forward passes that lead to the try was bullshit. The commentators laughed it off but this was a prelim in the balance. Also the Pompey binning and Egan/Walker off didn’t help our cause. Still proud of the team this year
Post Match 2023 Broncos vs Warriors - Week 3 Finals (Post Match)
- Thread starter 1995warriorsfan
- Start date
vs
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● LIVE
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NZWarriors.com
I’ll defo be going for the panthers next week. Both teams are full of losers but I hate the panthers less
There has been a lot wrong with the refereeing but that will be discussed later.
We aren't truly at the level of the Panthers or Broncos yet, but where we have come from is truly amazing.
This year has been amazing. And next year we will go to another level completely! Book your leave now everyone. GRAND FINAL 2024 HERE WE COME!
We aren't truly at the level of the Panthers or Broncos yet, but where we have come from is truly amazing.
This year has been amazing. And next year we will go to another level completely! Book your leave now everyone. GRAND FINAL 2024 HERE WE COME!
NZWarriors.com
Im extreeeemely proud of this team man, but fuck do I hate this competition.
Brisbane to much xfactor, Haas has to be dallym prop was unstoppable... we tried hard but I think we needed to slightly move away from the systems a little bit, can't really blame Webby, he only had the stock that was in front of him, Nuikore was non existent, Tevaga has lost that oomph he once had, Jackson crucial miss tackle, I could go on, but you can keep blaming players but in the end Bronc just to good across the park... I hope they win the big one... over Penrith arrogance
I'm not too disappointed. The Broncos are the better team, and grand finals should have the best two teams going at it. I just wish the 50/50s were called evenly so that we could have had a spectacle, and didn't get thrashed (which I don't think we deserved).
Good stuff boys. Great season. Hold your heads up high
Good stuff boys. Great season. Hold your heads up high
NZWarriors.com
Gutted. But what a season. Well done lads, you did us proud.
i hope the panthers win the GF on a blatant forward pass.... like 3m forard type stuff
Great season boys, should hold your heads up high. Not the end to the season that we wanted, but it's the start of something that looks to be pretty special. Hopefully we learn and grow and who knows, next year may just be our year.
Chur whanau, up the Wahs!
Chur whanau, up the Wahs!
NZWarriors.com
Great season…. But we desperately need some help for AFB and Barnett up front next season. Bunty and Ale are not the answer.
And that’s all she wrote.
Long live the Wahs.
I turn to 2024 with much anticipation.
Reality is - this wasn’t our year. But we will be better for the experience of playing both the top teams in the finals, while dealing to a bottom-of-the-top-8 team at home in the middle.
Look at that emotion of D Walkers face post game. We will come back from this.
I’ll still be wearing my Warriors gear tomorrow, next week, next month, next year.
Up the Wahs
Long live the Wahs.
I turn to 2024 with much anticipation.
Reality is - this wasn’t our year. But we will be better for the experience of playing both the top teams in the finals, while dealing to a bottom-of-the-top-8 team at home in the middle.
Look at that emotion of D Walkers face post game. We will come back from this.
I’ll still be wearing my Warriors gear tomorrow, next week, next month, next year.
Up the Wahs
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NZWarriors.com
Ref calls a forward pass on Egan that wasnt forward then proceeds to miss 2 blatant forward passes that leads to a try for the broncos. That was the game killer.
So the needs to be asked. How fucking incompetent was that performance from the ref’s?!?????????
Well done Broncos. The better team won with their 1 million offloads, speed and ref incompetence
Heads up everyone. A Fantastic season for the boys. Onwards and upwards we go.
So the needs to be asked. How fucking incompetent was that performance from the ref’s?!?????????
Well done Broncos. The better team won with their 1 million offloads, speed and ref incompetence
Heads up everyone. A Fantastic season for the boys. Onwards and upwards we go.
Felt the officiating was ok. I thought we were due a few penalties coming out our end in the first half but to be fair we got away with an awful lot too.
The forward pass - to put it simply if the officials are not in the right position it's not going to be called. I've said for a long time there is no reason not to rule on blatant forward passes. I hope this is the catalyst for the NRL to reach a consensus how to eliminate that from the game.
As for the winning and losing of the match, unfortunately that's on us. We couldn't wrap up the ball and they owned us in the middle. You just aren't going to beat them if you concede 24 first half points. And especially if you can't even kick a goal - 4 tries to 3 at half time but needing 3 scores to get a lead - that's our own hand brake.
We know our weaknesses, looking forward to hopefully some strike out wide through RTS next year. Webby too has a bit to work on with his bench rotations, where on earth was Curran for 65 minutes of the game?
What a great season it has been, and totally unexpected.
Now we get to see how we play with expectation next year. I expect us to play this game again next year, and hopefully in Auckland!
The forward pass - to put it simply if the officials are not in the right position it's not going to be called. I've said for a long time there is no reason not to rule on blatant forward passes. I hope this is the catalyst for the NRL to reach a consensus how to eliminate that from the game.
As for the winning and losing of the match, unfortunately that's on us. We couldn't wrap up the ball and they owned us in the middle. You just aren't going to beat them if you concede 24 first half points. And especially if you can't even kick a goal - 4 tries to 3 at half time but needing 3 scores to get a lead - that's our own hand brake.
We know our weaknesses, looking forward to hopefully some strike out wide through RTS next year. Webby too has a bit to work on with his bench rotations, where on earth was Curran for 65 minutes of the game?
What a great season it has been, and totally unexpected.
Now we get to see how we play with expectation next year. I expect us to play this game again next year, and hopefully in Auckland!
NZWarriors.com
I want SJ to know that they never let me down, so proud of this team.
tajhay
💙💚❤️
Broncos just too good. The team over achieved and after such a long time we look like we are going the right direction. Fir that we should be extremely proud.
But we didn't deserve to be in the grand final. We had a pretty dismal w/l record against the top 4 teams. We still have a bit of improvement left to go before we can really challenge the top dogs.
Extremely proud of the 2023 Warriors.
But we didn't deserve to be in the grand final. We had a pretty dismal w/l record against the top 4 teams. We still have a bit of improvement left to go before we can really challenge the top dogs.
Extremely proud of the 2023 Warriors.
From a team I’ve been at times embarrassed to support (hey at least I’m honest), to a team an entire nation got behind during a rugby World Cup, I’m still insanely proud of this team. Up against Home advantage and an insanely talented team, We needed things to go perfectly to win this.
Key points for me.
- The forward pass was unforgivable & it halted any momentum we had. This put us into a panic mode, leading to Pompey sin bin.
- The Egan HIA hurt & a bunch of uncharacteristic errors.
- The broncos offloading 17x in the first half - what the actual fuck. Defensively we needed to be better, but that’s out of this world.
- For all DWZ finishing abilities, he jams & panics & struggles defensively. He needs to fix this.
- Tohu is an incredible player & leader.
- I feel Curran could be better utilised, even as a hard running middle?
- our centres are green and inexperienced, and will be better from this. For mine, RTS takes Pompey’s spot. Berry is improving every week & his catch pass & defence is better than Pompey.
we lost to a better team tonight, but we can still be proud of where we got to, from where we were. Selling out mss week after week, players hitting career best form, we play with effort & grit, & we have a style & our swagger Back. Our cup side finished strong, we have 2 new pathways programmes starting next year & weve unearthed some future first graders in halasima, Laban, going, volkman, leiataua, maiu’u and Tuaupiki. There’s a lot to be proud of.
Shout out to all you crazy mofos on the forum for another awesome year. I’ve enjoyed it & can’t wait to see what 2024 brings with another year of experience & coaching under webby. RTS returns, CHT will add some toughness & we haven’t lost anyone significant to the squad. We will be better for this & the top 4 is now the standard we expect.
Bring on 2024
Key points for me.
- The forward pass was unforgivable & it halted any momentum we had. This put us into a panic mode, leading to Pompey sin bin.
- The Egan HIA hurt & a bunch of uncharacteristic errors.
- The broncos offloading 17x in the first half - what the actual fuck. Defensively we needed to be better, but that’s out of this world.
- For all DWZ finishing abilities, he jams & panics & struggles defensively. He needs to fix this.
- Tohu is an incredible player & leader.
- I feel Curran could be better utilised, even as a hard running middle?
- our centres are green and inexperienced, and will be better from this. For mine, RTS takes Pompey’s spot. Berry is improving every week & his catch pass & defence is better than Pompey.
we lost to a better team tonight, but we can still be proud of where we got to, from where we were. Selling out mss week after week, players hitting career best form, we play with effort & grit, & we have a style & our swagger Back. Our cup side finished strong, we have 2 new pathways programmes starting next year & weve unearthed some future first graders in halasima, Laban, going, volkman, leiataua, maiu’u and Tuaupiki. There’s a lot to be proud of.
Shout out to all you crazy mofos on the forum for another awesome year. I’ve enjoyed it & can’t wait to see what 2024 brings with another year of experience & coaching under webby. RTS returns, CHT will add some toughness & we haven’t lost anyone significant to the squad. We will be better for this & the top 4 is now the standard we expect.
Bring on 2024
NZWarriors.com
Some thoughts from the game.
Caveat. Love the team and am stoked we got 3rd. We overachieved massively this season.
This is harsh, time to improve things, type comment.
1. We weren’t really in that game after the Broncs first try. All the dominance was the Broncs. We’d try and pull momentum back
2. We are too slow right across the park. It’s obvious on every break.
3. We are too old; all our vets were ragged by half times. Tohu spent half the game on his haunches or struggling to get back to the defensive line.
4. Haas absolutely owned AFB.
5. SJ tried to carry the team but we had no 13 and no 6.
6. Webby struggles to beat top teams. There’s no variation for teams that are better than us. Getting beaten in the offload count in both the Penrith and Broncs games is not a good sign.
Caveat. Love the team and am stoked we got 3rd. We overachieved massively this season.
This is harsh, time to improve things, type comment.
1. We weren’t really in that game after the Broncs first try. All the dominance was the Broncs. We’d try and pull momentum back
2. We are too slow right across the park. It’s obvious on every break.
3. We are too old; all our vets were ragged by half times. Tohu spent half the game on his haunches or struggling to get back to the defensive line.
4. Haas absolutely owned AFB.
5. SJ tried to carry the team but we had no 13 and no 6.
6. Webby struggles to beat top teams. There’s no variation for teams that are better than us. Getting beaten in the offload count in both the Penrith and Broncs games is not a good sign.
Seriously bro. Pull the handbrakes on this criticism. Too old? Too slow? Webby lacks variation? A tad harsh don’t you think?
Absolutely there’s still work to do. But there’s only two teams in front of us right now - Penrith and Brisbane.
And full credit to the Broncos. They played the perfect dry weather football.
Offloads galore and minimal mistakes. A coaches dream.
We played our structured game. It’s what we’re good at this year. But next year, I’d like this offload/jungle footy introduced back into our arsenal for dry weather tracks. It’s all good.
As fans, nothing to feel bad about. Bronocos were the better team today.
NZWarriors.com
Pompey was a diamond last week but a gravel rock today
Couldn’t kick a conversation to save his life. Lost the ball in the first tackle off the scrum. Gets binned for 10. What a god dam disaster. Also losing the ball on the first tackle killed our confidence and fight back.
Ford - not paying attention to Walters that close to the line and getting fooled by the dummy pass is criminal.
Jazz’s absolute brain explosion trying an offload and tiring position over was so Jazz like.
It’s these critical moments from our usual brain fart players that changed the momentum of the game. I could see heads dropping after each play.
DWZ doing what he does on D and cutting on catching no one was so DWZ like…
SJ looked super frustrated also.
I dunno. It is what it is. You take the highs of last week then need to swallow the lows of defeat
Couldn’t kick a conversation to save his life. Lost the ball in the first tackle off the scrum. Gets binned for 10. What a god dam disaster. Also losing the ball on the first tackle killed our confidence and fight back.
Ford - not paying attention to Walters that close to the line and getting fooled by the dummy pass is criminal.
Jazz’s absolute brain explosion trying an offload and tiring position over was so Jazz like.
It’s these critical moments from our usual brain fart players that changed the momentum of the game. I could see heads dropping after each play.
DWZ doing what he does on D and cutting on catching no one was so DWZ like…
SJ looked super frustrated also.
I dunno. It is what it is. You take the highs of last week then need to swallow the lows of defeat
Well team I’ve woken up this morning a bit emotional tbh! I’m tired after the late watch here in NZ (having 2 young kids doesn’t help 
) but it’s the genuine disappointment at the result last night. I dead set believed we could (not would but could) get over them.
But a large part of feeling emotional is like all of you I’m just so proud of this team and this club for what they have achieved this year. From where they have been to where they are now is unbelievable. I have waited a long time to have a team that we could be proud of again and that’s now here.
Walking around my (very non-league) neighbourhood with my Warriors kit on and having people comment, going to the local pub and it being packed with supporters, and having friends, family, and my 2 young girls getting behind them has just been awesome.
On the game…
) but it’s the genuine disappointment at the result last night. I dead set believed we could (not would but could) get over them.But a large part of feeling emotional is like all of you I’m just so proud of this team and this club for what they have achieved this year. From where they have been to where they are now is unbelievable. I have waited a long time to have a team that we could be proud of again and that’s now here.
Walking around my (very non-league) neighbourhood with my Warriors kit on and having people comment, going to the local pub and it being packed with supporters, and having friends, family, and my 2 young girls getting behind them has just been awesome.
On the game…
- The Broncos were the better side but I dont think the scoreline reflected the game. I felt a score of 30-18 would’ve been more reflective.
- Got outmuscled and think Haas showed he’s the #1 prop in the game, just that smidgen ahead of AFB (but hell id still have AFB any day)
- That forward pass was just disgusting. I can’t think of a worse forward pass…ever!
- Agree we are lacking a genuine game breaker in the backline. As much as TMM is the better option, that is one thing that Metcalf brings…speed. I listen a bit to Gus Goulds podcast and he says the thing that scares him the most with teams, teams that have speed.
- I am too tired to go through and analyse anymore of the game so will leave it at that.
NZWarriors.com
The day after the night before. Broncos were excellent - a class above, but the score line was not reflective of the competitiveness of the Warriors. Three missed conversions were costly. 24-18 at halftime meant game on. Then a blatant forward pass and the game was gone. But who cares about the minor details. The better team won on the night. The Broncos and the Panthers have been a class above everyone else and they deserve their spots at the big dance. Well done to them.
Fact is the Wahs made me bloody proud all season. It’s been a wild ride and a season of absolute redemption. We’ve found our identity. And It’s reignited a spark in me which I thought was lost… the last 10 years, 2018 aside, turned me into a fan that struggled with being cynical when I watched this team… I hated the constant pain that supporting this team made me feel. I hated the infighting, management troubles, players and staff giving up or rejecting us on live television…just… the mediocrity. But that’s all changed this year. For ever.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people
The Wahs are the peoples club. We now have a team who connect with our country, our jersey and our fans. They want to be there. We have built pathways, added new lower grade teams and we have talent coming through. We are building a powerhouse on the back of a culture that is uniquely ours.
UP THE WAHS.
Up the Wahs is a phenomenon. It is a rallying call for all who are underdogs to rise up and take on the elites. To be knocked down and rise up from the canvas. To carry on through adversity. For the people to pick each other up and together, go again. It is a belief that one day, we WILL go all the way.
Despite the loss in the prelim, 2024 will see a stronger, more unified, hungrier Wahs team that now know they are good enough. We have removed the curse and no longer accept mediocrity.
We will be back. Stronger, fitter, better.
We go again.
UP THE FKN WAHS!
Fact is the Wahs made me bloody proud all season. It’s been a wild ride and a season of absolute redemption. We’ve found our identity. And It’s reignited a spark in me which I thought was lost… the last 10 years, 2018 aside, turned me into a fan that struggled with being cynical when I watched this team… I hated the constant pain that supporting this team made me feel. I hated the infighting, management troubles, players and staff giving up or rejecting us on live television…just… the mediocrity. But that’s all changed this year. For ever.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people
The Wahs are the peoples club. We now have a team who connect with our country, our jersey and our fans. They want to be there. We have built pathways, added new lower grade teams and we have talent coming through. We are building a powerhouse on the back of a culture that is uniquely ours.
UP THE WAHS.
Up the Wahs is a phenomenon. It is a rallying call for all who are underdogs to rise up and take on the elites. To be knocked down and rise up from the canvas. To carry on through adversity. For the people to pick each other up and together, go again. It is a belief that one day, we WILL go all the way.
Despite the loss in the prelim, 2024 will see a stronger, more unified, hungrier Wahs team that now know they are good enough. We have removed the curse and no longer accept mediocrity.
We will be back. Stronger, fitter, better.
We go again.
UP THE FKN WAHS!
Watch the post presser if you haven't. The club is different now. I said it at the start of the year and I feel it now more than ever.
This season hurts right now, but I find Webby so much more reassuring than any other coach we've had. He's not interested in 'the ref fucked us', not interested in 'the rules must be changed'. Only interested in how the boys play and what they're achieved.
This feels like the beginning and for the first time since 2011, I'm actually excited for the next season.
This season hurts right now, but I find Webby so much more reassuring than any other coach we've had. He's not interested in 'the ref fucked us', not interested in 'the rules must be changed'. Only interested in how the boys play and what they're achieved.
This feels like the beginning and for the first time since 2011, I'm actually excited for the next season.
I like to keep the wins on my SkyBox. Ended up running out of room this year which is a nice problem to have.So many awesome games to rewatch when I need a pick me up .Fantastic season ,fantastic coach ..Next season is going to be unreal .Bring it on .In my team I believe .Thank you .
NZWarriors.com
Unlucky guys.
I think it was always going to be a tough ask for the Warriors beating the Broncos at Suncorp when they've had the week off and with the form they're in. Both the Broncos and Panthers have really been a level above everyone else this year. Still you guys fought your asses off and made a lot of Broncos fans very nervous.
That forward pass was an absolute shocker but I don't think it decided the contest. For mine Broncos still go on with it.
It's been a great season for you guys. There's a lot to be proud of and a lot to be excited about in the next couple of years. If you guys have some better luck with injuries and with RTS coming back, I think the Warriors are going to be stronger next year and can definitely see another top 4 finish and a potential GF appearance.
I think it was always going to be a tough ask for the Warriors beating the Broncos at Suncorp when they've had the week off and with the form they're in. Both the Broncos and Panthers have really been a level above everyone else this year. Still you guys fought your asses off and made a lot of Broncos fans very nervous.
That forward pass was an absolute shocker but I don't think it decided the contest. For mine Broncos still go on with it.
It's been a great season for you guys. There's a lot to be proud of and a lot to be excited about in the next couple of years. If you guys have some better luck with injuries and with RTS coming back, I think the Warriors are going to be stronger next year and can definitely see another top 4 finish and a potential GF appearance.
Had to cop a bit of sledging from some bronco friends overnight and while they both agreed we got the rough end of the pineapple from the officials, I also had to concede they were the better team on the night.
I was expecting them to play that high risk style but wasn’t expecting every farking offload to come off for them- it was just their night.
I said before the finals started I was at ease with whatever happened in the next few weeks and I’m sticking by that- it was an incredible season and really came outta no where.
Sj winning the dally m would be the cherry on top and next best thing to making the gf for me.
I was expecting them to play that high risk style but wasn’t expecting every farking offload to come off for them- it was just their night.
I said before the finals started I was at ease with whatever happened in the next few weeks and I’m sticking by that- it was an incredible season and really came outta no where.
Sj winning the dally m would be the cherry on top and next best thing to making the gf for me.
i have been very harsh on Pompey this season. I reckoned that after a couple of his brainfarts he should be back in NSW Cup.
However that sin binning was marginal to say the least, maybe worth a penalty but no more.
He took over the kicking which was a big ask. I thought he had an all round good game last night.
I am pleased to have changed my mind
NZWarriors.com
Not the result we wished for, Broncos killed us with offloads early on and even with the contentious calls against us, they deserved that win.
I for one have absolutely no regrets looking back on our season, to think we were 80 minutes from a GF after what we've been through the past few years is something else. My trip to Brisbane, yet an expensive one was a memory I'll have for life.....still have absolutely no voice! Next year's officially "Our Year".
I for one have absolutely no regrets looking back on our season, to think we were 80 minutes from a GF after what we've been through the past few years is something else. My trip to Brisbane, yet an expensive one was a memory I'll have for life.....still have absolutely no voice! Next year's officially "Our Year".
Back home after a great weekend in Brizvegas. Shame about the result but reality is, forward passes and slowing the ruck aside, there was only one team in it.
We were outgunned, left right and centre.
Not to worry, we've had a wonderful year considering myself and few on here were thinking at the start of the season we might be sitting very near the spoon
Very proud of the whole brand "Warriors Inc" including everyone on here. It humbles me.
Not many teams in NZ can command the fandom we have, respect and continue.
We have the systems now and the people in place to push on and ensure we maintain our position at the top end of the comp
Bring on 2024. Can't wait and wtf do we do until January?
We were outgunned, left right and centre.
Not to worry, we've had a wonderful year considering myself and few on here were thinking at the start of the season we might be sitting very near the spoon
Very proud of the whole brand "Warriors Inc" including everyone on here. It humbles me.
Not many teams in NZ can command the fandom we have, respect and continue.
We have the systems now and the people in place to push on and ensure we maintain our position at the top end of the comp
Bring on 2024. Can't wait and wtf do we do until January?
It's been a few days now....
After several re-watches of the game, I'm ready to give my thoughts without having emotion speak for me.
Although high up, I had a pretty square on vantage point.
I don't think I'm breaking a first news story when saying their offloads and second phase play ripped us to shreds, they were so expansive I'd find it hard to suggest that anyone could've defended against that better. In saying that, we clearly went in with a plan to not over commit too many players to tackles in fear they could find themselves with extra holes in the defensive line to penetrate as they've been great at that all year.
We simply couldn't secure the ball when making our tackles, our defense wasn't bad at all, it just didn't work against their strategy, credit to them as they clearly studied our defensive shapes well going into this one.
I do however have a problem with the length of time they were allowed to lay on us in tackles, they went seemingly unpunished for what would have been numerous set restarts or penalties awarded to us especially coming out of our end, another inconsistency of individual refereeing styles where there's no doubt in my mind under one of the other officials, we would've seen a vastly different outcome and far better territorial field position.
Going up by 4's is never ideal, even more so in such a high stakes game but they were as hard as conversions get and Pompey didn't miss by much, I feel for him as no doubt he's still holding onto that and will do for some time. Reynolds on the other hand, he iced those moments, it's easy to sit here and suggest SJ would've nailed our kicks but we will never know for sure.
I still have little to no voice after protesting about that pass, well both passes in fact. There's a deeper issue though and I'm not afraid to say it, yes, the passes were ungodly forward but the space they created to put themselves into the position to throw them.....that's on us. It did kill momentum and we rightly should've been starting a fresh set on the 50m line, who knows what would have unfolded after that point....which is hard to deal with, it well and truly could've put us in a position to be down only 6 at 24-18 after we earned the right to be in the grind in the early stages of the second 40.
I honestly feel that for the first time we felt like all hope was lost, it was an unfair knife in the back and 100% deflating, the guys would've been feeling they were still in with a chance up to this point and now that feeling was now all but gone.
The whole stadium felt a shift from that point, I've never been in a position at a game where the opposition fans were shaking their heads at disgust and actually saying sorry, they know how well and truly ripped off we were in that moment.
Leaving the stadium, aside from the odd Broncos supporter who'd had a few too many Milton mango's carrying on like a right plum, it was respectful and quite sombre. I couldn't help but feel bad for their fans in some respects, aside from them getting the win they knew that there had been a great blunder which would overshadow the fact they were the better team and rightly deserved the win, this I truly believe.
We deserved better, the whole of the NRL think we deserved better. I just hope we can put ourselves in a similar position next season, give it another crack and hopefully let the game do the talking and not the headlines in the aftermath.
Aside from the results, what a day.......our fans are something else. Next year is OFFICIALLY "Our Year".
After several re-watches of the game, I'm ready to give my thoughts without having emotion speak for me.
Although high up, I had a pretty square on vantage point.
I don't think I'm breaking a first news story when saying their offloads and second phase play ripped us to shreds, they were so expansive I'd find it hard to suggest that anyone could've defended against that better. In saying that, we clearly went in with a plan to not over commit too many players to tackles in fear they could find themselves with extra holes in the defensive line to penetrate as they've been great at that all year.
We simply couldn't secure the ball when making our tackles, our defense wasn't bad at all, it just didn't work against their strategy, credit to them as they clearly studied our defensive shapes well going into this one.
I do however have a problem with the length of time they were allowed to lay on us in tackles, they went seemingly unpunished for what would have been numerous set restarts or penalties awarded to us especially coming out of our end, another inconsistency of individual refereeing styles where there's no doubt in my mind under one of the other officials, we would've seen a vastly different outcome and far better territorial field position.
Going up by 4's is never ideal, even more so in such a high stakes game but they were as hard as conversions get and Pompey didn't miss by much, I feel for him as no doubt he's still holding onto that and will do for some time. Reynolds on the other hand, he iced those moments, it's easy to sit here and suggest SJ would've nailed our kicks but we will never know for sure.
I still have little to no voice after protesting about that pass, well both passes in fact. There's a deeper issue though and I'm not afraid to say it, yes, the passes were ungodly forward but the space they created to put themselves into the position to throw them.....that's on us. It did kill momentum and we rightly should've been starting a fresh set on the 50m line, who knows what would have unfolded after that point....which is hard to deal with, it well and truly could've put us in a position to be down only 6 at 24-18 after we earned the right to be in the grind in the early stages of the second 40.
I honestly feel that for the first time we felt like all hope was lost, it was an unfair knife in the back and 100% deflating, the guys would've been feeling they were still in with a chance up to this point and now that feeling was now all but gone.
The whole stadium felt a shift from that point, I've never been in a position at a game where the opposition fans were shaking their heads at disgust and actually saying sorry, they know how well and truly ripped off we were in that moment.
Leaving the stadium, aside from the odd Broncos supporter who'd had a few too many Milton mango's carrying on like a right plum, it was respectful and quite sombre. I couldn't help but feel bad for their fans in some respects, aside from them getting the win they knew that there had been a great blunder which would overshadow the fact they were the better team and rightly deserved the win, this I truly believe.
We deserved better, the whole of the NRL think we deserved better. I just hope we can put ourselves in a similar position next season, give it another crack and hopefully let the game do the talking and not the headlines in the aftermath.
Aside from the results, what a day.......our fans are something else. Next year is OFFICIALLY "Our Year".
NZWarriors.com
I disagree...strongly.
Our club has been on the wrong end of shite calls since 1995, including the first ever game against the Broncos.
For the bandwagoners, Joe Vagana scored a try and the referee, a Queenslander, I think Eddie Ward ruled he hadn't made the line. We lost the game 22-25!!!!!!
. The call was shite and everybody knew it.Eddie Ward is a decent guy, and was a good referee, but it was still a shite call and cost us not only the game but a place in the finals, eventually.
John Monie, was stoic about it, saying you win some bad calls, you lose some. He was wrong but it was fair enough to say that publicly.
I remember early on the Aussie players saying they noticed the differences in bad calls here compared with when they were playing for Aussie clubs.
The 2023 team didn't drop a lip, not once, but the SK version definitely did, and those bad calls cost us.
That forward pass made Brisbane feel better, and us feel worse, and blew the scoreline out.
So I don't care about the whys and wherefores...but the fact is we have been getting more than our share of shite calls for 28 years.
Rant over
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