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

[Makasene]

Weird Boyd worked well with FGers CHT then CNK, others probably need to sort out their intensity and tackle like the first 3 rounds otherwise Luke will be the scapegoat

Thought it was harsh on Metcalf some of the criticism.

Looking at the performance of a number of our best players last week (RTS, Clark, Ford, Egan, Leka, Pompey - all were poor)

I'm expecting a big bounce back.

We have a good record in recent years in Cronulla.

 

[Brightman]

My expectations for seasons finish are quite high actually, my post refers to the next six rounds.

We will be in the top six come seasons end, ideally top four by my sense of where we are headed, but yes I expect us to take a hit with two halves that have never really played together before as happens at every other NRL club when a new pairing roles out (oh sure there are examples that disprove that idea but lets remember these blokes didn't have a preseason together).

All the top teams are humming at the business end of the season, like you said we have time to figure it out and the signs/potential is looking real good..

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Good discipline or had the run of the green which might even out?

Any coincidence it’s the Wahs, dogs and Panthers at the top?

Great matchup with the Sharks this weekend

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Good discipline or had the run of the green which might even out?

Any coincidence it’s the Wahs, dogs and Panthers at the top?

Great matchup with the Sharks this weekend

View attachment 16594

I felt we had the rub of the green luck wise in the Roosters game, everything kinda fell away. Whereas the Tigers game i feel that went the other way, so imo things have balanced out.

I dont recall many of the actual penalties being fortunate or lucky (maybe one here or there), it feels more like were forcing the opposition into 6 agains and negative play due to how well we're playing so im hoping this continues. Sharks are one of the most penalized teams vs us, the least penalized.

I cant imagine that will change this weekend

 

[WAH MAN]

Good discipline or had the run of the green which might even out?

Any coincidence it’s the Wahs, dogs and Panthers at the top?

Great matchup with the Sharks this weekend

View attachment 16594

Watching our tacklers get off the ball carrier at the refs call was what was noticeable to me in first three games. Chooks and Raiders were trying to slow it down and Newy weren't playing to the whistle.

 

[Makasene]

Good discipline or had the run of the green which might even out?

Any coincidence it’s the Wahs, dogs and Panthers at the top?

Great matchup with the Sharks this weekend

View attachment 16594

Is this combined penaltys and 6 agains?

 

[Evil_Mush]

Every time we change our halves we go through a reset and rebuild.

We've had a different halves combo every game this year (Raiders game obv not intended with CHT HIA, but still).

Was a bit down following the Tigers game, but I trust Boyd & Metcalf will gel a lot better this week, not to mention the players that had a bit of a mare last week also wanting to make amends.

 

[Inruin]

Weird Boyd worked well with FGers CHT then CNK, others probably need to sort out their intensity and tackle like the first 3 rounds otherwise Luke will be the scapegoat

There can be arguments made either way to Metcalf and the game last week.

The bit I am struggling with is that they had one training session together. We were 3-0 and performing well. There was no need to rush him in to the team. Even an extra week to get more trainings together would have been beneficial. Even then, the main issue was Metcalf not measuring up defensively and putting his body in to the tackles and holding his position in the line. I don't know if the one training together was an opposed session but in my opinion, I certainly feel a game in Cup would have been the right thing to do just for the defensive side of his game and making him tackle. I am not worried about his attacking game or combinations with Boyd. I am worried about defensive commitment which is where everything starts.

Its not going to change now though, so lets hope that game was the anomaly. It only takes one player not stepping up to cause ripples across the whole team. A few % off in any game and anyone can beat you.

 

[Neo]

There can be arguments made either way to Metcalf and the game last week.

The bit I am struggling with is that they had one training session together. We were 3-0 and performing well. There was no need to rush him in to the team. Even an extra week to get more trainings together would have been beneficial. Even then, the main issue was Metcalf not measuring up defensively and putting his body in to the tackles and holding his position in the line. I don't know if the one training together was an opposed session but in my opinion, I certainly feel a game in Cup would have been the right thing to do just for the defensive side of his game and making him tackle. I am not worried about his attacking game or combinations with Boyd. I am worried about defensive commitment which is where everything starts.

Its not going to change now though, so lets hope that game was the anomaly. It only takes one player not stepping up to cause ripples across the whole team. A few % off in any game and anyone can beat you.

I think the argument SJ made on his podcast was the right one. If the Warriors are to really compete at the back end of the season then you need Metcalf in the team. He had been involved in full contact training for a few weeks and was ready to go. Did he perform well, the answer is no. But does he give us the firepower to compete against the better sides, yes.
They also highlighted how we were losing the first 3 tackles on both sides of the ball, which is normally our strength.

 

[CWC]

There can be arguments made either way to Metcalf and the game last week.

The bit I am struggling with is that they had one training session together. We were 3-0 and performing well. There was no need to rush him in to the team. Even an extra week to get more trainings together would have been beneficial. Even then, the main issue was Metcalf not measuring up defensively and putting his body in to the tackles and holding his position in the line. I don't know if the one training together was an opposed session but in my opinion, I certainly feel a game in Cup would have been the right thing to do just for the defensive side of his game and making him tackle. I am not worried about his attacking game or combinations with Boyd. I am worried about defensive commitment which is where everything starts.

Its not going to change now though, so lets hope that game was the anomaly. It only takes one player not stepping up to cause ripples across the whole team. A few % off in any game and anyone can beat you.

They probably thought they could get away with weaning him back against the Tigers, with that start to the season, the Storm game probably becomes a massive goal we try to target. Just unfortunately the team's intensity was not up to it, those errors really derails things

 

[John Nick]

I think the argument SJ made on his podcast was the right one. If the Warriors are to really compete at the back end of the season then you need Metcalf in the team. He had been involved in full contact training for a few weeks and was ready to go. Did he perform well, the answer is no. But does he give us the firepower to compete against the better sides, yes.
They also highlighted how we were losing the first 3 tackles on both sides of the ball, which is normally our strength.

I found it strange that in Mets first game back after a long time away from the game he was made to play for 80
His missed tackle on Douhei which was very obvious only came from another miss in the front line. Nevertheless it wasn't good. Hopefully Webster who is still relatively new to NRL coaching has learned from this experience

 

[Neo]

I found it strange that in Mets first game back after a long time away from the game he was made to play for 80
His missed tackle on Douhei which was very obvious only came from another miss in the front line. Nevertheless it wasn't good. Hopefully Webster who is still relatively new to NRL coaching has learned from this experience

It does put a lot of strain on the bench though to have to make a change at 6. Would have meant that Healey doesn’t play and Egan goes the full 80. I think there were a lot of factors as to why we didn’t play the way we wanted to, and Metcalf being back was only a part of that.
I think the only other way to manage it would have been CHT starting at hooker and then moving to 6 to sub Metcalf late in the game if you wanted to reduce his minutes. That also would have been disruptive and not given Egans service for a lot of the game

 

[Inruin]

I think the argument SJ made on his podcast was the right one. If the Warriors are to really compete at the back end of the season then you need Metcalf in the team. He had been involved in full contact training for a few weeks and was ready to go. Did he perform well, the answer is no. But does he give us the firepower to compete against the better sides, yes.
They also highlighted how we were losing the first 3 tackles on both sides of the ball, which is normally our strength.

I agree, but we were in week 4..... a long way to go to the end of the season and two points against the Tigers might turn out to be quite critical.

 

[Noitall]

It does put a lot of strain on the bench though to have to make a change at 6. Would have meant that Healey doesn’t play and Egan goes the full 80. I think there were a lot of factors as to why we didn’t play the way we wanted to, and Metcalf being back was only a part of that.
I think the only other way to manage it would have been CHT starting at hooker and then moving to 6 to sub Metcalf late in the game if you wanted to reduce his minutes. That also would have been disruptive and not given Egans service for a lot of the game

I think SJ said it best on his show when Broughton said she thought nsw cup would be how Metcalf would come back through. He said there’s no substitute for first grade or words to the effect and I think having wins on the board gave them a bit of an opportunity for him to get some time there. Not saying they sacrificed the game to get him some time but I think at the end of the day tigers just played really well. I had a feeling Adam Doueihi would have a big game after SJ said in preseason that he thought Doueihi would win dally m

 

[CWC]

We were quite good at beating up mid/bottom teams but can't beat elite teams, I guess it's a gamble to put what they think is the best out there and if we get over the hump and beat elite teams then we don't have to worry as much about dropping games to the occasional mid teams early in the season.

If we still can't beat elite teams then we're pretty stuffed losing to mid teams as well lol

 

[Evil_Mush]

Were the first two teams we beat not elite? One of the pre-season favourites & last-season minor premiers? Or does the fact we beat them and they haven't exactly set the world on fire since not make them elite anymore in retrospect

 

[CWC]

Were the first two teams we beat not elite? One of the pre-season favourites & last-season minor premiers? Or does the fact we beat them and they haven't exactly set the world on fire since not make them elite anymore in retrospect

Elite = Penrith the 4x premiers, Storm our boogeyman for the last 15 years, and the Broncos current premiers at Suncorp.

They're the equivalent of Black Caps trying to win a test against Australia in Australia, Roos and Raiders are kinda like, India and South Africa

 

[Evil_Mush]

If we manage to beat those three teams this season I imagine it won't be cos of our performance but cos "penalties/six agains"

We know though

 

[Leon Black]

Ali getting dropped from a 3-0 team was the biggest surprise and bringing in a new Dad, who looked off the pace. Ali was building nicely and has a higher ceiling at centre than all the others!

Laban keeping his spot is harder to justify, hasn’t really stood out. I’d have TT as 19th man, good against the Knights, but the pack dominated that game. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Neal or Fatialofa get a run before mid-season.

X-factor types who offer more than the majority of our 6 man bench. Real sobering weekend last round, won 1 from 5 and only by luck the only win against the Tigers of all clubs!

 

[Zaggo]

Laban keeping his spot is harder to justify, hasn’t really stood out

I thought he looked busy last week. Goes about his work without much fuss, he's not a game breaker yet but does the mahi.