Post Match NZ Warriors v Penrith Panthers - [Round 13, 2026]

[snake77]

I am actually very concerned about Metcalf's return, he is a one man band, not a halves pair option.

If we play him, he will take over this team.

We don't need that, we almost beat Penrith (along with all the other skulls hanging on our wall).

Metcalf, I am almost certain, will kill this team if he plays (those words are not hate they are fear-true story).

Penrith I believe, would have murdered Metcalf's one option style (I run - the rest of you follow and try do something with that).

Replacing Boyd is similar to when Boyd came in to replace Metcalf last year. Slotting into a team that overall is going well.

Things fell off last year. There would be more to it than just changing the halfback. Barnett's injury was a big loss last year. This year the middles have gone well while he has been getting back his match fitness.

Also last year there were issues with the style of play that have been addressed.

Martin has done well slotting in. If Metcalf comes in the challenge is similar to last year but the reverse in terms of personnel. He will need to slot in and keep things going.

He played well last year. Our attack wasn't great. Hopefully he slots in to the current setup.

My main concern is he hasn't had a lot of football.

 

[snake77]

They also started banging on about the Warriors being out on their feet.

I kept posting in Game day that the Riff were out on theirs too, but the commentators are blind to that.

Roach is the one that drives me nuts. He defaults to the middles are walking back. Willie Mason explained how that is planned as they wait for the back 3 to do the early carries.

The middle is like a washing machine. They are conserving energy.

Roach came back to commentary a few years back for a heritige round. It was good to have an old school voice for that round. It should have stayed that way and have someone who knows the trends/tactics of the modern game.

 

[MaybeTop8]

I'm good with last night's result. Disappointed because we had the game but we weren't good enough to capitalise.
They converted their opportunities and we missed 3 or 4.
They've been doing what they did for nearly a decade and it showed. We're learning.
And learning quickly. It was so good to see our guys playing on an even footing with the best in the business. We have improvement in us. They are at the top of their game
Good times

We'll be better for the loss. If we'd have won the rose tinted glasses would be on for the next 19 pages , whereas now, we know how close we are and what the gap is.

 

[sup42]

We'll be better for the loss. If we'd have won the rose tinted glasses would be on for the next 19 pages , whereas now, we know how close we are and what the gap is.

Absolutely.

And the Bye couldn't have come at a better time. That game was killer, for both sides, pity the Riff don't face anyone decent (Tigers then Titans).

Last night was as close to a perfect result as you get really, we know we are not as good as Penrith. So what. We know now we are there or thereabouts and there is nothing to fear in playing them (last night the look on TMM's stressed out face before kick off was alarming, dude was having a panic attack).

Now we have got the loss out of the way, and learned that Penrith are beatable, and that we aren't gonna disgrace ourselves, we are stronger while they are the ones with the pressure on them.

 

[snake77]

We'll be better for the loss. If we'd have won the rose tinted glasses would be on for the next 19 pages , whereas now, we know how close we are and what the gap is.

Like a fighter who is a good prospect going up against a proven champion. Sometimes you see there are different levels.

A lot for us to learn from this loss. Also a lot to be proud of.

If we won there would have been a lot of hype. Talk of premierships. I'd prefer that to come later in the year as there is still a lot of the season to get through. At least now we can go away and work on a few itmes for when we play them again.

Webster said before the game it is a good chance to see where we are at. We have improved a lot but need a bit more work.

 

[WHB]

What a game.

Watched it 3 times.

 

[sup42]

What a game.

Watched it 3 times.

Legend.

I can't face it yet.

Gonna watch Dragons V Broncos today (only caught the end cos the Big game NSW NZW vs Panthers "the return of Luke Metcalf" was on).

Prolly watch it though, I mean nothing else to see for two weeks now, it really sucks there are no Juniors games either.

 

[Zaggo]

While I can understand your points I really disagree on moving it out of Mt Smart.

-Theres no financial incentive for the Warriors to do it
-The atmosphere is worse at Eden Park.
- As a club we should be honouring the tradition of our home ground
- Reward season members with priority access and make it tough for away fans to get tickets
-The history of big rugby league occasions at EP is also pretty bad.

An extra 20k people is really only 20k bandwagon as harsh as they may sound.

Heavily agree with this.

I've been to the Tonga games at Mt Smart, and the Tonga game at Eden Park, and despite ostensibly being the same fans there was no comparison with atmosphere.

Eden Park is terrible for crowd engagement, and terrible to actually see what's going on.

100 times out of 100 I'd rather be with 25k diehards at Mt Smart than 50k lukewarms at EP.

And for context, I actually live far closer to Eden Park and have family within easy walking distance so it's nothing to do with transport!

 

[Playdaball]

it's probably too late but I would have moved the rd 23 rematch at MSS to Eden Park. That revenge game is going to be epic.

I’d rather see more temporary seating at MSS .
Playing at Eden Park is not our home ground and would give Panthers an even chance of winning .
That is going to be a great game !

 

[Playdaball]

I also believe that at some stage the lack of a big kicking game will come back to hurt us .

 

[John Nick]

I also believe that at some stage the lack of a big kicking game will come back to hurt us .

Agreed . Both teams last night lacked a long kicking game

 

[Lance155]

Never felt so happy after a loss. Hearing Webby pre game saying we have to mix it up to get out of our own end was music to my ears. You can't just 1 out from your goal line against Penrith. They will eat you alive no matter how hard you run. It was a good balance of risk vs reward.

 

[Canonball]

Absolutely.

And the Bye couldn't have come at a better time. That game was killer, for both sides, pity the Riff don't face anyone decent (Tigers then Titans).

Last night was as close to a perfect result as you get really, we know we are not as good as Penrith. So what. We know now we are there or thereabouts and there is nothing to fear in playing them (last night the look on TMM's stressed out face before kick off was alarming, dude was having a panic attack).

Now we have got the loss out of the way, and learned that Penrith are beatable, and that we aren't gonna disgrace ourselves, we are stronger while they are the ones with the pressure on them.

That tigers side could beat an out of sort riff tho

 

[Teets]

Our game plan involves setting up for the next play rather than progressing the play in action.

This play was last tackle though, no next play to set for. TMM was intending to kick to the right hand corner before they ended up running the ball.

AKP and Pomps should've been up ready to squeeze up and in (umbrella D for far side) on kick-chase which makes them being so far back even more egregious.

Looks like AKP was just looking to have a quick smoko on kick-chase and missed the chance to win the game because of it.

 

[Dead Man Switch]

Disappointing to lose because now we expect to win always. This was us measuring our playing system to theirs and to be fair we have almost caught up. We both play similar brands of football which makes sense given Webster's history with Ivan and the Panthers.

For large parts of that game we were running through them and stressing their line constantly. They were more clinical and we were not and still there was only 2pts in it.

We have a lot more improvement in us and our young guys are producing shifts now - TSS and Laban as perfect examples. We are in a very good place. We have more work on's and growth to come.

We just need to develop one or two more game breakers. Pompey tried his heart out last night but we also saw him hit his ceiling. CHT also was exposed to his limitations at 6. Against a team like the Panthers you need a genuine running threat in the halves. TMM added a bit there but we need CHT hitting the line hard at the times and stressing them. He did a couple of decent attempts but they need to develop his explosiveness a bit more.

TT and Laban had career best performances which is very encouraging. TT showed the value of his speed and agility against the top teams. He cause the Panthers no shortage of headaches and I thought he outshone Edwards. Laban was very present and showed he can carry a major work load of attack and defense.

We missed Healey not making an impact. That was a game set-up for him to get us home.

Marata Nuikore was not good on the edge either.

We are tracking up.

 

[Neo]

So when the origin boys come back in, who plays out of TSS and Demetric?

The Sharks backline will be another big test for Pompey as well.

 

[Muddogz]

That was a great game of football, Panthers completed at 92% and scrambled well on defence. McLean is an incredible talent and Edwards was always a threat.

I thought everyone was pretty good overall, we desperately need to find ways to give AKP more ball, but we defended stoutly, completed well and never stopped trying.

I’m feeling a lot better about our chances this season after last night.

 

[Stalefish540]

Late to the party, everything has basically been hashed out here already.

Just want to say that the boys put their bloody hard hats on and went to work, beautiful to see us playing at this level. Massive props to our young crop, I thought TSS, Demi and Laban wanted every piece of that.

That Penrith D line hold their structure so well and you struggle to get a bite unlike pretty much every other team in the comp, yet we still created plenty of chances.

Hope the boys rest up and enjoy the break, that was a quality block of football away from Mt. Smart.

 

[Tragic]

TMM doesn't deserve to be dropped on that performance. His running game was tearing the riff ruck a new one at times. Better execution (ahem Laban) and that TMM run would have led to a 24-16 lead and we probs go on to win that game. If he can do that against the best defense in the comp, his running game will cause problems for any team.

Nothing in the cup performance screamed a Mets recall anytime soon.

I didn't think Laban did too bad, the support runner ran inside and he looked outside so the opportunity was lost but the support should have been there earlier and on both sides ideally. Was a great tackle from Edward's.

 

[sup42]

Just read the neutrals thread on that game.

Starts out with the usual quips and mockery of players and Refs.

By the second half though, Rabbit, Eagle, Eel, you name it are calling it the game of the season, the grand final preview, "these teams are light years ahead of the rest of the competition".

And a lot commenting about how enjoyable it is watching traditional footy being played.

We go as favorites into every other game this year.

Not one commentator or fan is gonna think this club is going to be easy to beat, and that really is Andrew Websters greatest achievement.

What we in the dark days, identified as even more important than winning a title, to be a side that everyone respects and fears, one you feel proud of when they lose, is as good as it gets.