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

[sup42]

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.

Yeah we need to remember that these young forwards apart from Demitric have not been given their lisence to play ball yet. They are instructed to run first get a fast ptb. That is it.

I think after Laban revealed himself last night that Webby will be getting ready to have a talk to him about taking the training wheels off and letting him go.

Thing is, for Laban, every game is a fight for his first grade life, he does not have the Locker with his name on it like the other boys (figurative not literal) he cannot afford to go outside of his simple role. He isn't even guaranteed a start or a place on the bench.

 

[Cces]

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

If it's one or the other then surely it's Vaimauga because no one else provides ball movement in the Lock role.
Ford has covered Edge multiple times this year so both could feature in the 17 but that'd be at the expense of Leka or Laban

 

[sup42]

If it's one or the other then surely it's Vaimauga because no one else provides ball movement in the Lock role.
Ford has covered Edge multiple times this year so both could feature in the 17 but that'd be at the expense of Leka or Laban

I guess they could give Leka some decent time off with the Hamstring issue here.

I see Webster mentioned Roccos return to cup footy, yet did not mention any injury (perhaps he went off in the second half per his recovery plan).

 

[Kav1]

I think he hurt his hand in the first 10 minutes

Hamstring strain

 

[Kav1]

Pompey is just sooo sloowwwwww. Ali was poor again in multiple areas.

Bench forward?

 

[Kav1]

Bro was kicking from right in front, what are u talking about.

Got one from wide out (LKP 's try). He is reliable and must be in team for that reason.

 

[Matiunz]

What a game.

Watched it 3 times.

Watched the mini when I got home just to catch a vibe of if it was presented on TV as epic as it felt at the ground. Plan to watch the whole thing at a later date which I NEVER do after a loss

 

[Kav1]

Regarding Ali and Dallin:

Last night just underscored that they cannot play without Kurt Capewell, and so while that was frustrating it is very encouraging for the rest of the season.

Capewell has become more important to this side that Barnett. We can mitigate Barnetts absence, we cannot cheat code our way around the communication and leadership on our right defensive edge that is Capewell.

Taine needs Capewell too.

And I would go as far as to say that Capewell would have smashed Mclean on at least one out of two of those Try's.

Also, I am a big believer in the principle of the defensive line being a belt, or a band, or a single organism, problems on the far right quickly spread and show up on the left against brilliant sides like Penrith that can use the full width of the field.

We cannot do that back to them without Tanah. But that is ok. I think a lot of our boys are getting harshly judged when really the scoreboard is your perspective.

The Panthers are the best, and have been the best so long that getting within one score of winning vs them is a special effort. We need to remind ourselves, while we were micro dissecting every mistake or indiscretion, these blokes of ours were being murdered and the Ref was joining in to dance on their corpses.

Any other team in the NRL would have had forty put on them by last nights Panthers.

Any other team would have struggled to reach 12 points for.

Last night was the best game anyone has seen since the finals and everyone in the League world know's for a fact that it was WAY above that Origin bull shit.

We should be proud man. Proud as. Stand tall, and go pick another scrap.

I agree whole-heartedly about your comments on KC. He had a fantastic game in SOA and adds that x factor to our team.

 

[Neo]

If it's one or the other then surely it's Vaimauga because no one else provides ball movement in the Lock role.
Ford has covered Edge multiple times this year so both could feature in the 17 but that'd be at the expense of Leka or Laban

They previously selected TSS over him in a game earlier in the year, when they used Barnett at lock. Does Demetric currently have the run to pass ratio right? I thought he nailed it in the Storm game but has been running for 30 to 50 metres a game (sometimes with Kick off returns in there as well). Would just like to see him bending the line a bit more so it does open up the passing game a bit more. At the moment though I think it may be that the quick play the ball TSS provides offers more threat

 

[CWC]

Talking Laban, nobody mentioned dude humiliated Casey for the first try

 

[sup42]

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.

Yeah Webster spoke to that play in the presser, he said it the same as you.

Which is a little pointed in AKP and or Ali or any of those backs direction, but especially AKP.

I wouldn't worry going forward though, AKP is hungry for ball and Try's he will get there in future.

 

[Matiunz]

Webster came across very well in the presser. Refused to entertain any ref excuses, acknowledged the team isn’t a finished product just yet. Could have very easily been proud of the loss but glad that he didn’t go down that route and I feel the boys will have gained a very valuable lesson on where they need to be to win this thing

 

[Kav1]

67 days.

That is the time that Penrith have left to breath the air of the Green Mile.

Two months, no stay of execution, two months one week, and ole Sparky will be warmed up, a dry sponge at the ready "Dead Man Walking!"

Can't bloody wait.

Lets do this all again.

Every game in between will be like Jaffas and Ice cream during intermission.

That takes me back 60 years when the price of admission was 1 shilling and threepence

 

[sup42]

Webster came across very well in the presser. Refused to entertain any ref excuses, acknowledged the team isn’t a finished product just yet. Could have very easily been proud of the loss but glad that he didn’t go down that route and I feel the boys will have gained a very valuable lesson on where they need to be to win this thing

Beside him sat a disappointed and unsatisfied Captain. James Fisher Harris looked pissed off in a good way - rather than his quiet and sometimes annoyed with the spectacle of journalists guise.

 

[CWC]

Regarding Ali and Dallin:

Last night just underscored that they cannot play without Kurt Capewell, and so while that was frustrating it is very encouraging for the rest of the season.

Capewell has become more important to this side that Barnett. We can mitigate Barnetts absence, we cannot cheat code our way around the communication and leadership on our right defensive edge that is Capewell.

Taine needs Capewell too.

And I would go as far as to say that Capewell would have smashed Mclean on at least one out of two of those Try's.

Also, I am a big believer in the principle of the defensive line being a belt, or a band, or a single organism, problems on the far right quickly spread and show up on the left against brilliant sides like Penrith that can use the full width of the field.

We cannot do that back to them without Tanah. But that is ok. I think a lot of our boys are getting harshly judged when really the scoreboard is your perspective.

The Panthers are the best, and have been the best so long that getting within one score of winning vs them is a special effort. We need to remind ourselves, while we were micro dissecting every mistake or indiscretion, these blokes of ours were being murdered and the Ref was joining in to dance on their corpses.

Any other team in the NRL would have had forty put on them by last nights Panthers.

Any other team would have struggled to reach 12 points for.

Last night was the best game anyone has seen since the finals and everyone in the League world know's for a fact that it was WAY above that Origin bull shit.

We should be proud man. Proud as. Stand tall, and go pick another scrap.

Re Kurt are we talking him playing centre? We probably miss him more on his usual left edge as second row where the other Monti scored a double

Not sure how they’ll address akp jamming I know he didn’t knock over the middle man but that’s our play and the centre usually is the fail safe covering the winger, Pompey really has a lot of valuable assets and also lack of speed, every other centre are either worse or have their shortcomings (Linnane - can he make 177m, Berry - can he stay on the field, Kurt won’t make trysavers either, Leka is a bit clueless out wide. Then goalkicking), RTS was the perfect centre

Also have they tried Pompey to punt the ball? If he was taking kick offs he should be able to punt it long

 

[juju]

Our almost try was one for the ages. Was some beautiful eyes up footy. Damn shame it wasnt scored (thats penrith for you though)

 

[CWC]

Our almost try was one for the ages. Was some beautiful eyes up footy. Damn shame it wasnt scored (thats penrith for you though)

It’ll be honorable mentions in classic tries countdown or like class trysavers

 

[sup42]

Re Kurt are we talking him playing centre? We probably miss him more on his usual left edge as second row where the other Monti scored a double

Not sure how they’ll address akp jamming I know he didn’t knock over the middle man but that’s our play and the centre usually is the fail safe covering the winger, Pompey really has a lot of valuable assets and also lack of speed, every other centre are either worse or have their shortcomings (Linnane - can he make 177m, Berry - can he stay on the field, Kurt won’t make trysavers either, Leka is a bit clueless out wide. Then goalkicking), RTS was the perfect centre

Also have they tried Pompey to punt the ball? If he was taking kick offs he should be able to punt it long

My post was about Ali, and how Kurts presence changes his behavior in a good way (mostly gives him confidence).

I will go against the grain here, but I am fine with AKP jamming in, the alternative is leaving him hanging out in the wind while Penrith stack the numbers and burn him and Pompey while those two back peddle.

A winger who is proactive and makes a decision early is really misunderstood in a Warriors matrix.

All we need is for Taine to missile launch at that corner when AKP is defending, it is not a hard play for Taine to read. Roger and at one time CNK as fullbacks were both great at defending corner posts.

A fullback in the under fives can be instructed to sprint left when the ball goes that way and block the corner.

 

[sydneywarrior92]

Boys did us proud. Unlucky to not take the win. Most frustrating thing is we all have to stew on this for the next 2 weeks.

I think an understated part of the performance is that the panthers were fresh coming off their first bye. Before that, they were looking really tired and beatable, especially from rd 6 onwards. They were fortunate they played mostly bottom 8 teams during their run into the bye. Because if we had played penrith just before their first bye instead of immediately after it, I reckon we get them.

But they clearly used the bye period to freshen up because they looked back to their world beating best from the opening 5 rounds of the comp. Conversely, this was our 4th straight away game, with a third straight week in Aussie. The team is super professional, but I'm sure the boys were starting to feel really sore heading into that game. I felt the slow start to the game was reflective of that fact. There were other pts when we seemed visibly gassed. It was great for the boys to push through that though and fight back to retake the lead. But maybe the travel fatigue caught up with us.

 

[CWC]

My post was about Ali, and how Kurts presence changes his behavior in a good way (mostly gives him confidence).

I will go against the grain here, but I am fine with AKP jamming in, the alternative is leaving him hanging out in the wind while Penrith stack the numbers and burn him and Pompey while those two back peddle.

A winger who is proactive and makes a decision early is really misunderstood in a Warriors matrix.

All we need is for Taine to missile launch at that corner when AKP is defending, it is not a hard play for Taine to read. Roger and at one time CNK as fullbacks were both great at defending corner posts.

A fullback in the under fives can be instructed to sprint left when the ball goes that way and block the corner.

Now you reminded me of Xavier Coates try of the century