Pick Your Team NZ Warriors v St George Illawarra Dragons - [Round 12, 2026]
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Metcalf very unlikely to play the Dragons as per this. 6 minute mark onwards
Warriors: Round 11
James Fisher-Harris and Andrew Webster chat to the media after their Round 11 clash against the Broncos
www.nrl.com
In saying that I would be pretty sure he gets picked for the Panthers and all games after that.
Blain
📈
I agree, Robson is a plod pick. I would have started Brailey with Egan off the bench, no idea how Victor Radley gets a spot, he's in the same camp as Robson IMO. If he was an Eel he'd get no where near rep sides. Saifiti is crazy over Ford/Uto.
This game is a great one to look at debuting guys we think we could use later in the year. Cleary off the bench perhaps, and Kayliss taking Laban's bench spot, with Jacob starting. TMM for 7, Ford to start in place of Barney with TSS on the bench.
Pretty straight forward selections with Metcalf already ruled out.
Haha Pete I think its you who reads the LM fan fiction
Webby said it won't be LM this week as he hasn't done enough reps....
Will probably be him nek week or the week after, but if TMM helps us to a big win over the Dragons I could see a strong point being made for him.
LM created this whole shit storm, i cant see him being named the week after this whole Tanah issue, againt the team hes going to, with NO reps in the position. That's what you think? Like I said, fan fiction as fuck lol
I can't see why we would rush Metcalf back in for the Panthers game? If he is to come back in to the team I would be playing him in cup for a couple of games with a view to bringing him back to the top team after the next bye.Haha Pete I think its you who reads the LM fan fiction
Webby said it won't be LM this week as he hasn't done enough reps....
Will probably be him nek week or the week after, but if TMM helps us to a big win over the Dragons I could see a strong point being made for him.
LM created this whole shit storm, i cant see him being named the week after this whole Tanah issue, againt the team hes going to, with NO reps in the position. That's what you think? Like I said, fan fiction as fuck lol
Yeah im not too fussed, what ever Webby thinks but yeah you could absolutely make a case that if everything is sorted for LM today (I got the feeling there was maybe talk behind the scenes of him leaving early) then give him the next 2 weeks in Cup to get those reps in.
Maybe we see a little of what could have been...LM and Linane at 6 and 7 for a few weeks
To echo a few others on here.
The ceiling for where we finish this year is undoubtedly higher with a fit Luke Metcalf. Sure TMM is a great guy and will always put the team first, but we aren't getting close to winning a comp with CHT/TMM. If an honourable top 4 or top 6 finish and then bowing out early in the finals is enough for some people with that combination then all power to you. But if you want the side to be a proper threat and make a prelim or GF then Metcalf has to be a priority.
I would be incredibly surprised if his standing in the side was so beyond repair that the entire season turns to shit because of his inclusion. I also think we've got enough sensible people there in Webby, JFH, Barney, Capewell etc to thrash this out.
As for whether he plays against Dragons - that seems unlikely given his lack of football, so next best option for him is to be doing whatever it is that gets him ready to play NRL again. Whether that's in Cup or on an extended bench is up to the coaching staff and to date they have generally got these things spot on.
The ceiling for where we finish this year is undoubtedly higher with a fit Luke Metcalf. Sure TMM is a great guy and will always put the team first, but we aren't getting close to winning a comp with CHT/TMM. If an honourable top 4 or top 6 finish and then bowing out early in the finals is enough for some people with that combination then all power to you. But if you want the side to be a proper threat and make a prelim or GF then Metcalf has to be a priority.
I would be incredibly surprised if his standing in the side was so beyond repair that the entire season turns to shit because of his inclusion. I also think we've got enough sensible people there in Webby, JFH, Barney, Capewell etc to thrash this out.
As for whether he plays against Dragons - that seems unlikely given his lack of football, so next best option for him is to be doing whatever it is that gets him ready to play NRL again. Whether that's in Cup or on an extended bench is up to the coaching staff and to date they have generally got these things spot on.
snake77
🛡️
Yeah, watching the post-match press conference yesterday, I got the impression he likely won't be named this week. Webster was pretty clear that they would get him ready.Metcalf very unlikely to play the Dragons as per this. 6 minute mark onwards
Warriors: Round 11
James Fisher-Harris and Andrew Webster chat to the media after their Round 11 clash against the Broncos
In saying that I would be pretty sure he gets picked for the Panthers and all games after that.
If he isn't named, there will be media speculation. After listening to Webster, I'm comfortable it will be just noise. There is more of an opening now at 7 than there was last week, so if the coach and player have a plan to get him ready, we can move on.
Last year we were going well until Barnett and Metcalf got injured. We fell off towards the end of the season. I stated Boyd coming in had an opportunity taking over a side going well. The situation is in reverse now, with someone else (likely Metcalf long term) coming in to guide a side going well.
Whoever it is and whatever the club determined, the issues were towards the end of last year. Let's hope we continue this form in the later rounds.
For the conditioning experts out there any way to gain that extra 10-20m kicking range from TMM/CHT, extra core and quads building and mechanics? If possible then problem solved
Or we spread it to the corner on the last and have the wingers kick like union
@sup42
Fundamentally it is a technique based skill, which is why most decent field kickers make good goal kickers.
If it were significantly about power then forwards would do the field kicking. Having said that Cameron Smith and a couple of others are an anomaly (classic example of exception proves the rule and also Smith can kick goals which speaks to my earlier point).
It does my head in that New Zealand league players do not come through the juniors spending thousands of hours working on field kicking unlike their Union counterparts. However the tradition of Union in this country actually plays a role as to why we have issues. Most of our kids play both codes, and in Union they learn that kicking out on the full is legitimate end to a phase of play - whereas in League it is the opposite, out on the full is packed with jeopardy for our young players.
I believe this sets up a developmental issue where our play makers are conflicted in their dna. I believe that we have the talent, the issue is the chronic developmental 'mixed' messaging in those formative years, leads to a lack of confidence.
Confidence is so underrated in field kicking. It is well understood in goal kicking (as I already laid out the two are correlated) but it is not talked about much in field kicking.
Shaun Johnson is a really good case study in this phenomena, just before he left the Warriors, he was becoming a long field kicker (there was a season were he was kicking back to back 40/20's) unfortunately the first time SJ put one out on the full he put the 40/20s away (how much of that was our coach telling him to knock it off and kick safe we will never know). Anyway of course SJ went to the Sharks where he was encouraged to work on his organizing skills (field kicking is a subset of organizing play because it comes under game management) and SJ of course went on to become a great field kicker (one can only dream what would have happened had he gone to school in Aus).
For this reason I have always said, if you are parent, and your young league player has aspirations to play in the spine, get them field kicking, because in NZ that skill is so rare that it is a licence to print money.
Adam Reynolds maybe the best field kicker in the game, either him or Nathan Cleary, and they roll Old Reynolds out, limping and hobbling with his arthritic knees, and carry him through games....so in answer to your question more strength is probably not the go.
Can we turn one of ours into a field kicker like SJ did later in his career? I doubt it, because it is something you have to learn young and you have to remember that Shaun Johnson is the most physically gifted player the Warriors have ever seen. That guy had talent and skills which few are blessed with.
Te Maire and Chanel can probably kick long now. But you will find when they do at training the out on the full issue is too high to risk it in a game.
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Howick Domain is full of kids doing nothing but kicking in their Wahs jumpers on the weekends, so we'll be sorted in like 10-15 years
Im picking metcalf because st George wont want to break him.
By that logic we should play Jett in the Panthers game.
For the record, I'm all onboard.
From what I've seen of him. Very good player with plenty of potential. With the amount of HIA's this young fella has had already. Maybe its time to look at other career options.
Hes looking more and more likely to join the great English Duds of the past for the warriors.
Which is a shame. He actually looks like a Nrl first grader.
I don't think hes a dud. Hes just been unfortunate.
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