Team List Warriors v Cowboys - [Round 9, 2025]

NZWarriors.com

I'd be interested to see the stats for us conceding long range tries,

Ask and you shall recieve.

try_distance_rd8_opp-1.webp

Edit: Heres the article.
 
Yeah, we're relying far less on yardage runs from the back 3 too, which is interesting - means we're limiting opposition yardage and pressing well on late tackles - the risk are the long range tries, which we give up a fair proportion of - so need to watch purdue and drinkwater primarily
we're also pretty darn good at getting six agains. Maybe part of that is the mt smart bias for our home games. But I also think webby's coaching has played a role: our forwards are always finding their front in tackles, allowing Wayde to manipulate the ruck in a way that force opposition players to give away six agains in order to slow it down.
 
Ask and you shall recieve.

View attachment 12715

Edit: Heres the article.
That tells you a bit about the speed of cover defence too, doesn't it? You'd imagine those speedsters in the Dolphins, Canberra, Titans etc. are chasing down line breaks. That doesn't tell what happens in the subsequent tackles though. Metcalf was chased down, but Newcastle conceded from within their 20 from the pressure the run put them under.

That offload and then second-phase speed is what will kill off the Warriors if it is allowed to happen.
 
Cowboys forum are pretty realistic about the threat we pose. Also don't seem like the worst forum I've been on ha
They're a bit like us, out of sight, out of mind, no one thinks about them unless you're facing them next, may as well be chopped liver.
Cows fans live in a bit of a dreamworld though, they haven't once mentioned the Buntinator, the Berrysiah or The Ripper. They're in for a reality check.
 
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They're a bit like us, out of sight, out of mind, no one thinks about them unless you're facing them next, may as well be chopped liver.
Cows fans live in a bit of a dreamworld though, they haven't once mentioned the Buntinator, the Berrysiah or The Ripper. They're in for a reality check.
Am I a bad wahs fan if I don't know who the ripper is?
 
Having just rewatched a couple of the cowboys games, they play a lot like Manly. They like to go sideways a lot during their own half and take advantage of their speed on the edges and through their ball running spine players. They are also in the bottom half for completion rates however: their high risk play makes them susceptible to a rushing, compressed defensive line like ours. If we get them into a grind, we can force a lot of errors out of them. Even in that Titans game, they turned over a lot of ball that a better side would have converted into a bigger lead than 18-12 at half time.

it's also evident that their backline is both their greatest strength and greatest weakness. Jaxson Purdue and Derby are young talented speedsters who can finish tries from anywhere but they are also still learning the defensive game. They have had a couple of shockers this year- Olakuatu absolutely gave Purdue a bath in their first game of the year against Manly. If Leka is on that edge, Webby will know what to do. We already know about Vailea's weaknesses given his time here. He doesn't seem to have addressed those during his time at the cows. Bateman also isn't the same player he was at Canberra. He's now a poor man's Capewah with none of his defensive traits. The Vailea/Bateman edge has leaked quite a few pts also.

One thing we should be careful of is their bench. They have started slow in many of their games, but they score a lot of their tries in the 30-50 minute mark of games when they bring on Neame/Hess. They've turned a lot of games for them this year. Gotta look to mitigate that impact, so Ford, Demi and Bunty have an important defensive job to do when they come on. If we can do that, we'll go a long way to winning this game.
 
I can see this game being a bit of a see saw. While we will smother them and have loads of tackles in their 20, as usual we struggle to score.
Cowboys will have their moments, and will have a try or two against the run of play, how ever similar to the Roosters and Manly games well continue to apply the pressure and theyll make a bunch of errors, helping us to close out the game.
Wahs 26-22
 
That tells you a bit about the speed of cover defence too, doesn't it? You'd imagine those speedsters in the Dolphins, Canberra, Titans etc. are chasing down line breaks. That doesn't tell what happens in the subsequent tackles though. Metcalf was chased down, but Newcastle conceded from within their 20 from the pressure the run put them under.

That tells you a bit about the speed of cover defence too, doesn't it? You'd imagine those speedsters in the Dolphins, Canberra, Titans etc. are chasing down line breaks. That doesn't tell what happens in the subsequent tackles though. Metcalf was chased down, but Newcastle conceded from within their 20 from the pressure the run put them under.
My thoughts exactly. We hustle back as a team, the fitness and attitude seem great. But there's a cost both ends to not having at least one player with top end pace.
 
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