Team List Warriors v Knights - [Round 8, 2025]

[CWC]

I see your point, but I also think you might have some sort of humiliation fetish, if you do, who am I to judge.

I am his neighbor and I saw him in a Storm jersey and heard cries of “Jerome. Jerome” every ANZAC eve

 

[sydneywarrior92]

It seems the Knights fans are pretty distraught at Cogger coming back into the team

why? Gamble is dead set awful. Can't see their attack getting any worse.

 

[Inruin]

why? Gamble is dead set awful. Can't see their attack getting any worse.

I'm not rating Crossland either. Second half last week with Brailey at hooker and Gamble left out of the play, the knights looked much better.

 

[sydneywarrior92]

Knights are 2-2 with Sharpe and Cogger and 0-2 with Sharpe/Gamble. They're last 4 games they've been outscored 20-100. Their attack shouldn't be too threatening as they still haven't fully settled on a halves pairing. Biggest issue is their stars Best and Ponga who if we're able to keep quiet should go a long way to winning this one. Can't go past the feeling of the Titans last year though when they were on a massive losing streak until we lost to them. Hope the boys will turn up and play the full 80 and don't let the occasion get to them.

I think an important distinction is that we were going into that Anzac game last year on the back of an awful hiding in Wollongong. SJ at one pt was screaming at RTS which suggested that team cohesion wasn't great going into the tits game. This year we're coming off a David vs Goliath type win against a premiership contender with 6 starters out. Confidence is great as we enter the round in the top 4 and CNK will be on a high after the extension was confirmed. I think the boys are spurred on to even greater heights for this game. So completely different team surroundings this.

Also I'm pretty sure that our ANZAC day hoodoo is largely the same thing as the Melbourne hoodoo. We're not playing Melbourne this week. We're playing a side that hasn't won in NZ under their current coach. So I'd say if there is a hoodoo, it's on the Knights side, not ours.

 

[CWC]

So CNK is our traditional ANZAC big signing

 

[sydneywarrior92]

There's been a lot of talk about our ANZAC day hoodoo on this thread. But it should be pointed out that as much as we have historically hated playing on ANZAC day, the Knights hate coming to NZ. Just consider:

1. Knights have never won in NZ under their current coach (Adam O'Brien)
2. Since 2006, Knights are 2/17 (11%) in NZ
3. Since 1995 Knights are 9/26 (35%) in NZ

I'd say we've got the wood over them here.

 

[run_it_str8_again]

Ok my coach hit list is:

Ciraldo
Sticky
Bellamy

That's about it. I don't have any unresolved issues with any other coaches at present

Oh well. That's partially Ciraldo done. Just need to be us bashing them up now.

 

[sydneywarrior92]

Oh well. That's partially Ciraldo done. Just need to be us bashing them up now.

When evaluating coaches, we need to consider inputs and value add. In that regard, Ciraldo is so overrated. Like Robbo, he's got the advantage of huge resources backing him up. During his first year when he had a much weaker roster, dogs finished bottom 4. That's why webby is underrated- he took a roster that was bottom 4 in 2022 and turned it into a top 4 side the next year.

 

[Inruin]

When evaluating coaches, we need to consider inputs and value add. In that regard, Ciraldo is so overrated. Like Robbo, he's got the advantage of huge resources backing him up. During his first year when he had a much weaker roster, dogs finished bottom 4. That's why webby is underrated- he took a roster that was bottom 4 in 2022 and turned it into a top 4 side the next year.

And a bottom 4 the year after.... Ciraldo is a good coach. That dogs side isn't exactly stacked.

 

[sydneywarrior92]

And a bottom 4 the year after.... Ciraldo is a good coach. That dogs side isn't exactly stacked.

We can call it even then. Not saying he's not a good coach, just that he's overrated by the Sydney media who are constantly writing glamour pieces about him.

 

[roguei]

Only managed to rewatch and take notes of 3/4s of the game before i just ran out of time. So here are my quick thoughts before the match day thread!
**First Half Recap**
Niukore was a liability on the first try—stood there like a cone and refused to tackle the dummy half.
Egan’s been sharp, picking the right runners to chew metres.
Our first try attempt off a CHT bomb was slick—Ali batted it back to Bunny, just a shame it floated forward.
Walsh was outstanding during the first real push down their end. His edge D was on point, covering for TT, who seemed MIA.
Metcalf and CHT looked lost early. No real shape on either side—maybe because TT wasn’t linking on the left, maybe the rain forced them back to basic crash plays, or maybe the halves just weren’t clicking. Could be all three.
Broncos’ sets in our red zone mirrored ours but looked more polished. Main difference? Their massive props leaning over the line like a threat, and Walsh’s god-tier tryline D—made TT look second-rate.
Egan smashing Xavier? Holy shit, what a hit.
When Leka carried, Egan shadowed right, CHT left—ready for offloads.
Leka looked lethal before his try. Nearly linked up with Metcalf when they spotted Reynolds and Xavier had swapped spots. If not for a bobble, that was a clean break. Great shape there.
Support play was tight, always ready for the offload.
Last 10 minutes of the half, Broncos had ~70% possession, mostly on our line. Our jamming D held up beautifully, shut down wide plays, and we stayed composed—smart short dropouts, even won one back.
Scramble D looked strong.
Going for the two before halftime? Right call. Great learning moment too—everyone got caught napping after it, but it won’t happen again.

---

**Second Half**
Offloads into second-phase are way better this season.
Metcalf dropped some great bombs—two spirals even.
D-line pressure was Raider-esque.
CHT and Metcalf finally looked synced. Metcalf’s grubbers were tidy (shame Ali and Pompey lack wheels). CHT was feeding lead runners nicely.
Only odd bit—Demetric trying to play like Tohu. First receiver, hit the line, tip to the half… but his hands aren’t silky and it doesn’t sell. Same pressure, less deception.
But Demetric’s definitely been studying Fish—trying to pin Willison’s arm for a slow-release penalty was fucking great. But didn’t fool the ref as he was pretty good all game. Love that he backed himself for another run right after, just couldn’t hang onto it.
CHT is reading plays like a damn book—he might be the best defensive half in the comp right now.
Our movement back to the middle worked better this half. Nearly cracked them a few times.
Slightly spooky that most of our points came off broken play instead of structure.
We were lucky Laban didn’t get binned for blocking the Broncos’ in-goal catch. Could’ve easily been a yellow.

---

**Knights Game Wishlist**
1. Ali needs to lift when his winger’s quiet. Demand the pill more and make the left edge dangerous.
2. Metcalf to land *at least* half his conversions. The bar is so low.
3. Metcalf to run the ball more.
4. Halves to build on the second-half structure.
5. Fullback needs to get in on the ball-playing. As currently both are not playing distributor.
6. Demetric should stop pretending he’s Tohu. Be Clark: smash on D, wreck on O, let Egan work off that.
7. Trim Ford’s minutes—he’s better in shorter bursts.
8. Bring that Broncos-level intensity for a full 80, not just 70.
9. CHT to keep reading the opposition, especially Ponga and Cogger.
10. Don’t shuffle positions just to rest Egan. Sub in clean, no musical chairs.