Post Match Warriors v Roosters - [Round 3, 2025]

[Boats n Hoes]

Charnze will probably get the cookies from this game, but Leka was my man of the match.

he was the catalyst behind practically every good thing that happened for us in that 2nd half.

Great win boys!

 

[WahsaurusRex]

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

ALI IS A FUCKING GUN!!!!!!!

 

[Barzak]

Welcome to the grind era of the Warriors!
We are going to overwhelm teams with our forwards and sneak points where we can.
Our forward pack are monsters, starters and the bench.
I’d like to see our bench use improve.
CNK showed his value and why he’s an integral part of our team.
Tuapiki is a game breaker, Leiataua too.
Average ref performance.
IDC if we win by 1 or 100
Embrace the grind and wars of attrition.

I still despise Pompey.

 

[Bippidydoodah]

I love 2025 Jackson Ford

 

[Bruiser]

Charnze will probably get the cookies from this game, but Leka was my man of the match.

he was the catalyst behind practically every good thing that happened for us in that 2nd half.

Great win boys!

Leka provided the spark we needed.
Ford was in everything

 

[tyrael]

Defense A+
Individual brilliance A
Team attack C-

 

[Rizzah]

Young dudes are finding their feet. This could be a great season if our attack can click.
Love that we are grinding teams in the middle. Chewed out Manly and the Roosters.

 

[Dlenai]

Gritty win against a team that put 38 against the 4 peat full strength panthers

Limiting them to 6 is absolutely ridiculous ! HOW GOOD

 

[The Warrior Waka]

Well done boys! What a grind!! Charnze , Welcome back Mr Motor Man!

Ali & Leka, Our future!

Clark, Our Muscle man! What a little tank.

CHT - You ran this team. Simple , Hard work & grind. Well done son.

 

[Beastmode]

Holy shit.

CNK 30 runs 314M!
I'm sorry for ever doubting this guy.

What a legend.

 

[Popdukes]

A+ for the simple fact that they……never…..gave…..up

Damn Ali is a weapon, runs beautiful lines

Leka is just as dangerous

Great win, well done lads!!

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Great patient win!

With our defence, once our attack clicks we could be very hard to beat.

 

[The Warrior Waka]

Holy shit.

CNK 30 runs 314M!
I'm sorry for ever doubting this guy.

Incredible bro. I was blown away by his performance. Nothing flashy. But he was everywhere! ? Made me tired! Need a koro nap watching him

 

[sup42]

Was watching and me inner voice kept saying gee this is gonna be one of those two points on the ladder let slip.

But nup, our grind was real. We have no problem being in games and as others have said the confidence grows in our young boys, which is a dangerous thing for the NRL.

Defence is more important than attack in this sport.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Halves are going to have up and down games as they learn, we just beat the Roosters on their down game.
CHT is improving, thats a good sign. Young guns are the future.

11 & 12 still need to improve but thats a good issue to have, means the rest of the team is upping the standard.

 

[snake77]

That would have been a close game we would have lost last year.

That game had a bit of a 2023 feel to it. Come home strong and beat teams late. I'd rather have that then the old hold the Warriors for 60 minutes and they will fade.

 

[BrisbaneWarrior]

Was watching and me inner voice kept saying gee this is gonna be one of those two points on the ladder let slip.

But nup, our grind was real. We have no problem being in games and as others have said the confidence grows in our young boys, which is a dangerous thing for the NRL.

Defence is more important than attack in this sport.

Hopefully a win over the Tigers and then the Bye

 

[KPWarrior]

Hoodoo off the back!

That was actually quite fkn epic!

 

[Riz]

Leka

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

I tell you what, how good is it so see energy at the END of a game?

 

[snake77]

Webster has been keen on Berry. That is understandable as he was doing a lot of good things before he got injured. Defended well, lead our kick chase, ran good lines. Had a good combination with DWZ on the right hand side.

He is going to find it hard to replace Leiataua on the right hand side.

Leiataua is looking like a weapon if we give him some shape to run a line or can get the ball to him at pace.

 

[Adamnz support]

If Roger is out does berry come back in with Pompey on the wing??

What a grind. Really liking the young guns coming through, they play hard!!

 

[SJ’s on Fire]

Back to back wins - let’s go! Defence was unreal! Really good signs. Great effort signs and you can see we have trust amongst the team. That was the brand of footy that we had in 2023. Good that we are bringing back the fortress out of Mt Smart as well - make it a place where teams leave hurt.

 

[KPWarrior]

If we can get our attack clicking we're gonna be dangerous, our young guys look every bit first grade, they're gonna make some mistakes but just persist with them.

 

[snake77]

The bench use is getting a lot better. It looks like they are getting more faith in some of the young guys.

Vaimauga made the one mistake losing the ball after getting tackled. He seems like the type that a mistake will piss him off and he'll make up for it. He got some good runs in and some sting in defence.

Halasima must shock the opposition as he isn't huge but then manages to out muscle them with his upper body strength or power through with his leg drive. He will soon be on the opposition tip sheets.

I'd love to see them with some plays with Halasima running on to the ball getting in between two defenders.

 

[3rdstriker]

Great grinding win against a team who could've broke open at a few moments but our defense won.
Looks like chanel has taken it by the balls the last 2 weeks he deserves his reselection next week.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Okay okay.......

MOTM will most likely go to CNK and rightly so, a close one for me is also CHT and Ford, but for me, my sneaky MOTM goes to Andrew Webster!

He made the right changes at the right time, had a fantastic feel for the game, his boy Ford flogged it for him today and we came over the top in an absolutely grueling game!

Well done webby, if can't be more happy for you!

 

[MrFrankWhite]

I’m against Leka and Demetric starting just yet.

Webby is showing he’s not clueless.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

All 4 of the main options combined are probably on a similar amount to some teams starting 6 and 7.

And if you look at the ladder, some 6s & 7s are performing worse.

Our boys are learning on the job and actually giving it a fair whack. We really need a consistent half pairing to be a prem threat. CHT and Metcalf *might* be it.

 

[snake77]

They were getting over us at times. The second half we were struggling to get any field position. The first few times we got down there in the second half we wasted the opportunity.

I thought this could end up at 6-4 or a late Roosters try and we go down fighting.

NO. They managed to turn it around with the starters coming back on and the two young forwards adding impact.

I love that we play out the full 80. If teams beat us make them earn it.

Keep playing like this at home and keep the crowds coming. That will be an intimidating atmosphere for an away trip.

 

[Matiunz]

Was watching and me inner voice kept saying gee this is gonna be one of those two points on the ladder let slip.

But nup, our grind was real. We have no problem being in games and as others have said the confidence grows in our young boys, which is a dangerous thing for the NRL.

Defence is more important than attack in this sport.

I was similar, the way our attack looked in the first 50 or so I couldn’t see where our tries were gonna come from. 6-4 mid way through second half kept waiting on the Roosters to score and go on and I was strangely ok with that- we put up a decent fight.
All of a sudden we break them with the CHT try then ice it with the Ali try- we took our moments and ground it out, these are the kind of wins that we weren’t converting last year and they are the kind of wins that build character- couldn’t be happier tonight

 

[WahsaurusRex]

Leka is such a fucking machine, insane strength for a frame that isn’t even built out yet.

Him running front door and Ali running back door is going to be a bitch to defend in a few years.

 

[jonesy101]

One of the pleasing aspects after watching both games is that in comparison to many other clubs this season we are doing pretty well with the 4 halves we've got. Martin is far too good for reserve grade.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

I haven't read this or the game day threads so apologies if this is repeating others.

One of the best things in 2023 was our power bench, and it was excruciating that that great blueprint became our weakness last year.

It is so good to see it back. Ford's energy is awesome at 20 minutes, Walker's calm playmaking, and the young guns powering us up the field with aggression and some ballplaying.

If we go well this year, it will be the mix of an experienced and hardened forward pack combining with a fantastic bench. Kudos to Webster for the use of it tonight.

Curse the injuries to outside backs though. Murphy's law, hopefully Taine is okay at the judiciary

 

[miket12]

Stoked with the win.

Ali is the player we hoped Konrad was going too be.

Leka…. amazing.

Clark…. buy of the season.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Notable metres

CNK 30 runs 314m. Godlike
Back 5 all over 100m

Metcalf 2runs 9m Needs to run first early on
Fish 14runs 128m always solid
Egan 10runs 98m maintaining
Barnett 15runs 159m beast

Capewell 10 for 84m poor and weak contact
Marata 6 for 48m getting phased out for youth

Clark 15 for 164m 10/10 every week so far
Walker 14 for 134m big
Ford 15 for 148m Crazy to talk about dropping him

 

[CWC]

Notable metres

CNK 30 runs 314m. Godlike
Back 5 all over 100m

Metcalf 2runs 9m Needs to run first early on
Fish 14runs 128m always solid
Egan 10runs 98m maintaining
Barnett 15runs 159m beast

Capewell 10 for 84m poor and weak contact
Marata 6 for 48m getting phased out for youth

Clark 15 for 164m 10/10 every week so far
Walker 14 for 134m big
Ford 15 for 148m Crazy to talk about dropping him

Felt like Fish had an effect on the defense big time, great foe these type of games

Egan took over when the halves were clueless for 20 minutes. Amazing he’s played 240 minutes in a row without concussion this year

 

[miket12]

Notable metres

CNK 30 runs 314m. Godlike
Back 5 all over 100m

One other thing about CNK….. 95m off those were post contact. What a machine!!!

 

[Fonzie]

Notable metres

CNK 30 runs 314m. Godlike
Back 5 all over 100m

Metcalf 2runs 9m Needs to run first early on
Fish 14runs 128m always solid
Egan 10runs 98m maintaining
Barnett 15runs 159m beast

Capewell 10 for 84m poor and weak contact
Marata 6 for 48m getting phased out for youth

Clark 15 for 164m 10/10 every week so far
Walker 14 for 134m big
Ford 15 for 148m Crazy to talk about dropping him

Marata’s run metres are deceptive, he gets late ball into contact so makes fewer metres per carry

 

[KPWarrior]

They were getting over us at times. The second half we were struggling to get any field position. The first few times we got down there in the second half we wasted the opportunity.

I thought this could end up at 6-4 or a late Roosters try and we go down fighting.

NO. They managed to turn it around with the starters coming back on and the two young forwards adding impact.

I love that we play out the full 80. If teams beat us make them earn it.

Keep playing like this at home and keep the crowds coming. That will be an intimidating atmosphere for an away trip.

Last year we would have lost that game for sure.

Big shift in mentality and hope it becomes the new normal.

 

[unclesteve]

I know he spilled a couple tonight but CHTs try turned the tables and I felt his try against Manly also broke the shackles. Good on ya son, keep backing yourself in those moments.

Charnze was outstanding

 

[Tookey 2.0]

I don't mind Cobbo. But would Webby be able to do what he's done for Fordy and Barney and get the best out of him?

On Ford. I realise tonight he performs for Webby. He needs his Webby love. Then he'll rip in.

I've been really impressed with Ford to be honest. A lot of people couldn't find room for him in their 17, yet he seems to do the job he's always asked.
Has started, played a 30 min stint off the bench and tonight I thought he was one of our better players. 1 error and 0 penalties on 3 games is excellent for him too, seems to have really tidied up that area of his game.

 

[Wahs_Ultras]

164m by Erin in 45mins. Crazy stuff

 

[CWC]

Saw towards the end Ali got swamped by 4 defenders and went backwards in our own half, Leka took the next hit up and blew them apart This is how top teams do it

 

[watcher]

Ivwatched the delayed covreage on free to viee. First off there are some hard critics on here. I thought it was just what the yeam needed as a performance. They groundbout avwin aga8nst a strong resilient opposition.

Mistakes are bound to happen but they were kept to a minimum and completions were high.

I guess Harper will replace RTS, or maybe Kosi. Some very good performers in the NSW TEAM.

i would tempted to leave Pompey on the Wing and use Rocco.

 

[Five&Last]

Glad Leka's ability is starting to show in first grade now.

A feel like the fans of this club have been so scarred by juniors with potential in the past, they will immediately dismiss anyone saying he's the next big thing.

Hopefully he continues to work hard and doesn't let it get to his head.

 

[The Undertaker]

The dream.

Pretty sure he'll be the caretaker when Todd gets shit canned. Probably even turn them around.

Given how Toddy walked out on us and pretty much did it on live TV, there is a sense of schadenfreude watching this slowly play out… but that’s not for this thread.

Gutsy win. I’m more pleased about the 6 points conceded. We keep defending well then we give ourselves a chance every week,.

To break the roosters hoodoo is sweet and satisfying. Another club I am not a fan of. Well done to the boys. Some great effort plays from our old heads and young guns. That’s what excited me.

Ali and Leka look superb. Our front row is exceptional, Clark is definitely buy of the year, CNK had a standard setting performance (aside from the positioning on Le Chads 40/20)

Tigers next. Winnable away with a 9 day turnaround. I’m backing us here with a decent rest.

Then a bye and a good 14 days before Storm. This is the year of breaking hoodoos. With that workload, we will be reasonably fresh for that challenge.

2-1. Let’s make it 3 next week. Well done tonight boys!

 

[Dantheman]

my god Leka is quite a handful isn’t he?

 

[Boston Boy]

Leka and Vaimauga/Sifakula are very special players! Add in Ali L and wow! I liked the way Metcalf was barking at the end. I just feel a few tweaks and maybe 1-2 good players and we are a potentially top 4 team.

 

[SouthernWorrier]

Hands up who was confident of the win 8 points up ten minutes left to play?
Any other warriors season you don't let yourself relax until ten seconds left.
The reason I was confident was I looked on the field and saw Fish standing there. And thought this is on ice. Fish completely shuts down the ruck area and 1 out runners with 20 minutes to play with an iron fist. As I posted last week his best in the NRL middle third defence is a better fit for the warriors than AFBs best in the NRL PCMS.

I was thinking exactly the same - AFB is a deadset star, but such a prima donna and doesn't gel with his team mates. Now we have a unit.
80mins, in the grind, and finish the last 20 far stronger. Can't remember a more satisfying win.

I thought the game would have quietened Marata's critics, I thought he was immense last night, good work rate and damaging. And Leka coming on late to skittle some Sydney Cocks was prime viewing! Created the broken field for TT to have a scuttle which in turn set up for the last try.

Ali vs Nawaqanitawase was just great sport, 2 real talents playing hard and in good spirit. Thoroughly enjoyed their duel.

 

[juju]

yeah they both looked so similar?!!!!
It was Leka...

I was at the game thinking it was Demetric carving up and announcing himself to the NRL.
Got home and it was Leka.

We might need to upgrade this boy soon - that was immense.

 

[Riz]

I may have been fairly intoxicated, but was there a point where Leka was dragging three or four Roosters players up field?

Every time he touched the ball!

7 runs, 90m (just under 13m per run), 47 post contact.

 

[Riz]

Leka absolutely announced himself to the NRL last night, there's been glimpses in previous games but that was a statement made.

 

[John Nick]

I was at the game thinking it was Demetric carving up and announcing himself to the NRL.
Got home and it was Leka.

We might need to upgrade this boy soon - that was immense.

Yes. Those 2 young guys off the bench were enormous last night.Huge promise & Laban to come thru yet.
Thought Luke played as a link man & never attacked the line.Maybe an off night or playing to instructions Who knows?
CNK was obviously great .JFH also went about his work largely unnoticed.Pomps adequate. CHT was great & seems to be growing in confidence.Marata was bruising both sides of the ball.Capes was better & needed to be with whats on the bench.
Egan was great & seems to have learned new tackle techniques.Barney was Barney very good .
Ali is unstoppable near the line he is going to be a Great for us.
Confidence is growing in the entire team even AW has more confidence in his bench use. Great night overall

 

[Noitall]

Leka absolutely announced himself to the NRL last night, there's been glimpses in previous games but that was a statement made.

He’s got quite an intimidating side to him just like Vaimauga. Noticed later in the game even Leniu looked like he wasn’t prepared to fuck around with him

 

[Inruin]

Walkers killing our attack lately. Bring Healey onto the bench, Egan can’t keep this up all year. We’ll still have Ford and Demetric as middles, and once Halasima comes on, Niukore can shift to the middle rotation.

A few times after trying to do a move Walker had to settle for hitting it up himself then after playing the ball was yelling and pointing at Metcalf that he wasn't in position. So it does look like Walker is killing the play but it's the only option sometimes for him.

 

[Wahs_Ultras]

View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHdST_lI5F8/?igsh=MTltNDRscmRianhiZQ==

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Ahh waking up on a Saturday after a satisfying Friday night win, is thet anything better?

Most of what I wanted to say has already been said. So many good performances. Barny, JFH and Clark leading the way and setting that line speed.

CNK responding from his worst game ever in Vegas, to over 300 running meters.

My only complaint about Leka is when ever he gets the ball theres always 3 or 4 guys in front of him. Maybe a set play or something where he's either 1 on 1 or 2 on 1. Once we figure out how to put him in space he's going to score a lot of tries

 

[Wellington Taniwha]

The warriors bring the hurt! That’s two games at home where we’ve messed up the opposition just by being harder. I was wondering how Barney and Fish would gel, but it’s like two of the hardest hc bouncers at a Rotorua nightclub. You’re gonna get some pain, and they keep going for 80 mins. Then if you get through them you got Jake the muss and Erin Clark running at you full noise…..

Plodding attack at times. But thoroughly enjoying the lack of enjoyment rhe Aussie teams are having playing at Mt Smart. There’s the pride!

 

[Riz]

Saw old mate on the right, boogying down on the sidelines. Having the time of his life.

Bloody good stuff.

He got to run the game ball out in full kit too, I have a family member with Down Sindrome so seeing something like that hits a little different.

 

[Wahs_Ultras]

Taine was not cited at the judiciary. Free to play

 

[RiceOwl]

What a difference 2-3 weeks makes. It was the apocalypse in here after Vegas, but I always like the quote “you’re never as bad as you think you are, and you’re never as good as you think you are”. It could be aptly applied to this side. Yes Vegas was shithouse but mightn’t have been as bad as many initially assessed. And these wins have been great for confidence but let’s maybe keep expectations in check.

Couple of thoughts from my view at Bay 29, although much has already been said.

- A great grinding contest. To come out on top in a grind like that is a testament to the trust in Webby imo.
- There are some hardy workers in that side, CNK, Clark, Mitch…fantastic.
- Said it last week too, the way JFH holds the middle D together is epic. The guys a f’n bully.
- It’s been mentioned plenty already that Leka was fantastic and as much as I’d like to see him more purely because he is fantastic to watch, I still think the way his minutes managed (along with the other young bucks) is the right way to go long term. It’s super exciting seeing these guys come through and develop.
- Rog will be a loss but surely Berry comes in and Pompey moves out?
- The next two away will be tough but think we can come away with points.

Enjoy and bask in another post win week

 

[Naynay]

I honestly think people are missing the forest for the trees here, I get all the concern over attack, I would like to flog teams by 30 plus aswell. But at the end of the day we are winning and nicely too. Let the halfs learn and back out defence to allow them to we need to go back to the 2023 defence that we built that season off.

 

[Ref]

It wasn’t just the fact that CNK made 300 running metres.
It was the quality of his runs.
He turned back the clock and showed flair and stepping that I thought had passed him by.

 

[Wahs_Ultras]

 

[Noitall]

View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHnOkGyxidf/?l=1&igsh=c3hxaWlmYWowcjJ6

Good analysis from SJ

 

[roguei]

Had a good watch of chad's brakedown of the warriors v roosters game and thought i'd post my thoughts from the video here.

• Apparently, we are one of the most deadly teams in the opposition 10, which is interesting.
• We played with a really high completion rate and ground them down.
• Something the Warriors did well—and that the roosters could learn from according to him—is straightening up our edges when a play isn’t working. For example, when attacking down the right-hand wing towards TT, if it's clear the play won’t work, they’d pull it back inside to Marata to straighten the attack. Instead of forcing the play and relying on individual brilliance or hoping for defensive errors, the warriors kept applying pressure and turning that into long won trys. Meanwhile, the Roosters tended to bet on making the play work no matter what.
• Chad made 42 tackles—the most he’s ever made in a game. For comparison, Victor only made 41, while Wong, his edge back-rower, made 54. Chad was the Roosters’ third-highest tackler, which shows how well the Warriors ground them down. Fatigue makes it much harder to play, and we need to apply that same pressure on Api and Luai when we face the Tigers. If we wear them down early, we can dominate the last 20 minutes.
• He also kept mentioning how hard it was because we constantly bombed into the corners, pinning their wingers inside the first 10 meters. That made it nearly impossible for them to start an attacking set in the red zone.

Do give a geez at the analysis here. It's really interesting to get an educated take from a player who played in that game. Arugably one of the best sources for info on how the boys played last week.