General Your 2025 team

[Wrighty]

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad/Taine Tuaupiki
2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
3. Rocco Berry
4. Ali Leiataua/Adam Pompey
5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
6. Luke Metcalf/Chanel Harris-Tavita
7. Te Maire Martin/Tanah Boyd

8. James Fisher-Harris
9. Wayde Egan
10. Mitch Barnett
11. Jackson Ford/Jacob Laban
12. Kurt Capewell/Leka Halasima
13. Tohu Harris

14. Freddy Lussick/Sam Healey
15. Marata Niukore/Zyon Maiu’u
16. Demitric Sifakula/Tom Ale
17. Dylan Walker/Erin Clark

Motu Pasikala
Ed Kosi
Bunty Afoa

You have basically named the whole squad. And seeing it laid out like that gave me perspective that the Warriors are either going to over perform and come top four or underperform and come bottom 2.
Very Rocks and Diamonds feel about it with brittle back up for key positions and some players who their best days are behind them but no one has the heart to tell that player. Or those veterans could have champagne year.
The whole team will be ROCKS OR DIAMONDS.

 

[Inruin]

That squad is either going to over perform and come top four or underperform and come bottom 2.
Very Rocks and Diamonds feel about it with brittle back up for key positions and some players who their best days are behind them but no one has the heart to tell that player. Or those veterans could have champagne year.
The whole team is ROCKS OR DIAMONDS.

Gees @Wrighty 13 of his 17 you have playing for your life!

 

[Wrighty]

The best news for our 2025 chances, which everyone feels in their heart by no one has the audacity to say, is that SJ has retired. Yes he kicked back into life in round 27 but that was his only good game all year. He had to be in the running for being one of the worst starting halves in the NRL last season. At times he was walking with the ball in the red zone which was never going to lead to a try. He thought he could play with a dinner suit on and just magic up a try through sleight of hand.
Just by not having him we have a chance of improving from say our 37.5% winning record to about 50% this year.
However Tohu will be a year older next year and has become a liability unless he plays limited minutes off the bench. The coaching staff won't recognise that until round 10 when the ship has sailed on the season and I notice most of you have picked him as your starting 13.
CNK either plays centre or shouldn't play at all. Will they make that call? Probably not.
It is Webster's fault that CNK was an elite Fullback in 2023 and terrible in 2024? No it isn't and it must be hard to have the perspective to see a player's decline when you see them putting in the hard yards at training during the week.
Webster needs to be a genius next year for us to do well. If he makes conservative defensible calls I see the wooden spoon coming.
If he rolls the dice on youth then we could be top 4.
We will be rocks or diamonds next year. And we will know by Blueys Round.

 

[Wrighty]

Gees @Wrighty 13 of his 17 you have playing for your life!

I didn't mean to single him out. All the squads anyone is naming including mine are rocks or diamonds.

 

[Wrighty]

Why we will know by Blueys Round illustrated below

	Top 8	2024​
	Final Round	Blueys Round
1​	Storm	Sharks
2​	Panthers	Storm
3​	Roosters	Raiders
4​	Sharks	Cowboys
5​	Cowboys	Dolphins
6​	Bulldogs	Panthers
7​	Manly	Warriors
8​	Knights	Manly
	Top 8	2023​
	Final Round	Blueys Round
1​	Panthers	Broncos
2​	Broncos	Panthers
3​	Storm	Storm
4​	Warriors	Dolphins
5​	Knights	Warriors
6​	Sharks	Titans
7​	Roosters	Roosters
8​	Raiders	Knights

 

[Inruin]

Why we will know by Blueys Round illustrated below

	Top 8	2024​
	Final Round	Blueys Round
1​	Storm	Sharks
2​	Panthers	Storm
3​	Roosters	Raiders
4​	Sharks	Cowboys
5​	Cowboys	Dolphins
6​	Bulldogs	Panthers
7​	Manly	Warriors
8​	Knights	Manly
	Top 8	2023​
	Final Round	Blueys Round
1​	Panthers	Broncos
2​	Broncos	Panthers
3​	Storm	Storm
4​	Warriors	Dolphins
5​	Knights	Warriors
6​	Sharks	Titans
7​	Roosters	Roosters
8​	Raiders	Knights

I see you and raise you a 2011 Grand Final appearance...

 

[Wrighty]

I see you and raise you a 2011 Grand Final appearance...

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Good one but aside from the great move up the ladder from the Warriors the rest of the results are consistent with mine in that 7 out 8 of the Blueys round top 8 in your year you picked were in the final top 8. Much is decided and known by Bluey's round.

 

[Inruin]

Good one but aside from the great move up the ladder from the Warriors the rest of the results are consistent with mine in that 7 out 8 of the Blueys round top 8 in your year you picked were in the final top 8. Much is decided and known by Bluey's round.

But not certain or guaranteed. Even in the examples you gave 2/8 and 3/8 teams made it in to the 8 despite not featuring in blueys round. For me, the important piece will be how we are playing in those first 6 rounds rather than the actual results.

 

[Piltdown Man]

You have basically named the whole squad. And seeing it laid out like that gave me perspective that the Warriors are either going to over perform and come top four or underperform and come bottom 2.
Very Rocks and Diamonds feel about it with brittle back up for key positions and some players who their best days are behind them but no one has the heart to tell that player. Or those veterans could have champagne year.
The whole team will be ROCKS OR DIAMONDS.

You have basically named the whole squad. And seeing it laid out like that gave me perspective that the Warriors are either going to over perform and come top four or underperform and come bottom 2.
Very Rocks and Diamonds feel about it with brittle back up for key positions and some players who their best days are behind them but no one has the heart to tell that player. Or those veterans could have champagne year.
The whole team will be ROCKS OR DIAMONDS.

What I got from that team selection is that our B team is close to the A team … which could be great for the squad depth over a season …. Unless the A team is just bit crap.

 

[Piltdown Man]

Does rd 1 in Vegas have any relevance?
Go all out attack, offloads and entertainment or go conservative and mature (old?)and grind over the top of a team that had too much fun in Vegas?

 

[MrFrankWhite]

The best news for our 2025 chances, which everyone feels in their heart by no one has the audacity to say, is that SJ has retired. Yes he kicked back into life in round 27 but that was his only good game all year. He had to be in the running for being one of the worst starting halves in the NRL last season. At times he was walking with the ball in the red zone which was never going to lead to a try. He thought he could play with a dinner suit on and just magic up a try through sleight of hand.
Just by not having him we have a chance of improving from say our 37.5% winning record to about 50% this year.
However Tohu will be a year older next year and has become a liability unless he plays limited minutes off the bench. The coaching staff won't recognise that until round 10 when the ship has sailed on the season and I notice most of you have picked him as your starting 13.
CNK either plays centre or shouldn't play at all. Will they make that call? Probably not.
It is Webster's fault that CNK was an elite Fullback in 2023 and terrible in 2024? No it isn't and it must be hard to have the perspective to see a player's decline when you see them putting in the hard yards at training during the week.
Webster needs to be a genius next year for us to do well. If he makes conservative defensible calls I see the wooden spoon coming.
If he rolls the dice on youth then we could be top 4.
We will be rocks or diamonds next year. And we will know by Blueys Round.

Agree on every single one of these points.

 

[Milking!]

Does rd 1 in Vegas have any relevance?
Go all out attack, offloads and entertainment or go conservative and mature (old?)and grind over the top of a team that had too much fun in Vegas?

My gut says with all the travel, media commitments, bedding in new players and systems etc etc, Webby will have the boys playing conservative as. If we jag a win doing that, could be a good bet for the first chunk of the season while the team adjusts to life post-SJ.

 

[Milking!]

Agree on every single one of these points.

The best news for our 2025 chances, which everyone feels in their heart by no one has the audacity to say, is that SJ has retired. Yes he kicked back into life in round 27 but that was his only good game all year. He had to be in the running for being one of the worst starting halves in the NRL last season. At times he was walking with the ball in the red zone which was never going to lead to a try. He thought he could play with a dinner suit on and just magic up a try through sleight of hand.
Just by not having him we have a chance of improving from say our 37.5% winning record to about 50% this year.
However Tohu will be a year older next year and has become a liability unless he plays limited minutes off the bench. The coaching staff won't recognise that until round 10 when the ship has sailed on the season and I notice most of you have picked him as your starting 13.
CNK either plays centre or shouldn't play at all. Will they make that call? Probably not.
It is Webster's fault that CNK was an elite Fullback in 2023 and terrible in 2024? No it isn't and it must be hard to have the perspective to see a player's decline when you see them putting in the hard yards at training during the week.
Webster needs to be a genius next year for us to do well. If he makes conservative defensible calls I see the wooden spoon coming.
If he rolls the dice on youth then we could be top 4.
We will be rocks or diamonds next year. And we will know by Blueys Round.

Food for thought, Wrighty!
Be interesting to see what game plan our halves follow next year - even busted SJ was probably the best game manager out of the 4 (but the injuries defo limited his attack and fluidity) Can someone fill those shoes? If you squint, could we dream Metcalf turns into a Jahrome Hughes-type running and gunning halfback maybe?
Tohu - starts and is in the middle for me. Not just for the grit and grind, but he’s great defensively and so often his deft passing game keeps defenders guessing and gives us crucial momentum. Think if they reduce his minutes and monitor his performance, defo has another high-calibre but possibly limited season.
CNK - would be heartbreaker to drop, but could see the thinking that TT’s razzle dazzle might be needed to get us points. Just how ruthless is Webby?
Excited to see what happens with youth brigade coming through. With that much talent, and after a disappointing season, could be a few big dogs playing NSW cup.

 

[mrblonde]

Does rd 1 in Vegas have any relevance?
Go all out attack, offloads and entertainment or go conservative and mature (old?)and grind over the top of a team that had too much fun in Vegas?

Jeez here I am someone who just bought the new Cure album which is the darkest bloody album I've ever heard but your post just made me go all Katie Perry:

Shut up and let the Warriors kick yer ass now, that's what ya get for waking up in Vegas!

 

[mrblonde]

The best news for our 2025 chances, which everyone feels in their heart by no one has the audacity to say, is that SJ has retired. Yes he kicked back into life in round 27 but that was his only good game all year. He had to be in the running for being one of the worst starting halves in the NRL last season. At times he was walking with the ball in the red zone which was never going to lead to a try. He thought he could play with a dinner suit on and just magic up a try through sleight of hand.
Just by not having him we have a chance of improving from say our 37.5% winning record to about 50% this year.
However Tohu will be a year older next year and has become a liability unless he plays limited minutes off the bench. The coaching staff won't recognise that until round 10 when the ship has sailed on the season and I notice most of you have picked him as your starting 13.
CNK either plays centre or shouldn't play at all. Will they make that call? Probably not.
It is Webster's fault that CNK was an elite Fullback in 2023 and terrible in 2024? No it isn't and it must be hard to have the perspective to see a player's decline when you see them putting in the hard yards at training during the week.
Webster needs to be a genius next year for us to do well. If he makes conservative defensible calls I see the wooden spoon coming.
If he rolls the dice on youth then we could be top 4.
We will be rocks or diamonds next year. And we will know by Blueys Round.

1. Agree on SJ. Never wanted him to resign for 2025 (happy for him to play on for 2025, but for another team!) as I thought I made very clear a couple of times last season. A few games/times he was damn good, but never often enough for the Warriors to offer him another contract and I felt for him to even really ask for another contract.
2. Harris is for me a nailed on bench player at least until/if he proves himself worthy of a Starting 13 position. Which means it's Barnett officially named as the new captain as he's definitely Starting 13.
3. Not so sure here. RTS was really underwhelming this year and I'm not sure if you cure that by rewarding him with the 1 jersey. Maybe this off-season will see him get to grips with the position and RTS shows us what he can do. But, yeah, CNK didn't set the world on fire either, so....hmmmm.
4. Youth. I posted a while ago that while 2024 sucked for the NRL team, for the U17 and KOE teams it showed promise. Obviously some discussion as to who deserves promotion/keeping in those teams etc but if the Warriors are going to really nail it as a development club I honestly think this is The Big Question for 2025 and maybe 2026: We don't want to be the club that has the U17 team that kicks ass and then goes on to the U19s to suck ass. I do subscribe to the "if you're good enough, you're old enough" argument (within obviously Age Group rules!) but also hate the idea of a young "superstar" being promoted and exposed way before he's really ready. Don't actually want a Warriors version of Reece Walsh (ie fans watching practice, hassling him as he's getting into his car etc)...
5. Don't know about Bluey's Round as obviously the Draw isn't out yet. But I'll once again offer my "Be Good In The Position First, Be A Good Kicker Second" approach to selecting players. If you've got to play a defensive game, your sexy 80%+ kicking accuracy record isn't going to get much time to show it's sexy self. In the meantime, your shitty defensive work in your position is going to get plenty of time to show it's shitty self...

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

I see you and raise you a 2011 Grand Final appearance...

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In the 3 examples, on average 6 of the top 8 are locked in by Blueys round. Wow.

Shows how a good start to the season is so important.

Our draw next year is rough in the first 6 rounds. Raiders; Manly; Rooster; Tigers; Storm; Broncos. Potential 4/6 but some big games and could realistically also be 2/6???.

What’s par for next year?

 

[Inruin]

In the 3 examples, on average 6 of the top 8 are locked in by Blueys round. Wow.

Shows how a good start to the season is so important.

Our draw next year is rough in the first 6 rounds. Raiders; Manly; Rooster; Tigers; Storm; Broncos. Potential 4/6 but some big games and could realistically also be 2/6???.

What’s par for next year?

You forgot the bye in round 6. 2 wins and a bye for 6 competition points from the first 7 rounds wouldn't be the end of the world

 

[John Nick]

You forgot the bye in round 6. 2 wins and a bye for 6 competition points from the first 7 rounds wouldn't be the end of the world

Wouldnt be a great start to the season either.I hope we are aiming for better.

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

The best news for our 2025 chances, which everyone feels in their heart by no one has the audacity to say, is that SJ has retired

Wrighty! How could you?

But yeah, agree on everything you've said.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

You forgot the bye in round 6. 2 wins and a bye for 6 competition points from the first 7 rounds wouldn't be the end of the world

If we’re working out Blueys round the bye warps the result. We need to judge on 6 games played for consistency with Blueys season?

I have us:

Raiders W 60/40
Manly 50/50 we struggle with their size
Rooster L
Tigers W
Storm L
Bye
Broncos 40/60 we struggle with their speed

How we go against the other mid table top 8 contenders will determine where we’re at. Lose to all them and it’s a Bluey season. Wins against top 4 Roosters or Storm and it sets us up for a great season.

3 wins plus the bye I think is par.