General Your 2025 team

[Defence]

While we're on the topic of 13s, I'd be really keen to see Tom Ale start, even if it's for the first 20 or 30 minutes. Really solid defender, mobile, can bend the line and sneaky good hands too. With him, Barney and Fish starting, I'd feel pretty confident we'd hold our own in the middle 3rd against most teams. Walker and Clark on the bench along with Demitric Vaimauga provide a really dynamic interchange.

it is a bit of a make or break season for Ale, I hope he gets the minutes to really prove himself as a consistent 1st grader, he's too good for reserve grade.

1 cnk
2 dwz
3 Rocco
4 Ali
5 rts
6 tmm
7 Metcalf
8 Fish
9 Egan
10 Barnett
11 Halasima
12 Capewell
13 Ale

14 Walker
15 Demitric Vaimauga
16 Marata
17 Clark

18 cht

Yeah I’m and ale fan- seems strange to me he hasn’t been given more time the last couple of years when hes played well when given the opportunity.
Especially 2023 we were flying then they dropped him for Jazz who clearly wasn’t 100% yet and he kinda stunk it up tbh.
Now Jazz is gone and they tried offloading Bunty who were both getting picked ahead of him so maybe this is his year?

 

[Billyspleen75]

Just adding to what already seems to be worked out.
On SENZ, The Mole said CNK told him he's been training at fullback.

 

[Wrighty]

Just adding to what already seems to be worked out.
On SENZ, The Mole said CNK told him he's been training at fullback.

Well can you blame Webster. He tried converting Roger to centre and that was a calamity. And while CNK may have more runs on the board as a centre, including experience for the Kiwis, it would be a very similar sort of motif and given Webster has just been burned he was never going to repeat it.
But wait what about Taine vs CNK....yeah that is interesting. He will want two full backs to see out the year and doesn't think Taine did enough to supercede CNK.
CNK's record as a fullback last year was 4 wins and 11 losses or 26.6%. Taines was 4 wins 7 losses and 1 draw or 33%

IE we went a bit better with Taine (notwithstanding small sample sizes) but not by enough to warrant a full back replacement.

It's actually quite encouraging - if we could eek out 4 wins playing the way he did then we could go at 40% or 50% this year with a much fitter CNK. I do think part of it was fitness. He looked gassed from the 15 minute mark onwards in each game. So gassed he couldn't turn around and chase a bog standard grubber meaning the attacking team got an undeserved try.

I think this is the right call by Webster despite how good he looked at centre vs Sharks.

 

[Playdaball]

I would have had CNK at centre. If true, this is the concern I have with coach Webster - not keen on change to selections or game plans ,,, time will tell. However, he is the coach and has a far better RL brain than me!!1

 

[Wrighty]

I would have had CNK at centre. If true, this is the concern I have with coach Webster - not keen on change to selections or game plans ,,, time will tell. However, he is the coach and has a far better RL brain than me!!1

In cricket, in my years following the black caps avidly, whenever the coaches picked a team "the fans would pick" or one a bit funky with someone in a money ball position we got pantsed. And the times we punched above our weight was when we picked a conservative team with everyone in their traditional position and the make up of the team in terms of batsman vs bowlers vs all rounders was very cookie cutter and predictable. Our most boring teams that the fans all resented by far and away did the best in cricket at least.

In this case I figure there are 17 NRL head coaches. I think while the fans and pundits would have put CNK at centre - I reckon maybe all 17 coaches would have put CNK at fullback this season. That is speculation of course.

 

[Wrighty]

We are going to do better than last season. How much better nobody knows. 3 spots higher? 1 spot higher. Into the playoffs? I don't know.
But better we will be as I have learned over my few seasons of following the Warriors (as I am not totally new to league now) is that fitness is the most important thing to work on over the pre-season. Plenty of times our team in 2024 got gassed so that when the ref got around to giving us our make up calls to even up the penalty count our dudes were too exhausted to score.
They say in certain interviews we are fitter than last year's pre-season so that all tells me we are going to improve. Apparently Webster has said they got a few things wrong in last year's pre-season.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Okay final team no changes.

1 C N Klokstad
2 D W Zelezniak
3 R Berry
4 A Leiataua
5 R T Sheck
6 L Metcalf
7 T Boyd
8 J F Harris c
9 W Egan
10 M Barnett
11 M Niukore
12 K Capewell
13 E Clark

14 D Walker
15 D Demitric Vaimauga
16 T Ale
17 C H Tavita

 

[Noitall]

DWZ juggling preseason and shooting latest season of Yellowstone

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

We are going to do better than last season. How much better nobody knows. 3 spots higher? 1 spot higher. Into the playoffs? I don't know.
But better we will be as I have learned over my few seasons of following the Warriors (as I am not totally new to league now) is that fitness is the most important thing to work on over the pre-season. Plenty of times our team in 2024 got gassed so that when the ref got around to giving us our make up calls to even up the penalty count our dudes were too exhausted to score.
They say in certain interviews we are fitter than last year's pre-season so that all tells me we are going to improve. Apparently Webster has said they got a few things wrong in last year's pre-season.

If you have followed us this long wrighty then you would also know how much they say how fit they are before a season starts.

Kmon mate, we have heard this all before!

 

[Wrighty]

3rd post of the day.

We are not going to do terrible this season off the back off missing Shaun on the grounds that Shaun added no value in 2024 anyway.
a) Shaun was neutralised last season by the defensive sides all rushing him.
b) Shaun had the wrong tactics
c) Shaun was injured.

 

[Wrighty]

If you have followed us this long wrighty then you would also know how much they say how fit they are before a season starts.

Kmon mate, we have heard this all before!

Kurt Capewell said in his interview last week we are fitter than last year. If Kurt says so that is good enough for me !!!

 

[WA Warrior]

Okay final team no changes.

1 C N Klokstad
2 D W Zelezniak
3 R Berry
4 A Leiataua
5 R T Sheck
6 L Metcalf
7 T Boyd
8 J F Harris c
9 W Egan
10 M Barnett
11 M Niukore
12 K Capewell
13 E Clark

14 D Walker
15 D Demitric Vaimauga
16 T Ale
17 C H Tavita

I think that’s very close to the 17.
Only questions for me are, is Nikoure still an edge, Ale and Tavitas spots could be Halasima and Lussick/Healy.

 

[Ref]

Okay final team no changes.

1 C N Klokstad
2 D W Zelezniak
3 R Berry
4 A Leiataua
5 R T Sheck
6 L Metcalf
7 T Boyd
8 J F Harris c
9 W Egan
10 M Barnett
11 M Niukore
12 K Capewell
13 E Clark

14 D Walker
15 D Demitric Vaimauga
16 T Ale
17 C H Tavita

Is this your team or the team you are expecting.

Either way I see C Harris-Tavita as a waste of a bench spot because IMO there is no way he can play anywhere in the forwards other than Hooker at a pinch and if he has been training there a lot.

Unless he has beefed up by 10 kegs and then he can also cover 13.

I think we have to back Egan to play most of the 80 and have Clark, Walker jump in there if he gets injured and have another forward on the bench:

 

[WA Warrior]

Is this your team or the team you are expecting.

Either way I see C Harris-Tavita as a waste of a bench spot because IMO there is no way he can play anywhere in the forwards other than Hooker at a pinch and if he has been training there a lot.

Unless he has beefed up by 10 kegs and then he can also cover 13.

I think we have to back Egan to play most of the 80 and have Clark, Walker jump in there if he gets injured and have another forward on the bench:

I don’t really want CHT on the bench myself but I disagree that he is a waste on the bench.
With the HIAs these days he covers the halves, he’s played Hooker for Samoa and did a job.
I believe he can play 13 if called upon and he’s also played at FB as well I believe.
Apart from Walker I think CHT is our next most versatile player imo.

 

[Inruin]

I think we would be making a mistake having CHT on the bench.

In all positions we should have our best 13 and then our next 13 in cup. Currently we have 4 halves so whoever isn't selected for first grade plays cup in the position AW wants them in. Then when injuries or form dictate it's a straight next man up scenario.

 

[Neo]

I think you have to find room for Halasima. I would imagine he is ahead of Ale in the pecking order already

 

[Ref]

I don’t really want CHT on the bench myself but I disagree that he is a waste on the bench.
With the HIAs these days he covers the halves, he’s played Hooker for Samoa and did a job.
I believe he can play 13 if called upon and he’s also played at FB as well I believe.
Apart from Walker I think CHT is our next most versatile player imo.
[

 

[Ref]

I think you have to find room for Halasima. I would imagine he is ahead of Ale in the pecking order already

Same, he is in my 17.
I have Ale and Ford competing for a spot.

 

[Tragic]

Interesting on the Warriors instagram page some latest pictures of players posing with the Samoan flag, Luke Metcalf one with Ali Leiataua and RTS. Wonder if this is our left edge with Leiataua centre, RTS wing and Metcalf five eighth?

So you think Metcalf might play lock for samoa?

 

[Noitall]

So you think Metcalf might play lock for samoa?

There’ll be hell to pay if he pledges his allegiance to Tonga