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    mt.wellington said:
    Im not worried about Leka himself. He's a humble kid who has to work very hard to get here. He knows whats at stake. He's come from actual poverty by our privileged standards and has an opportunity to lift his family to a life of luxury.

    What I worry about is the clubs inability to develop players and retain our genuine talent. We have had an appalling record in recent history of allowing young players to leave or stagnate under our watch. Not since Ivan Cleary have we nurtured talent through from our huge talent base and turned them into seasoned Internationals. We honestly suck balls at it and its probably the most pressing issue we have and have had as an organisation for many years now.

    Going by our recent history the future is looking dim for Leka and his development and retainment. Anyone who thinks differently is a half full dreamer or has the blinders firmly on...
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    Historically can't argue your point but you would have to admit there has been significant investment and planning in this area to improve.

    The period between Cleary and Webby included 3 seperate ownership changes, 4 coaches (plus two interims), 1 pandemic.

    Does the future look dim for Leka? shit, that's a pretty PTSD take to be fair.
     
    The Warrior Waka said:
    Why would we lose backrowers because of a prop ? I'd have Addin back in a heartbeat. No disrespect to James or Barney. But he is streets ahead of those two. Only if he came back single lol. Anyway , Its only hypothetical, And that shit ain't happening. All aboard the Fish & Chips(Barney) Train!!
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    The Panthers have conceded 118 points in 4 games. I reckon they miss JFH.

    AFB was a fantastic player for us, but JFH really fits at this stage. He is giving us enough metres, but his strength is how much he galvanises us on and off the field. I feel like he has been an upgrade for us, despite Addin being a more gifted, freak of a footballer.

    We just need some more talented players around him to produce the attacking flair that we relied on Addin for. He was a luxury and a crutch in that regard.
     
    Ref said:
    I just watched the tries again.

    So much quality attack.

    That Pompey try was epic.

    We are the form team.
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    Real shame Pompeys greatest individual play was lost largely by virtue of fans tending to dismiss the try because the opposition was the Tigers who in plain dumb Warrior fan speak are a team we should thrash.

    You have to laugh, if Ali had of scored that Try the whole NRL would have blown its load.

    That was Kevin Iro level Centers play, it was Blackmore McKraken level of beastmode scoring.

    Best Warriors Center play in years and years and years. True story that was a beautiful run any NRL player would be proud of.

    Imagine if Adam Pompey is a late bloomer and that Try is the moment that unlocks his attacking game....that would be the best sports story ever...lets not forget the only reason Adam Pompey has a contract is that he keeps winning hardest preseason trainer at the Warriors....he is one limited talent all effort anomaly we rarely see...if he were a white boy from Nelson he would have Simon Mannering cult support.

    Pisses me off he gets shit around here coz he is the antithesis of the lazy Warrior.
     
    Montoya like a few others recently have improved during their time with the Warriors.

    I remember when Montoya was signed here. It wasn't greeted with much fanfare. Recruitment is usually a mix of established stars, guys needing a fresh start, fringe first graders. We had already recruited a few names so he was more on the end to round out the squad. I'm pretty sure the Bulldogs didn't see him as much of a loss back then.

    Quite a difference in a few years.

    It is good for our club compared to the days when players would regress.

    Aslo credit should go to Montoya. He came here with a good attitude and put the work in.
     
    Kav1 said:
    On the dog kennel, they have 4 pages on Marcel, all singing his praises, some saying he is better than Josh Ado-Carr, some saying that he has improved by playing with the warriors and some noting his support for teammates when they set up or score a try. He is becoming a cult hero. He should still be playing on our left wing.
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    I think Monty is a success story for Warriors recruitment of Aussies. Picked him up, had a some good seasons and when it came time we separated on good terms.
     
    For me there are some massive positives out of the last three games. It's almost like the best result for us was the one in Vegas though. The nature and size of the defeat caused such a massive reaction and reflection that I just don't think a scrappy 22-16 loss would have done. I have very mixed feelings with where we are currently sitting though. On the one hand, obviously all Warriors fans would have been over the moon if they were told after five round we would be 3/4 and on 8 points. I legitimately could see us going winless for the first six rounds and we very much could have had it not been for that harsh shock of round one and a bit of luck going our way for a change. The other piece for me is the nature of our wins and the fairly obvious limitations in some of our play. I think the last three results have papered over the cracks somewhat. Are we building and can improve from here or is what we are seeing currently about where our level is. The pleasing aspect is that we fought hard for our wins, something we didn't really see for a large number of games last season.

    My quick take on the players

    CNK - looks to me like an old race horse trying to get up for one last big race. The last couple of games he has been great, even bringing back a step and elusiveness with his running. Can he maintain this form for the season?
    TT - hasn't put a foot wrong IMO. Small but has that something about him that surely makes him hard to leave out of the team now.
    Ali - I hope he stays injury free. Showing how good he can be and the big bit is I think he believes it now too.
    Pompey - Mr Dependable. Gets some poor comments at times on here which I don't think he deserves.
    RTS - wing is the best place for him for the team and looks more at home there than he did all of last season.
    CHT - close to the player of the first 4 rounds. Is probably playing close to his ceiling and carrying the halves combo IMO
    LM - is delivering basically what he did at 6 previously. I don't see this changing in any great hurry. We will get the odd very good game and the in-between ones will be average at best.

    The forward pack is what has been keeping us in games and putting us in positions to be able to compete and win.

    JFH - has been enormous for us. His runs don't have the same impact as AFB but his all round game is much better. Has added much needed starch to our defense.
    Egan - seems to have taken on the main responsibility in the spine and is having season leading form. I worry about not spelling him for a period in games, though that may come.
    Barney - continues on from last season. No nonsense and has a very good partner in crime now too.
    Capewell and Niukore - our weakest part of the team IMO with the least amount of upside. A bit like CNK but without getting up for their last race. If they can hit somewhere near their best consistently then all good, but I don't know that they can.
    Clark - has to be 13 and has to be leading the buy of the season award. With our two props provides a formidable triumvirate that not many teams can match.

    Ford - found his niche with high energy 30-40 minutes off the bench. Has dropped the errors and penalties too
    Leka - nothing more I can say that hasn't been already. Needs at least 30 minutes a game and should be pushing for a lot more on the edge by mid season
    Demetric - a bit overshadowed by Leka at the minute but still strong. Again, needs at least 30 minutes per game.

    Those are the main ones who have played most of the games. I think our forward pack makes us competitive for most games, our outside backs are solid enough but lacking a little in pace, our halves just haven't clicked much yet and that may well come, particularly against the lower teams - they are who we are going with though. They need to engage the line more and straighten up the attack in the opposition 20. The highlight for me so far has been the introduction of JFH and Clark to the team as well as Ali, Leka, Demetric, TT showing that there is progression and performance coming up from cup which can only inspire the rest of our youth.

    The next two games are going to give us a very good indication of where we are at against two potentially top 4 sides. I hope we can build from here but I can't help but feel we are close to playing to our potential now. I think we are fighting it out for that 6-10 spot currently. That's a big improvement on 2024.
     
    Last edited:
    Guys, can we please stick to the topic ie recruitment and retention for Warriors for 25/26. Useless posts about Price/Wiki/Foran/Luke/Evans etc is not related. Nor is reminiscing about yesteryear.

    Reply ban hammer on this thread is active if people want to continue to try their luck polluting the thread with irrelevant posts.

    There are reminders littered all throughout this thread that if the post is not related to the thread title, the poster will have access revoked. Penalties now doubled for users who refuse to read.
     
    In that SJ video he explains everything as an insider which is heaps cool.

    The part after it is spread from early in the set to Metcalf, then Ali from dummy half to Taine getting across to make the overlap. That was all awesome.

    But when it gets to Leka and SJ says "do the rest bro. Do the rest."

    I'm not sure we've had anybody who could have "done the rest" since SJ himself.
     
    juju said:

    View: https://x.com/senleague/status/1906572167179042942?s=46

    Brandy actually hates us doesnt he
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    Utter bullshit. We had control most of the game, we beat them in almost every stat imaginable. To their credit, the Tigers hung in there and scored a few tries against the run of play, but only lead the game for 15 minutes before Leka's try.

    It's okay to 'feel' for the Tigers as they've been a shit show for so long, but don't make it out that the Tigers were hard done by and should have won that game if it weren't for supervillain Charnz to pip them with a dirty play.

    Laughable!
     
    wizard of Tauranga said:
    Wow!

    Did Leka know Ali was going short side? Did he call it himself as he wrapped? Was this a planned move they had trained? Practised together from NSW cup? If he created an overlap on the wing did he back his speed?

    The why is fascinating!

    He could be deadly as a centre with his attacking ability.
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    As mentioned it's policy for the backrowers to move to the edges as the wingers move in to take early hit ups.

    What hasn't been mentioned (until SJ pointed it out) it would seem Tauapiki has played the critical role here, counting numbers recognizing Tigers were short on the short side, and sweeping that way and passing, instead of just tucking the ball under the arm doing the normal early winger hit up.

    Great vision young man.

    Also, he may be too expensive for the Sky team but God it would be great having SJ break this stuff down in live time as it happens....that insight would add soo much to gameday.
     
    Defence said:
    Somehow u crazy fucks have turned this post into confirmation we’ve signed nathan Cleary 🤣
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    For about a year, I've had this absolutely mental notion that once the Panthers lose their grip on premierships, Ivan will relocate the family back to NZ, see out Nathan's career and see in Jetts.

    There no basis for reality and the chances of happening are one in a million, but the cap sure allows for some creativity and I bet Ivan might make a pretty good GM...
     
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