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    Coach Webster was in my Central Auckland design showroom right now with his wife and child — looks like they’re gearing up for a big home renovation, and they’re also expecting their second child. I know his home address too now, and of course, we’ll keep everything completely confidential!

    I welcomed him in and congratulated him on the win — he was genuinely stoked. He mentioned that during the debrief, the players were over the moon and especially happy for the fans who’ve stuck with them through that tough run.

    I did cheekily ask if we could keep the same team and combinations this weekend. He laughed and said, “you liked that, did ya? We’ll see.” His wife Emily jumped in and said, “don’t worry, he doesn’t give much away,” but she agreed with me — which was good!
     
    Still on a high after last nights game but some of the stuff around Metcalf is pretty crazy! We must have very short memories.
    Form comes and goes(as do injuries and suspensions) and it’s a very long season, there will be plenty of use of each of Metcalf /boyd/cht and maybe even more.
    It’s great to have that headache along with how we work out the puzzle of CNK/Taine, AKP/RTS/Pompey- squad depth is a great problem to have and is a far cry from having to shoehorn someone in to cover a gap
     
    The best game I have seen from the Warriors since maybe the Penrith win with our reserve team. Maybe better.
    I loved the way we went after the Storm. There was no respect for reputation last night. Full marks to Webby for getting the guys up for it.
    We held our nerve when things went their way and in the second half we smacked the Storm into submission.

    That second half defence made a statement. You might be the Storm but you are not coming through. That was definitely our best 40 minutes of footy in forever
     
    Bit late to the post match party, just got home, haven't even watched the game back yet, but far out what a night! Just want to give a shout out the fans who turned up, absolutely incredible atmosphere from start to finish, drowned out anything the Storm fans had. Storm fans walking out with 20 to go copping it from all angles............Pricless! Literally one of the best games I've been to.

    As for the boys, fk me did we turn up or what? That goal line D in the 2nd half was right in front of us, fkn Massive effort! Well done boys, this one will stick around for a while. Gonna go watch the replay now through sober(ish) eyes. The ugly streak is finally over!
     
    That young back rower Cooper Clarke is good. His try was massive brushing off Marata with ease (not Maratas strong point I know). Carrying Tanah all the way. And getting through the cover defence to score. Then he offloaded with defenders hanging off him, which led to Howarth's try.

    But I loved how Demi smashed him and they both got up with big fat smiles.
     
    I think I was more making a point around preseason training and now important it is to set the tone for the year ahead.

    We need to figure out who our long term 7 is and then try to find as close to a carbon copy of that player, as a backup.

    If it's Metcalf, that's fine. But for this year, at least, I'd be sticking to TB7.

    I agree about CHT. I would be locking him into 6 for the rest of the season, provided nothing drastic happens (touch wood).
    LM had the preseason last year and our pack was dominant for majority of games. Our attack was clunky for a huge percentage of the time. The results masked the underlying issues a fair amount.

    This time last season we had 3 wins, 2 losses, bye 98 for, 118 against. This year 4 wins 2 losses, 194 for, 118 against - our attack has improved significantly and defence slightly which is exactly what we needed from last season

    I was not on the Boyd train at all at the beginning of this season but I can't remember a warriors side being this dominant in a group of wins. Our wins are averaging around 40 for and 18 against or something like that.

    CHT interview after the game- 'we stayed connected'

    Our two losses we looked very disconnected.

    Boyd is going to have some average games but he is a true 7 and his organizing of the team is very good.

    Boyd and CHT need to be the halves combo until form and results require a change. Unfortunately i fear Cuddle s has shown his hand already.

    Need to be #ruthless

    #CHocolaTe_chip_cookies_not_raisins
     
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    Waking up fresh as always after a good Wahs win! Some thoughts:
    - Vaimauga was my MOTM. He was showing that enforcer potential with aggression and power and we're nowhere near his ceiling - JFH is the perfect model for this guy.
    - CHT has to be the 6 to Boyd. He stiffens up the defence and can shut down right side shape with a spot tackle. Love his beltings.
    - Ali was quietly great. Really monstered their left edge players. Hes a better fit than Charnze. Our right edge was scrambling well from the inside.
    - I liked the combo of RTS and AKP. Roger covers the contact and given the chance AKP will score off a skinny 5m sideline gap.
    - Marata's goal line defense is poor. For such a big guy its shocking how often he falls off tackles.
    - Least amount of points conceded by any team so far this round, and against the storm no less.

    Feels good to rough the storm up with a convincing win. They lost psychologically after Bellamy lost his shit.
     
    Injury is increasingly a factor. As players become fitter and stronger over time, so also the injuries as they hit harder, run harder, attempt more athletic feats. I think Berry is the new normal. We think our club has the most ACLs. Every club is going through this.

    I see 2 solutions: technological improvements, like artificial appendages to keep the body intact all season round or making squads 50.

    I reckon a squad of 50 is perfect. Anyone who doesn't play, plays Flegg or Cup the next day. Should make NRL Thursday-Saturday and Flegg/Cup on Sundays perhaps - I know TV won't like it though.

    But a squad of 50 is needed. Too many injuries. Also the 6 agains adds to wear and tear.

    If you look at Storm and Penrith, they have 2 or 3 big stars who lead the team but everyone else is of average talent, but consistently perfect on the 1 percenters. When they have injuries, their performance hardly drops. It's not pretty. It's predictable. But it wins.

    They worked out that if they can produce a squad of consistent footy players who master completion rates, that completions will put them in the top 4 every year. And by finals, most teams are shot by injury. If every member of the squad is a bot, doesn't matter how many injuries, they get. The quality remains. It just takes 2-4 exceptional spine players to be the difference.
    And everyone keeps calling It the Penrith system.

    Kinda started to piss me off, the lack of acknowledgement for who invented the Panthers - Craig Bellamy did.

    We actually (Penrith/Warriors/Bulldogs) all play a version of Storm ball - which has modifications and tweaks and some very small evolutions due to individual club players and the new rules.

    Penrith for all their amaze balls factor get away with a lot of Storm style shit in the tackle, that is the art of Bellamy Kungfu, cheating in the ruck and grinding the Refs down, becoming so legendary that the Refs don't make calls with you.....they enter negotiations with your captain. Penrith also are enjoying an epoch of silly junior talent depth, a collision of factors that has seen them become the new super club of the NRL. But they are Johnny come lately's and one day Nathan Cleary will be too old, one day their production line will dry up....lets see if Ivan can keep a club in the top four every single season forever using weaker rosters.

    Serious historians of the game will one day realize that because of Craig Bellamy's impact on how this game is played globally, that the game administrators spent a decade changing the rules every season to try to release the game from Bellamy's genius.

    That old fullah at Melbourne will go down as the greatest coach that ever lived.
     
    I own a bar in Thailand and I cant think of a better time to retire my faithful jersey and put it on the wall in the bar.

    What a performance, troops down, 17 game losing streak, pretenders or contenders on the line....Storm hurting and needing a win....
    It was the perfect storm that the Warriors of old probably would have let slip.

    One of the most the best wins in the clubs history in my less than expert opinion.

    Apologies that the screen shot is of the Blues 🤣

    1000055468.webp
     
    I was at the game tonight and just wanna say how proud I am to be a warriors supporter, we absolutely drowned out the storm supporters and you could of mistaken it for a home game.
    Our Defence was crazy good and even my Mrs who doesn't follow NRL said it was the best defence she has seen the warriors put up and she actually really enjoyed the game which is a rarity for her to say.
     
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