My mate at the game just sent me a video of Badger getting sprayed after the game by our fans, unfortunately too big to post on here but there were some interesting expletives shared with her
Highlighted posts
If you have been waiting in reserve grade and finally get an opportunity you need to take it.
A tough assignment for Kosi. Some of the overlaps there is only so much you can do as a winger.
What I am more concerned with is some of the breaks he was jogging back. At least with Montoya you know he will be sprinting back to make amends or to help his team mates.
Also compare it to the DWZ chase on that break. Sure they score on the next play with a great kick to the unprotected wing. But there is only so much DWZ could do there.
A tough assignment for Kosi. Some of the overlaps there is only so much you can do as a winger.
What I am more concerned with is some of the breaks he was jogging back. At least with Montoya you know he will be sprinting back to make amends or to help his team mates.
Also compare it to the DWZ chase on that break. Sure they score on the next play with a great kick to the unprotected wing. But there is only so much DWZ could do there.
Maybe I’m wrong. Dylan Walker being taken out by sam walker, what happen to no contact with kicker, and the Crichton trip on DWZ should have been penalties and the minimum. Maybe I’m blinded, the Keary chicken wing on SJ and why SJ stayed on for so long. So many potential injuries can we even field a full team
I don't even know what to say, what on earth has actually happened to us.
After that start, I’m glad they didn’t give up. How the fuck was Keary able to stay on after the chicken wing. A few professional fouls ignored.
Not confident that we are good enough to beat the Rorters at the moment. I will be happy if we get a fair go from the ref (the much maligned Kasey Badger) and do not give away penalties for offside. We have been beating ourselves in some of these games. It looks like back chat won't be tolerated so I hope we are clean in this particular area.
Looking forward to see how our forward pack measures up to what looks like an extremely strong Rorters pack.
I have decided to go to the beer shop to get some natural calming medicine, I may need it to numb the pain.
Looking forward to see how our forward pack measures up to what looks like an extremely strong Rorters pack.
I have decided to go to the beer shop to get some natural calming medicine, I may need it to numb the pain.
Thank you guys for the running commentary
Its been 3 months now since i found out i had high blood pressure and high cholesterol which resulted in me having a stent implanted, this week i got my results back after taking medication and the results are very promising. My total cholesterol has gone down from 7.9 to 4.2 my bad cholesterol has gone down from 4.4 to 2.1 and my blood pressure has gone down from 193 over 106 (if i remember correctly) to 137 over 82. I still need to get both down a little lower so the doc is tweaking my medication but over all i'm in the safe levels now. Still feel no different after having the stent implanted but it was totally necessary. The human body is an amazing thing, i had a few things wrong with me which could have resulted in me having a heart attack at any time and i felt 100% normal. Glad i went in for a prostate check which turned out fine but found out all this other stuff which i needed to know about so i can live long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle.
I thought I'd have a wee look at the bench use across the comp the last couple of rounds to see if that small snapshot supports what many are feeling.
The two numbers below are a) total interchange minutes used & b) minutes of the least used bench player
Rnd 8
Warriors 96/0
Titans 145/14
Dragons 174/32
Roosters 126/26
Storm 142/27
Rabbits 104/18
Manly 93/12
Eels 116/20
Tigers 114/22
Broncos 158/18
Panthers 90/0
Cowboys 160/17
Dolphins 156/30
Knights 105/6
Raiders 128/22
Sharks 102/13
Rnd 9
Rabbits 137/18
Panthers 112/8
Manly 107/18
Raiders 125/20
Broncos 189/38 (Mid-game injury to Reynolds)
Roosters 138/19
Bulldogs 114/0
Tigers 94/16
Titans 179/20 (early game injury to Boyd)
Storm 157/36 (Paps injury)
Cowboys 121/20
Dolphins 153/33
Knights 112/17
Warriors 93/0 (Capewell injured 25th minute)
Sharks 99/10
Dragons 128/12
A very small snapshot, but some interesting trends.
That ancient bastard Bennett has the most liberal use of the bench with all of his players getting near half a game each at least
The Pennies/Wahs/Dogs copy and paste systems are similar
The Warriors use the bench the least, and are the only team who is consistently not using their whole bench, even with injury.
Going back a round, the stats v the Dragons were staggering. In a game where we got destroyed through the middle we used just 60 minutes worth of interchange minutes. Having said that we had a bench that had Roache and Pompey on it.
Our bench was our strength last year. Our depth has been tested by injury in 2024, and this has undoubtedly had an impact. Since the start of the season this team has looked tired. We are defending too much off errors that seem to start accruing in the middle of the first half. Piggy backs etc. Fatigue/concentration/discipline/tactics?
The two numbers below are a) total interchange minutes used & b) minutes of the least used bench player
Rnd 8
Warriors 96/0
Titans 145/14
Dragons 174/32
Roosters 126/26
Storm 142/27
Rabbits 104/18
Manly 93/12
Eels 116/20
Tigers 114/22
Broncos 158/18
Panthers 90/0
Cowboys 160/17
Dolphins 156/30
Knights 105/6
Raiders 128/22
Sharks 102/13
Rnd 9
Rabbits 137/18
Panthers 112/8
Manly 107/18
Raiders 125/20
Broncos 189/38 (Mid-game injury to Reynolds)
Roosters 138/19
Bulldogs 114/0
Tigers 94/16
Titans 179/20 (early game injury to Boyd)
Storm 157/36 (Paps injury)
Cowboys 121/20
Dolphins 153/33
Knights 112/17
Warriors 93/0 (Capewell injured 25th minute)
Sharks 99/10
Dragons 128/12
A very small snapshot, but some interesting trends.
That ancient bastard Bennett has the most liberal use of the bench with all of his players getting near half a game each at least
The Pennies/Wahs/Dogs copy and paste systems are similar
The Warriors use the bench the least, and are the only team who is consistently not using their whole bench, even with injury.
Going back a round, the stats v the Dragons were staggering. In a game where we got destroyed through the middle we used just 60 minutes worth of interchange minutes. Having said that we had a bench that had Roache and Pompey on it.
Our bench was our strength last year. Our depth has been tested by injury in 2024, and this has undoubtedly had an impact. Since the start of the season this team has looked tired. We are defending too much off errors that seem to start accruing in the middle of the first half. Piggy backs etc. Fatigue/concentration/discipline/tactics?
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Some of your really thoughtful, insightful posts can become a bit tarnished with the us (enlightened fans) vs them (stupidhead fans) rhetoric. I think your posts have weight without pointing them down that path.
Have you actually seen "many here" not rating Kearney as an international coach based on his Warriors coaching career, or is it just easy to say for your argument?
Personally, I would love to see Kearney have a job for life in the Kiwis set up. I think his time at the Warriors is underappreciated in some regards. He brought with him the standards needed for our club to climb out of the cesspit it was in. In his arrival we saw a player clean out of all of the shit attitudes. We saw on-field discipline, and defensive commitment (until the NRL had a cry about our offensive defence). I thought he brought some mana back to the Warriors jersey, and feel he would always do that for the Kiwis.
However, as important as this foundation is, there always needs to be that next step up in the NRL. Kearney didn't have it over the day in day out grind of multiple NRL seasons. This is evident across his coaching career, and I think we can assume that it is acknowledged by the man himself in the employment decisions he has made over the last decade. A fantastic assistant, a fantastic international coach, a valuable re-build coach.
Us poor PTSD affected forum sad sacks are now waiting with baited breath to see whether Webster is a Kearney (a rebuild coach. Relational with strict standards and a simple game plan, but ultimately limited in ideas and positive innovation for a sustainably successful NRL team), or a Cleary (again relational, setting the standards, simple game plan, but with effective long-term strategies for a slow build into what is needed for sustained success.
I can't help feel that Cleary, though impressive, has had some luck along the way. He has had the right men around him, and Gould's building of what is their current nursery has left him an embarrassment of riches, which he is a brilliant enough people manager to take full advantage of.
I feel that the next 18 months are going to be decade defining for the Warriors. We are desperate to see Webster's sound game plan come good. But we also need to see that his ideas and vision are self-reflective and add value to this team rather than see him plateau. Yes, we should be patient and accept what he put in place last year does work, but it also needs to come with added innovation and future-planning because the NRL is always changing and you have to be able to adapt to that. We also need to see that the whole management team at the Warriors can nurture our nursery and bring a consistent line of FG players through for our sustained success.
It would be a fascinating time to watch the Warrior's development objectively. Unfortunately, losing hurts so much for a passionate, and long-suffering fan whose wounds are not as healed as they probably thought they were in 2023.
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I am not concerned at all about our coach or his decisions. I might not agree with all of them, but I saw enough last year to set my ideas aside and buy into what this coach has done, and what I believe he is still yet to do.
When Webster makes a call I do not like (like Roger in a roving roll, I see Rogers Roving and stepping as a major problem, I want him setting up and passing) I defer however to the guy that is the expert and has his hand on the tiller.
Last year when we were flying high, and everyone was happy, from the club to the man in the street, my main concern for the future of the Warriors, is what the club will do when Webster is in a bit of trouble. Had the Turks not destroyed my posts about the Warriors turning on Webster I could have quoted one for this rant, but trust me it was written.
A bit of trouble, if you have been following this comp for a long time, looks like this...lots of injuries, key players in a form slump, losing games badly on the trot, a steep and shocking dive from high emotions to deep lows. And a bit of trouble is reinforced by NRL experts picking a club as a contender early then said club gets beaten by the lowest ranked sides in the comp.
All NRL clubs go through this, and most hit their worst crisis after a highly successful season.
What Webster did last year was nothing short of a miracle. Taking the most under performing group in the competition to the top four in one season won him the Dally M coach of the year.
Cynics will say (with some justification) that the Dally M's are a joke. Yes they are, however what Andrew Webster achieved would win any awards format judged by fair, objective, and honest peers.
You don't go from being the best coach in a season to being the problem when the club is on a losing streak.
I won't question Webster until we have at least sixteen of his preferred players fit running out there, I think it is obvious that our bench is critical in his planning and that anything less than sixteen first picks options is an unfair judgement of Websters methodology.
What I am saying is, that his preferred bench line up is the missing piece, and why we enjoyed so much success last year.
Last year it was the impact of our bench players that rolled us over the top of the competition.
Take that apart and we are not quite strong enough to fight our way back into games when our starters are resting.
Greenhorns for impact are not the way to fight your way back into hard games, experienced NRL players are the stabilizing influence this team needs to come back from hard starts, or to continue stability after good openings.
Getting back to my original point, my main fear when Webster was doing well, was that management would fire him at the first sign of serious trouble, that is why it kinda pisses me off that some fans turn on him so readily. And I am tired of people saying Webster is at fault for not picking their preferred players, hey...why don't you apply for head coach at the Warriors then if you're such an expert. Or check your egos at the door and realise you have no idea how these guys are behaving at training all week, you just watch a few highlights and somehow become the Dally M couch world expert on Rugby league.
I would never claim my selection process is better than someone working inside a company (oh sure I have an alternate list to Webster but I think he knows a bit more than me eh). Otherwise you look like all the twits on the Storm Forum who have been criticizing Craig Bellamy's selections for Craig's whole tenure (there is a lesson there do ya wanna be those guys?) it makes me laugh there are Storm coach critics.
Webster will right the ship. It may take a bad year, but if the Club sticks by him he will think his way through our deficiencies including his own.
He is the smartest guy we have had in charge since Cleary.
And just on Cleary, he was a conservative coach that played it safe. Kearney was a conservative coach that played it safe.
Webster, Cleary, Kearney, all good men, all came to the Warriors and identified their biggest weakness as inconsistency ergo they became risk adverse coaches.
The Warriors, the NZ league deficiencies demand a safe and conservative man to commit a long term strategy that molds our particular player type into safe and calm, strategic, chess type players.
People calling for Xfactor or unpredictability are asking for Icing and ignoring the cake. Fuck that, Xfactor should never be your platform for building success, winning the hard metrics is the platform, winning the grind, building bricks and mortar, the Xfactor comes after you have built a solid foundation, a boring ass grinding NRL styled hard nosed base is the only path to a premiership, not zip zap fancy pants footy...since when did a shit defensive or non territorial side win the NRL????
To win the NRL you need fundamentals first. NZ league players are severely anemic in the fundamentals, NZ league players only make through Warriors trials by displaying Xfactor.
Which is why the only coach that is gonna fix this lot is someone who takes the time to get them winning the fundamentals, field position, possession, defence, Xfactor is icing, and worthless without a fundamentals that teams like Penrith and Melbourne mastered before pouring on the Xfactor. We do not have the competitions in New Zealand nor the talent spotters to identify the types of players that the Panthers and Storm are flush with, young men from hardened furnaces at a very early age, kids who are students of the game.
Therefore Warriors coaches are forced to compensate by re educating them to these very systems (safe and conservative) that NZ fans misunderstand.
When Webster makes a call I do not like (like Roger in a roving roll, I see Rogers Roving and stepping as a major problem, I want him setting up and passing) I defer however to the guy that is the expert and has his hand on the tiller.
Last year when we were flying high, and everyone was happy, from the club to the man in the street, my main concern for the future of the Warriors, is what the club will do when Webster is in a bit of trouble. Had the Turks not destroyed my posts about the Warriors turning on Webster I could have quoted one for this rant, but trust me it was written.
A bit of trouble, if you have been following this comp for a long time, looks like this...lots of injuries, key players in a form slump, losing games badly on the trot, a steep and shocking dive from high emotions to deep lows. And a bit of trouble is reinforced by NRL experts picking a club as a contender early then said club gets beaten by the lowest ranked sides in the comp.
All NRL clubs go through this, and most hit their worst crisis after a highly successful season.
What Webster did last year was nothing short of a miracle. Taking the most under performing group in the competition to the top four in one season won him the Dally M coach of the year.
Cynics will say (with some justification) that the Dally M's are a joke. Yes they are, however what Andrew Webster achieved would win any awards format judged by fair, objective, and honest peers.
You don't go from being the best coach in a season to being the problem when the club is on a losing streak.
I won't question Webster until we have at least sixteen of his preferred players fit running out there, I think it is obvious that our bench is critical in his planning and that anything less than sixteen first picks options is an unfair judgement of Websters methodology.
What I am saying is, that his preferred bench line up is the missing piece, and why we enjoyed so much success last year.
Last year it was the impact of our bench players that rolled us over the top of the competition.
Take that apart and we are not quite strong enough to fight our way back into games when our starters are resting.
Greenhorns for impact are not the way to fight your way back into hard games, experienced NRL players are the stabilizing influence this team needs to come back from hard starts, or to continue stability after good openings.
Getting back to my original point, my main fear when Webster was doing well, was that management would fire him at the first sign of serious trouble, that is why it kinda pisses me off that some fans turn on him so readily. And I am tired of people saying Webster is at fault for not picking their preferred players, hey...why don't you apply for head coach at the Warriors then if you're such an expert. Or check your egos at the door and realise you have no idea how these guys are behaving at training all week, you just watch a few highlights and somehow become the Dally M couch world expert on Rugby league.
I would never claim my selection process is better than someone working inside a company (oh sure I have an alternate list to Webster but I think he knows a bit more than me eh). Otherwise you look like all the twits on the Storm Forum who have been criticizing Craig Bellamy's selections for Craig's whole tenure (there is a lesson there do ya wanna be those guys?) it makes me laugh there are Storm coach critics.
Webster will right the ship. It may take a bad year, but if the Club sticks by him he will think his way through our deficiencies including his own.
He is the smartest guy we have had in charge since Cleary.
And just on Cleary, he was a conservative coach that played it safe. Kearney was a conservative coach that played it safe.
Webster, Cleary, Kearney, all good men, all came to the Warriors and identified their biggest weakness as inconsistency ergo they became risk adverse coaches.
The Warriors, the NZ league deficiencies demand a safe and conservative man to commit a long term strategy that molds our particular player type into safe and calm, strategic, chess type players.
People calling for Xfactor or unpredictability are asking for Icing and ignoring the cake. Fuck that, Xfactor should never be your platform for building success, winning the hard metrics is the platform, winning the grind, building bricks and mortar, the Xfactor comes after you have built a solid foundation, a boring ass grinding NRL styled hard nosed base is the only path to a premiership, not zip zap fancy pants footy...since when did a shit defensive or non territorial side win the NRL????
To win the NRL you need fundamentals first. NZ league players are severely anemic in the fundamentals, NZ league players only make through Warriors trials by displaying Xfactor.
Which is why the only coach that is gonna fix this lot is someone who takes the time to get them winning the fundamentals, field position, possession, defence, Xfactor is icing, and worthless without a fundamentals that teams like Penrith and Melbourne mastered before pouring on the Xfactor. We do not have the competitions in New Zealand nor the talent spotters to identify the types of players that the Panthers and Storm are flush with, young men from hardened furnaces at a very early age, kids who are students of the game.
Therefore Warriors coaches are forced to compensate by re educating them to these very systems (safe and conservative) that NZ fans misunderstand.
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In short I think we are fundamentally sound and the main work on is our attack in good ball. That involves improving our right edge execution to the level it was last year and unlocking our left edge.
I think the right edge problem is because our forwards aren’t shortening up the D line well enough.
I think the coach needs to have a bit of a chat with SJ to solve the left edge issue.
I think the right edge problem is because our forwards aren’t shortening up the D line well enough.
I think the coach needs to have a bit of a chat with SJ to solve the left edge issue.
If they get cap exemption then they will never be out of the top 8. There should be monetary compensation outside of the cap which is to be used for their pathways. Means that the pathways will not be as expensive but makes the comp more fair.
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I thought Cronks point was particulary releveant to our attack.So just saw Matty Jones podcast, the second to last play Egan long no look pass to SJ, held his man, Ford decoy held his, Charnz had a 3 on 2 with their winger panicking, and Charnz took the tackle. Next play SJ bombed to the in goal, game over
It’s like they panic in the last 10 minutes again, couldn’t score vs Titans on the goal line and again vs Knights
First time this happened would be that game in the wet vs Roosters last year, red zone attack all day with no results.
Quite amusing as crap as they’ve been playing they still get handed points on the plate, but managed to fumble it most of the time
Slow and powerless runs through the ruck leading up to when we pull the trigger is leading on to our shifts being so easy to defend. One out hit ups with no dynamism or power, no compressing of the defence, and then its give it to Shaun to see if he can find Dallin our only option.
While i agree we need more variation through our kicking game and a genuine left sided shaped attack, first and foremost we need to be winning the ruck through fast play the ball, or dragging in multiple defenders so theres space for our multiple lead runner based attack to be effective.......somewhere along this season for whatever reason we've lost that.......Addin apart our front row rotation seems pretty toothless in this regard, and its compounded imo by a very vanilla 2nd row.
Anyone who wants Webster to go needs a hard look at themselves when they quote the "insanity is doing the same thing over again expecting a difference result".
There wouldn't be many teams that have had more coaches than us in the last 20 years. The teams that have done well are ones with long term coaches, the only exception at the moment would be Eels. I will moan about Webster until he changes this team, but I would back until the end of his contract at the minimum. Our club needs stability. The difference between now and the Ivan Cleary era is that we have a much much much much better back office. We have a coach that believes in our players. Webby will also get better, but he might need reality to kick his ass before he sees that he needs to be adaptable while still holding onto his beliefs that he can coach players to be better (sometimes they have reached their ceiling).
There wouldn't be many teams that have had more coaches than us in the last 20 years. The teams that have done well are ones with long term coaches, the only exception at the moment would be Eels. I will moan about Webster until he changes this team, but I would back until the end of his contract at the minimum. Our club needs stability. The difference between now and the Ivan Cleary era is that we have a much much much much better back office. We have a coach that believes in our players. Webby will also get better, but he might need reality to kick his ass before he sees that he needs to be adaptable while still holding onto his beliefs that he can coach players to be better (sometimes they have reached their ceiling).
U added CNK in that?? Da fuq! He was a bit off this weekend gone. But he gives a hundy percent effort every game. Reliable as fugg.
JFH says hello!
When I look at younger guys coming through in the grades at the Warriors, something about our squad reminds of the 2018 panthers team that we played in the opening rounds of the the finals and lost. They had a lot of established players like Sam Mckendry, Trent Merrin, James Tamou, Dean Whare and James Maloney among others and mixed in there was the next wave of Cleary, Luai, JFH, Yeo, Edwards and others. I believe that players like Capewell and RTS have been brought in to instill a high level of professionalism around training and preparation, the same for the JFH signing for next season. I believe SJ is playing the Maloney role he did at panthers in preparation of the next halves coming through. Maloney played halfback to Cleary five eighth when Cleary was coming through and I wonder if Metcalf five eighth to SJ halfback is going down the same direction? Really liking what Luke Hanson is showing too. Being the panthers were a couple of years away in 2018, I reckon we’re the same. Interestingly after that 2018 season, the panthers finished 10th in 2019 missing finals followed by a grand final loss in 2020 and winning it in 2021
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I was concerned a few weeks back about Webby's regimented thought processes and unfortunately I'm more even worried now than before. He came to the Warriors with a very simple and methodical approach: there are 3 positive habits or patterns of play that increase the likelihood of winning NRL games, regardless of the opposition. Do them all really well and you're going to be competing in every game. Throw in lashings of rejuvenated self-belief (Webby's strength and lapped up by the squad last season after the dismal end to 2022), the addition of a few key players with hyper-competitive instincts, and 100% buy-in on this very basic but effective game plan, and you have the blueprint for 2023's success.
The problem is, though, when the plan stops working - for whatever reason - the buy-in diminishes, and the nice guy coach suddenly becomes less effective with his cliched positive mantra.
I love Webby's quirky glass half-full vibe. I think he's the right guy to fix this mess of a season and ultimately take the club to a premiership in the coming years. But his apparent inflexibility and his relentless process driven approach is wearing thin ... on us fans at least, and possibly the team too. On-field energy has felt flat all season, starting with the trials. Perhaps the incessant hysteria around their past achievements has taken it's toll mentally and emotionally. But the balance of the squad has also become a problem.
Both Capewell and Shek are signed long term. Webby may feel obliged to continue to select both regardless of form or impact. He personally convinced Capewell to move across the ditch and buy a home in Auckland. He was also a big part of the contingent that tempted Roger away from the attraction of easy Japanese money with the allure of a maiden Warriors premiership. Those are two heavy burdens to carry for a man of Webster's integrity.
Beyond that, he has a fullback who tries his guts out every single match, but just isn't dynamic or fast enough to threaten the line. Yet Webby has publicly gone into bat for CNK over and over again so I think we're stuck with him for the next few years. DWZ is increasingly a liability. Rocco is not performing like a first grade centre. But he's young and they've invested a lot into his trajectory. Tohu is re-signed for another year. He looks broken and exhausted but he will never play NSW Cup. Ford is a glorified battler who plods away diligently. But his continued selection despite his mediocrity underscores the broader dilemna. This is an aging, slow, and bland team on paper who played out of their skin for one season. They're now being sadly exposed for a lack of x-factor in what is shaping up to be the most evenly matched NRL competition in memory.
Webby has to step up and own this moment. I hope he drops the motivational speak and makes some tough calls. The team is in a rut, he's in a rut. It'll take some lateral thinking to dig themselves out of it.
The problem is, though, when the plan stops working - for whatever reason - the buy-in diminishes, and the nice guy coach suddenly becomes less effective with his cliched positive mantra.
I love Webby's quirky glass half-full vibe. I think he's the right guy to fix this mess of a season and ultimately take the club to a premiership in the coming years. But his apparent inflexibility and his relentless process driven approach is wearing thin ... on us fans at least, and possibly the team too. On-field energy has felt flat all season, starting with the trials. Perhaps the incessant hysteria around their past achievements has taken it's toll mentally and emotionally. But the balance of the squad has also become a problem.
Both Capewell and Shek are signed long term. Webby may feel obliged to continue to select both regardless of form or impact. He personally convinced Capewell to move across the ditch and buy a home in Auckland. He was also a big part of the contingent that tempted Roger away from the attraction of easy Japanese money with the allure of a maiden Warriors premiership. Those are two heavy burdens to carry for a man of Webster's integrity.
Beyond that, he has a fullback who tries his guts out every single match, but just isn't dynamic or fast enough to threaten the line. Yet Webby has publicly gone into bat for CNK over and over again so I think we're stuck with him for the next few years. DWZ is increasingly a liability. Rocco is not performing like a first grade centre. But he's young and they've invested a lot into his trajectory. Tohu is re-signed for another year. He looks broken and exhausted but he will never play NSW Cup. Ford is a glorified battler who plods away diligently. But his continued selection despite his mediocrity underscores the broader dilemna. This is an aging, slow, and bland team on paper who played out of their skin for one season. They're now being sadly exposed for a lack of x-factor in what is shaping up to be the most evenly matched NRL competition in memory.
Webby has to step up and own this moment. I hope he drops the motivational speak and makes some tough calls. The team is in a rut, he's in a rut. It'll take some lateral thinking to dig themselves out of it.