Rugby League

[hornbybrown]

I would of missed less than 10 maybe less than 5 Warriors games since they were formed in 1995. They have never played better than they did in this game vs Melbourne. Stunning... The mix of controlled power football and bit's of Warrior flare at the right time was great.

The Defense in the second half was amazing. The storm neever got near scoring.
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[Buckrock101]

What a turnaround from a couple of weeks ago by the Warriors. Mutilated by the Broncos, and then they come back and play such a great game against the Storm. Amazing.

Storm did look pretty flat the whole game, but you can't take it away from the Warriors, who were so disciplined and so solid the whole game. Not like them at all. Instead of big flashy linebreaks, they kept it in control with a lot of really strong sets, all game long. Also kept the likes of Smith, Cronk and Slater in check the whole game. Fantastic how they managed that.

Excellent finish too. I absolutely love Johnson/Mateo/Vatuvei down that left edge, and right at the end Johnson just took control, made that game his own when he put Lewis in.

So stoked right now. If the Tigers couldn't do it, I hoped the Warriors would get to the final. The atmosphere at the bar next Sunday is going to be insane. I can't wait.
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[hornbybrown]

Big day for the New Zealand Warriors club tomorrow. They have a team in all three finals. This guy will be getting drunk and sitting on the couch watching every minute of it.
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[Buckrock101]

Really wishing I hadn't picked up a shift tomorrow right now. I finish at 5:30, so I've got plenty of time before it starts, but with the ABs on as well, I'm scared to high hell that I won't be able to get into Four Kings when I get off.

Wherever it is I'm watching it though, I can't wait. Should be awesome, even more so if the Warriors pull it off.
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[khodder]

Vulcans lost to a last minute try.
U20's conceed a last minute try to tie the game (Golden Point to find the winner)

At least we have seen some good footy today. I have a feeling the Main Event could be a letdown, a blowout one way or another.
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Patrick Peterson - 92 targets, 40 catches allowed, 602 yards, 6 TD's, 7 INT's

The Big Brain am winning again, I am the Greetest.

[hornbybrown]

Nervous. Come on Warriors.
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[hornbybrown]

Should of been a penalty to the Warriors before halftime. Not a try to Manly
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[khodder]

Warriors need to play more than 20 minutes of football to win games.

That first 20 minutes of the 2nd half they were inept. Three crucial mistakes from Inu later on in the game really hurt their chances.

My guess for the Churchill is Glenn Stewart or Keiran Foran.
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Patrick Peterson - 92 targets, 40 catches allowed, 602 yards, 6 TD's, 7 INT's

The Big Brain am winning again, I am the Greetest.

[hornbybrown]

[Buckrock101]

[inappropriate/removed] Manly. Tigers' year nekk year
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[khodder]

[Buckrock101]

[Buckrock101]

Positives, from what was one of those games we have against Aussie about 50% of the time...

-Luke was amazing... when he was on the field. Kearney should be fired for starting Fien over him, and waiting about 30-35 minutes (and 26 points) to get him on. 2nd best hooker in the game IMO, and he showed it in the second half.
-I thought some of the forwards played really well. Smith, Glenn were both great, Fui Fui made a couple of errors but made a ton of hard runs, Sika was fantastic, and Packer played really well with lots of mongrel as well.
-Apart from some rookie defensive lapses, Beale impressed the hell out of me. I didn't like him much playing at center/wing for the Broncos, but he ran the ball really well, and made some nice one on one tackles early on.
-Our try was a piece of brilliance... showed the class and vision of Kevin Locke front and center.

A couple of key negatives...

-Benji was MIA, again. I seriously think he needs to be dropped for the next game, to send a message that he needs to start playing better. Since the Tigers-Titans game, he's been a ghost out there.
-I didn't like Brown starting at center, and it didn't take long for him to validate those fears. Got brutalized by Tonga, who was just way too quick for Lewis to handle. Was guilty of poor support play on the other end as well, when Glenn offloaded about 5 yards out, and Lewis was nowhere to be found. I love the guy, but I think he should be a utility guy off the bench, playing mainly back row, only in the backs if there's an injury. Things would have been very different if we started Mannering there instead, I think.

It was really just one of those games, though. We saw it with the Warriors against Brisbane as well... the Aussies get out to a quick lead, New Zealanders seem to panic, try and turn it around with one play. You saw that today- on defense, rushing up out of the line to try and make the big play, and on attack, trying for the big play, for the 40/20 every set. Played well in the second half, and we do have the ability to stick with them if we get off to a better start.
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[Buckrock101]

That game was a lot better, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Benji is still playing sub-par, and the kicking game as a whole was very weak. Also, I have no idea what Kerney's fascination is with Thomas Leuluai. Guy played more than Luke did this game, which is ridiculous. He's a solid player, but he's keeping one of our best attacking weapons off the field.

Looking forward to seeing what Adam Blair can add to the team when he comes back. Hopefully they stick him in the 2nd row and move Mannering out to center, in Brown's spot. I'm also hoping that Alex Glenn comes back into the starting lineup. He is underrated as hell, and I think Sika is better suited coming off the bench.
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[hornbybrown]