TWL RD 15: KINGZ CONTAINER CREW WARRIORS PLAYER RATINGS
The hoodoo continues.
The Warriors slumped to a 16th consecutive loss to Melbourne Storm – the equal-eighth longest between two clubs in premiership history, and two matches clear as the longest of the NRL era – after throwing away a 14-0 lead in a 38-24 result.
Some inconsistent to blatantly baffling officiating should come under the microscope, but ultimately the defeat rested on ill-timed errors, defensive lapses and the wholly justified sin-binning of wingers Marcelo Montoya and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak when the match was evenly poised midway through the second half.
FOLLOW THIS WARRIORS LIFE ON INSTAGRAM
The home side’s pack had turned the tide with aggressive, swarming defence and reduced the deficit to two points, but the Storm kicked away with a try immediately after each binning.
It’s the third occasion the Warriors have given up an early double-digit lead to lose at Mt Smart Stadium in 2024, as well as continuing an unenviable wet-weather record under Andrew Webster. Meanwhile, the much-discussed balance in the halves between recent standout Te Maire Martin and the returning Shaun Johnson
Nevertheless, there were pockets of positivity and several strong individual performances to delve into for this week’s Kingz Container Crew player ratings.
Match Highlights
The Storm have continued their long-standing dominance over the Warriors after overcoming an early deficit to record a comprehensive 38-24 win in Auckland. pic.twitter.com/MwvrR62AYQ
— NRL (@NRL) June 15, 2024
1 CHARNZE NICOLL-KLOKSTAD: A clear standout with 19 runs for 159 metres, four tackle-breaks and a majestic no-look flick to put Montoya over in the first half. Almost had his pants pulled down by his opposite number in the in-goal during the second half, but hard to fault his effort on the night. 7.5
2 DALLIN WATENE-ZELEZNIAK: A game DWZ would prefer to forget. Two bad moments under the high ball in a minute led to the Storm’s second try, while a reflex coathanger on a player without the ball earned 10 minutes in the bin and effectively shut the door on a comeback. A modest nine runs for 69 metres. 4
3 ROCCO BERRY: Looks set for another stint on the sidelines after leaving the field with a shoulder injury late in the first half. Not much of an impression on the match until that point with three runs, but racked up 13 tackles. 4
4 ADAM POMPEY: Bookended his game by running a great hard line to score in fifth minute and producing a sizzling no-look flick-pass try assist with five minutes to go, limping off injured after the latter. Not much to celebrate in between, however, having the ball stripped off him (albeit after an excellent take) as Katoa scored and playing a prominent part as the left edge leaked another two first-half tries. Just seven runs for 58 metres, with four tackle-breaks. Three-from-four off the tee, but his miss was a bad shank when attempting to level the scores. 5.5
5 MARCELO MONTOYA: Ran in a pretty straightforward double – his fifth in 76 games for the Warriors – but got himself binned with a pair of dumb penalties in a matter of seconds that turned the match on its head in the 53rd minute. Caught in no man’s land as Dean Ieremia blazed over in the corner during the first half. Decent on the carry with nine runs for 86 metres with three tackle-breaks but potentially saved from another NSW Cup stint by Berry’s injury. 4.5
6 TE MAIRE MARTIN: Started with a lovely try assist for Pompey and had a number of impressive playmaking moments as arguably the more dominant half, with 57 receipts to SJ’s 41. Probed with his running game and made 17 tackles. Shouldered roughly half of the kicking load but put one out on the full among a few last-tackle duds. 6
7 SHAUN JOHNSON: Played second fiddle to TMM somewhat and it didn’t really work for him. Looked largely out of sync on attack and made a couple of handling errors. Reasonable kicking game but not great. Highlight was arguably his defensive display, coming up with several big stops among 23 tackles. 5.5
8 ADDIN FONUA-BLAKE: Solid contribution with 15 runs for 151 metres, five tackle-breaks, a couple of offloads and 18 tackles without a miss in 62 minutes. Probably didn’t impose himself on the contest as much as usual. 7
9 WAYDE EGAN: Played the full 80 for the first time since Round 9 and had his busiest running game of the season, with 94 metres from 13 dummy-half darts. First-class service played a role in the Warriors first two tries and made 29 tackles. 7
10 JACKSON FORD: Another industrious display in his adopted front-row position, carting the ball up 19 times for 152 metres and reeling off 31 tackles in 66 minutes. A handling error and a penalty in amongst that, but cannot fault the effort. 7
11 MARATA NIUKORE: Looked the most likely to crack the Storm near the try-line, coming agonisingly close on a couple of occasions in the second half. Consistently stung the visitors on defence. Nine runs for 88 metres and 21 tackles in another quality-over-quantity performance on the right edge. 7
12 MITCH BARNETT: Give this man a spot in the NSW 17. Played the full 80 minutes, made 19 runs for 140 metres and 25 tackles, charged over for try to put the Warriors back in it early in the second half and had a big hand in Montoya’s late four-pointer. 8
15 DYLAN WALKER: :Typically energetic opening 27-minute stint at lock then returned just 10 minutes later to play out the game in Berry’s centre spot, where he looked good in the position he won a premiership and played for Australia a decade ago. Finished with a game-high 184 metres from 13 runs, four tackle-breaks and 21 tackles. 7.5
FOLLOW THIS WARRIORS LIFE ON INSTAGRAM
13 TOHU HARRIS: Toiled hard in a moderate 44 minutes of gametime, making 100 metres on 14 carries and 32 tackles without a miss. Sloppy play-the-ball while the Warriors were on attack proved costly, with the Storm immediately marching upfield and scoring. Looked a touch laboured in his ball-playing role. 6
14 CHANEL HARRIS-TAVITA: Injected for the last nine minutes but didn’t get much of a chance to make an impression, other than nailing a sideline conversion. 4
16 JAZZ TEVAGA: Played 33 minutes off the pine across two stints, racking up 11 runs for 77 metres and 17 tackles. 6
17 KURT CAPEWELL: A couple of handy runs in 24 minutes on the field, finishing with 43 metres on four carries and eight tackles. 5
The post TWL RD 15: KINGZ CONTAINER CREW WARRIORS PLAYER RATINGS appeared first on This Warriors Life.