TWL RD 18: KINGZ CONTAINER CREW WARRIORS PLAYER RATINGS
The Warriors’ undulating 2024 campaign has produced some of the gutsiest displays and meekest capitulations in the club’s history.
But their gut-wrenching 13-12 golden point loss to Canterbury-Bankstown may have eclipsed the back-to-back wins over Penrith and Dolphins for courage and character, and topped the lot in terms of the game you’re most likely to remember for decades to come. There’s no doubt it’s one of the most gallant defeats witnessed on the 30-season rollercoaster.
In one of the games of the year, the Warriors led 12-6 at the end of a rousing first half and hung on grimly throughout the second half after injuries claimed each of their back three.
With members of the engine-room filling in out wide, the visitors refused to wilt and agonisingly couldn’t convert several custom-made opportunities to win the game. The Bulldogs, too, butchered some gift-wrapped chances to go ahead, before Matt Burton finally glanced his fourth shot at field goal in off the upright in the second half of extra-time.
Heroes abounded, particularly in the overworked pack and among the retrenched forwards, who included one of the all-time great Warriors debut performances. To restrict the Bulldogs to two tries – one from an intercept, one from a bomb – was insane under the circumstances.
On the downside, the halves’ execution and option-taking was well wide of the mark, perhaps the chief reason they ultimately couldn’t get the job done (aside from a horrendous call or two in the late stages that will have Graham Annesley flipping through his excuse/apology rolodex come Monday morning).
A further upshot is the Warriors slide down a rung on the NRL ladder and could find themselves five points outside the Top 8 by Sunday night. But the spirit and effort on display signified that their playoffs bid is far from over if they can replicate those qualities in their remaining seven games – starting in Canberra after next week’s second bye.
Positives for every player in this week’s Kingz Container Crew Warriors player ratings.
1 CHARNZE NICOLL-KLOKSTAD: Battled on until a minute before halftime after picking up a calf injury earlier on, still managing to leave the game with eight runs for 76 metres under his belt. 5.5
2 DALLIN WATENE-ZELEZNIAK: Excellent first half highlighted by a fine finish for the Warriors’ first try, some great high-ball takes and defence-testing runs. Ruled out of the game after 47 minutes following an HIA, by which stage he already had 107 metres from 12 carries. 7
3 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK: Was piecing together arguably his best game at centre – including a deft try assist for DWZ’s try – before moving to fullback for the second half of the match. Could have injected himself more when the game was in the balance and three handling errors for the match included a potentially crucial drop of a Burton bomb in the dying minutes that went unpunished, but finished with a game-high 269 metres (106 post-contact) from 25 runs and recorded five tackle-breaks. 7.5
4 ADAM POMPEY: Handled Bulldogs dangerman Stephen Crichton well before going out to the wing in the second half, where his involvement featured some desperate cover defence. Made 14 runs for 110 metres with five tackle-breaks and kicked a couple of big goals. 7
5 MARCELO MONTOYA: Close to the best player on the field in the first half, bumping defenders off, plunging over for a powerful try and drawing penalties with his aggressive runs out of the Warriors’ end; like DWZ, looked like he had a point to prove against his former club. Picked up an injury early in the second half and was barely sighted, eventually succumbing with 17 minutes of regulation time left. Finished with 92 metres from 11 runs and five tackle-breaks. A timely reminder of the value he can provide to this team. 7.5
6 CHANEL HARRIS-TAVITA: Looked the more dangerous of the halves on attack with some lovely touches, including a line-break assist, and probing runs. Not so flash was an unnecessary no-look pass in the second half that sailed over the sideline. Long kicking game was good as the fatigued Warriors battled to stay in the territory battle, while had a couple of good looks at a match-winning field goal in golden point that slid excruciatingly wide. Racked up 20 tackles, as well as four handling errors. 6
7 TE MAIRE MARTIN: As he painstakingly pointed out at length in a frank and classy post-match interview, TMM came up short in his chief orchestrator duties today. Fifth-tackle execution on attack was dreadful – including kicks out on the full and tepid dabs that were caught on the full in-goal or cleaned up easily – while he gave up the Bulldogs’ only first-half points with an intercept pass and was generally unable to get the offence rolling in his clunkiest No.7 start to date, though he did have a minor hand in the first try. Struggled for distance when kicking long and inexcusably missed touch from a penalty (apologies if it was someone else – couldn’t tell from the coverage). Without the ball, all heart: 25 tackles, including some big front-on stops and amazing efforts in cover. 5
8 ADDIN FONUA-BLAKE: Buried any lingering doubts over his commitment to the Warriors’ cause ahead of his return to Sydney, churning through 20 runs for 219 metres (94 post-contact), five tackle-breaks and 27 tackles without a miss in 67 minutes on the park. Some inspiring carries, most notably a bulldozing effort that gave CHT a great look at a match-winning field goal in extra-time. 8
9 WAYDE EGAN: Played the full 88 minutes (despite copping a finger to the eye) and made a team-high 55 tackles, had a hand in both tries – most notably the heads-up short-side move to put Montoya in – and picked his times to run through the middle part of the field. Could’ve done without a couple of those late-in-the-set dummy-half darts at the tryline that made things more difficult for his under-pressure playmakers. 7.5
10 MITCH BARNETT: Come on Madge, give this bloke a spot in the 17 for the decider. Another herculean effort, spelled for just six minutes and taking the fight to the Bulldogs with controlled aggression and desire whether in the middle or on the edge. Finished with absurd statlines of 24 runs for 226 metres (89 post-contact), five tackle-breaks and 54 tackles…oh, and a try assist for the second week in a row. Would play the next 20 straight Origins if he was a Queenslander on the back of that performance. 9
11 MARATA NIUKORE: Solid if not a standout, but churned out 31 tackles and 10 runs for 71 metres in an uncustomarily high 73 minutes. Probably outpointed by opposing second-rower Viliame Kikau, who grabbed the only try of the second half and came up with a decisive big hit in golden point. 6.5
12 KURT CAPEWELL: Shuffled from second-row, to centre, to wing as the Warriors’ injuries piled up – and produced his best game for the club to date. Played every minute and wound up with some huge runs (among 14 for 122 metres) and tackles (among 33). Would be hard for Billy Slater to bump him from the Maroons’ bench following that display, not least of all for his ability to plug gaps out wide. 8
15 DYLAN WALKER: A mighty effort to play the entire game, working himself to a standstill in the middle before heading out to the centres during the second half. Ran the ball 20 times for 159 metres and made 33 tackles, on top of a team-high six tackle-breaks and 19 passes. 8
14 FREDDY LUSSICK: Played the last 22 minutes in an unfamiliar middle forward role and gave a good account of himself, carting the ball up seven times for 44 metres and making 17 tackles. Monstered by Kikau in golden point, which effectively gave them the field position to win the game, but he can hardly be marked down for that. 6
16 JAZZ TEVAGA: Played 40 minutes across two stints and was in everything, chalking up 12 runs for 115 metres with four tackle-breaks, and a huge 35 tackles. Always willing to take the tough run and came up with some big ones to get his team back on the front foot in the latter stages and golden point. An inspiration. 7.5
17 JACKSON FORD: Came on midway through the first half and played out the match, working like a trojan for 40 tackles and 14 runs for 110 metres. Gave away a penalty and made a handling error but largely kept his head in a game fought on a knife’s edge. 7
23 LEKA HALASIMA: FUCK ME! Pretty hard to avoid getting carried away by what was unquestionably one of the greatest debuts ever by a Warriors player (30-for-30 incoming on the pod) following his late call-up for the injured skipper. Made an immediate impact charging into the teeth of the Bulldogs’ defence, then looked more than at home after being shifted out to the centres – including almost scoring one of the great debut tries in the dying minutes courtesy of a sensational 40-metre bust and making some desperate defensive plays in a tough position. Finished with seven runs for 107 metres in an electrifying apparition of the club’s future. And all at 18 years of age
8
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