TWL RD 20: KINGZ CONTAINER CREW PLAYER RATINGS
The Warriors are approaching miracle territory as far as their 2024 NRL finals prospects go after another agonising defeat, edged out 20-18 in Canberra after scoring four tries to three.
A horror night off the tee for Chanel Harris-Tavita – after Taine Tuaupiki and Adam Pompey were rubbed out of the game during the first half – gobbled up the headlines. His shank of an absolute sitter that would have levelled the scores with six minutes left immediately entered the rugby league goalkicking hall of infamy.
But the responsibility for the loss does not sit squarely on CHT’s shoulders.
An awful start from the visitors saw the Raiders race out to a 14-0 after 18 minutes before a brave fight-back squared things up at the hour mark. The desperate rivals traded tries inside the last 10 minutes, but it was the Raiders who gave their Top 8 hopes the kiss of life.
There were some massive individual performances to unpick in the Kingz Container Crew player ratings, but the stark reality is that match looked every bit like 11th playing 12th.
The Warriors have just seven wins on the board, have lost four of their last five and just haven’t been good enough when its mattered in a season that promised so much. When the club mulls over what went wrong during an inevitable September holiday, a record of just two wins from nine games decided by a converted try or less to this point will be viewed as one of the campaign’s most painfully costly factors.
Looks like it’s not our year – instead, just one of those years.
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Match Highlights
Jamal Fogarty made a successful return from injury to help his side outlast the Warriors in a close win! pic.twitter.com/SNhtJsafNg
— NRL (@NRL) July 19, 2024
1 TAINE TUAUPIKI: Took a couple of good catches then made a hash of one that led to the Raiders’ first try, before a head knock ruled him out just eight minutes in. 3
2 DALLIN WATENE-ZELEZNIAK: A tough night with few opportunities to shine and three errors. Strong on the carry with 131 metres from 16 runs, while he made a sensational grab from a short kick-off with eight minutes left to give the Warriors possession for what should have been the levelling try. 5.5
3 ALI LEIATAUA: A far cry from the wonderful NRL debut he made at the same venue last year, looking unsure on defence at times and not showing enough urgency as Xavier Savage raced past him to score from a kick with 10 minutes left. Spent half the game on the wing and finished with 12 runs for 94 metres. 5
4 ADAM POMPEY: Bumped to the wing again early on and looked dangerous when given an opportunity (six runs for 55 metres), but succumbed to a knee injury at halftime. 5
5 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK: A shining light in 70 minutes at fullback, running for a game-high 255 metres and making a team-high five tackle-breaks, scoring a superb first-half try and doing everything possible to lift his side. 8
6 CHANEL HARRIS-TAVITA: The archetypal tragic figure after his zero-from-three night with the boot, the great irony is CHT is one of only 20 players with a career goalkicking percentage of 80 percent-plus (minimum 50 attempts) in first grade since records started being kept in 1986. It also completely overshadowed a strong performance, probing constantly with the ball in hand, putting Kurt Capewell over for a try, doing the bulk of the kicking and making 21 tackles. Got to kick those but. 7
7 TE MAIRE MARTIN: The sheen of his 4-0 run as a No.7 has worn off somewhat after these last two narrow losses, but had a hand in two tries, ran for over 100 metres and made 18 tackles. Short kicking game left a lot to be desired, though, and couldn’t take the game by the scruff. 6
8 ADDIN FONUA-BLAKE: Another barnstorming performance, capping big numbers (17 runs for 200 metres, four tackle-breaks, 36 tackles) with a powerhouse try that should have squared it up. Elite. 8.5
9 WAYDE EGAN: Played the full 80 and toiled for a colossal, game-high 58 tackles, produced some excellent dummy-half darts among six runs for 70 metres and astutely took the short-side option for Barnett to score. A strip early on cost the team two points and their captain’s challenge. 7.5
10 MITCH BARNETT: What a leader. After a gruelling Origin debut just 48 hours earlier, played 73 minutes and racked up 17 runs for 159 metres and 41 tackles, as well as charging over for an inspirational try. Not perfect – he came up with two errors and dropped off a few tackles – but another huge statement to become the permanent skipper. 8
11 MARATA NIUKORE: Bent the line back with 10 runs for 96 metres and made 24 tackles, but also gave away a penalty for a high shot and a ruck infringement. Solid but not a huge standout. 6
12 KURT CAPEWELL: After playing almost an entire Origin in the pack, Capewell played every minute in Canberra – shifting to centre again after Tuaupiki’s exit. Underlined his utility value with a superb try, along with 14 runs for 137 metres and 15 tackles. 8
15 DYLAN WALKER: Not sure it was the pre-game plan for D-Walks to play the full 80 minutes in the middle but injuries forced Webby’s hand. Enormous effort to churn through 14 runs for 154 metres and 41 tackles, while he made a line-break and served up the pass for AFB to score in a huge second half. 8
14 FREDDY LUSSICK: Just six minutes off the bench despite the team’s injury woes. 3
15 JACKSON FORD: Played 72 minutes thanks to Tuaupiki’s early departure and produced a trademark performance for better (13 runs for 108 metres, 38 tackles) and worse (two errors, one penalty). 5.5
16 JAZZ TEVAGA: Helped swing the momentum when injected during the first half and chewed through eight runs for 72 metres and 16 tackles in 26 high-quality minutes. Would have liked to see more of him. 7
17 LEKA HALASIMA: The teenage phenom again saw plenty of game-time in his second NRL appearance – and again most of it was at centre. Not quite as highlight-heavy as his debut – and came up with a handling error and was fended off by Ethan Strange – but nevertheless more than held his own in an unfamiliar position and finished with 95 metres from 10 runs. 6
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