Have to say Jazz Tevaga has been awesome these last two weeks. He's 88kgs but is playing as a prop/lock off the bench. You'd think he was at least 20kgs bigger with how well he's tackling and carrying.
He's a player in the old hooker/lock mould. High work rate and aggressive style of play makes him a great option coming off the bench. It also means Luke can stay on the field and focus on the attack while Tevaga does the defensive work.
Both him and Bunty Afoa are two players who can punch above their weight class.
So, after watching the glorious Warriors win on the tv I wandered down with my mate to Brookvale to watch Manly v Raiders - he lives 5 minutes away and is a season ticket holder.
Now, lets set aside for a minute this idiot thought the Warriors game was in NZ otherwise he would have ditched Manly and gone to the SFS.
Anyway, man that was interesting, I thought the northern beaches were quite hoity toity, they call Manly the silvertails, but sheesh the crowd in the members is pretty feral. It's just constant running commentary/abuse of the ref, the Canberra players, the Manly players. I thought a match thread on TSF was parochial but we don't come close to the Manly members. They never see anything wrong with anything Manly do, every knock on is not a knock on, they're never off side, they don't ever deserve a penalty and it's always the opposite for the opposition. And when Manly let in a few tries in the second half they turned on their players worse than NZ turned on John Hart in 1999. I had as much enjoyment from listening to the crowd as I did watching the game although I must admit I went full feral booing BJ Leilua with the rest of the crowd. I really can't stand that guy.
Brookvale reminded me of McLean Park a bit, the main stand and ugly joining end stand look to be like they copied each other.
So, after watching the glorious Warriors win on the tv I wandered down with my mate to Brookvale to watch Manly v Raiders - he lives 5 minutes away and is a season ticket holder.
Now, lets set aside for a minute this idiot thought the Warriors game was in NZ otherwise he would have ditched Manly and gone to the SFS.
Anyway, man that was interesting, I thought the northern beaches were quite hoity toity, they call Manly the silvertails, but sheesh the crowd in the members is pretty feral. It's just constant running commentary/abuse of the ref, the Canberra players, the Manly players. I thought a match thread on TSF was parochial but we don't come close to the Manly members. They never see anything wrong with anything Manly do, every knock on is not a knock on, they're never off side, they don't ever deserve a penalty and it's always the opposite for the opposition. And when Manly let in a few tries in the second half they turned on their players worse than NZ turned on John Hart in 1999. I had as much enjoyment from listening to the crowd as I did watching the game although I must admit I went full feral booing BJ Leilua with the rest of the crowd. I really can't stand that guy.
Brookvale reminded me of McLean Park a bit, the main stand and ugly joining end stand look to be like they copied each other.
It took you awhile but you got a Hawkes Bay reference in right there at the end. Well done.
So, after watching the glorious Warriors win on the tv I wandered down with my mate to Brookvale to watch Manly v Raiders - he lives 5 minutes away and is a season ticket holder.
Now, lets set aside for a minute this idiot thought the Warriors game was in NZ otherwise he would have ditched Manly and gone to the SFS.
Anyway, man that was interesting, I thought the northern beaches were quite hoity toity, they call Manly the silvertails, but sheesh the crowd in the members is pretty feral. It's just constant running commentary/abuse of the ref, the Canberra players, the Manly players. I thought a match thread on TSF was parochial but we don't come close to the Manly members. They never see anything wrong with anything Manly do, every knock on is not a knock on, they're never off side, they don't ever deserve a penalty and it's always the opposite for the opposition. And when Manly let in a few tries in the second half they turned on their players worse than NZ turned on John Hart in 1999. I had as much enjoyment from listening to the crowd as I did watching the game although I must admit I went full feral booing BJ Leilua with the rest of the crowd. I really can't stand that guy.
Brookvale reminded me of McLean Park a bit, the main stand and ugly joining end stand look to be like they copied each other.
It took you awhile but you got a Hawkes Bay reference in right there at the end. Well done.
I like to build my stories to reach a peak, TBF, I could have started with "my mate from school in HB" 
So, after watching the glorious Warriors win on the tv I wandered down with my mate to Brookvale to watch Manly v Raiders - he lives 5 minutes away and is a season ticket holder.
Now, lets set aside for a minute this idiot thought the Warriors game was in NZ otherwise he would have ditched Manly and gone to the SFS.
Anyway, man that was interesting, I thought the northern beaches were quite hoity toity, they call Manly the silvertails, but sheesh the crowd in the members is pretty feral. It's just constant running commentary/abuse of the ref, the Canberra players, the Manly players. I thought a match thread on TSF was parochial but we don't come close to the Manly members. They never see anything wrong with anything Manly do, every knock on is not a knock on, they're never off side, they don't ever deserve a penalty and it's always the opposite for the opposition. And when Manly let in a few tries in the second half they turned on their players worse than NZ turned on John Hart in 1999. I had as much enjoyment from listening to the crowd as I did watching the game although I must admit I went full feral booing BJ Leilua with the rest of the crowd. I really can't stand that guy.
Brookvale reminded me of McLean Park a bit, the main stand and ugly joining end stand look to be like they copied each other.
Mate Ive had to go to and from Manly for the last 2 years for work and I can tell you two things. The hottest women in Australia all congregate in Manly(and I live on the GC) and the hoity toity crowd are just a bunch of rich as fuck bogans.
@raznomore said in NRL 2018:
So, after watching the glorious Warriors win on the tv I wandered down with my mate to Brookvale to watch Manly v Raiders - he lives 5 minutes away and is a season ticket holder.
Now, lets set aside for a minute this idiot thought the Warriors game was in NZ otherwise he would have ditched Manly and gone to the SFS.
Anyway, man that was interesting, I thought the northern beaches were quite hoity toity, they call Manly the silvertails, but sheesh the crowd in the members is pretty feral. It's just constant running commentary/abuse of the ref, the Canberra players, the Manly players. I thought a match thread on TSF was parochial but we don't come close to the Manly members. They never see anything wrong with anything Manly do, every knock on is not a knock on, they're never off side, they don't ever deserve a penalty and it's always the opposite for the opposition. And when Manly let in a few tries in the second half they turned on their players worse than NZ turned on John Hart in 1999. I had as much enjoyment from listening to the crowd as I did watching the game although I must admit I went full feral booing BJ Leilua with the rest of the crowd. I really can't stand that guy.
Brookvale reminded me of McLean Park a bit, the main stand and ugly joining end stand look to be like they copied each other.
Mate Ive had to go to and from Manly for the last 2 years for work and I can tell you two things. The hottest women in Australia all congregate in Manly(and I live on the GC) and the hoity toity crowd are just a bunch of rich as fuck bogans.
Hahaha,, I did live their a couple of years. The hottest women who congegrate are often South American/Europeans IMHO - well the ones that looked hottest to me.
TBF, Oz is the land of cashed up bogans - I assume in your line of work you come across lots of them.
It really is a crazy ladder. Dragons, who had big question marks over them preseason, are flying. The fucking Warriors are 4-0. The Tigers were a few seconds from being 4-0, but are still going good at 3-1 (Benji is killing it by the way). Fucking Penrith are 3-1.
Melbourne have lost twice. The Cowboys have lost 3 times. The Roosters have lost twice.
Parra, who were a lot of people's smokeys for the season, are not only winless, but awful. It's always a joy to see a Ricky Stuart side struggling, and the Raiders really are.
In Kiwis news, Mr "The Key is the We" has decided not to reapply for the head coach position. Good decision.
@sneakdefreak said in NRL 2018:
In Kiwis news, Mr "The Key is the We" has decided not to reapply for the head coach position. Good decision.
Not his fault that he was chosen despite not being up to it. Now some of our guys like playing for Tonga so much they will stay away. The board who appointed him should leave too
Shaun Johnson to return to the Warriors line up for the double-header clash at Mt Smart on Saturday night (Wests V Storm, Warriors V Cowboys). Also returning to the line up is Simon Mannering who will start from the bench (but I think that bench will change come kick off).
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK (c)
2 DAVID FUSITU’A
3 PETA HIKU
4 SOLOMONE KATA
5 KEN MAUMALO
6 BLAKE GREEN
7 SHAUN JOHNSON
8 BUNTY AFOA
9 ISSAC LUKE
10 AGNATIUS PAASI
11 LEIVAHA PULU
12 TOHU HARRIS
13 ADAM BLAIR
Interchange:
14 JAZZ TEVAGA
15 SAM LISONE
16 SIMON MANNERING
17 ANTHONY GELLING
18 LIGI SAO
20 MASON LINO
21 CHRIS SATAE
22 CHARNZE NICOLL-KLOKSTAD
It's strange seeing the Warriors near the front of the sports news on TV these days. For the last few years, they've been pushed right to the back, even behind some of the really small sports that barely anyone follows.
League in NZ really needed this by the Warriors after what went down last year. It seemed like the sport was on a long road to recovery not too long ago.
Good article.
I especially liked the bit about the player who was late to pre season training having to watch his team mates be put through a 2x tougher than normal training session as punishment.
@antipodean in an age where the players have the power, at least more so than they used to, it does come as a surprise that this type of thing still goes on in a professional sport. Happy that it does but I can see the Eels team all being seen to early grave having to account for the lack of effort Hayne was putting in preseason.
@antipodean said in NRL 2018:
@gunner I'm astonished that's note worthy. It was the first lesson I can remember joining the military; you fuck up, everyone else suffers. Small wonder the club was a laughing stock last year.
If anyone is wanting to join the bandwagon, move quick coz the wagon is filling fast.
Tonight’s double header at Mt Smart is going to be a sell out. Over 22,000 tickets sold already.
If anyone is wanting to join the bandwagon, move quick coz the wagon is filling fast.
Tonight’s double header at Mt Smart is going to be a sell out. Over 22,000 tickets sold already.
That's a bloody great result. I don't follow much league any more, but amazing how people come out of the woodwork when there is League success, and a shambles over at Eden Park. Good for teh Warriors, adn I hope they do well tonight
At the double header, great atmosphere. Benji and the Tigers edge the storm in a defensive dominated game in greasy conditions after a rainy pregame. Now for the Warriors!
For a mrs Hooroo first. She asked to see the warriors score and we haven’t turned back.
Amazing what a bit of momentum can do for support. Hope chiefs are winning.
5 on the trott, fucking outrageous. This is a very different Warriors side this year, they were still pumping in the final 10 there - a NQ comeback was never really on the cards. Good shit.
If there is a concern , fuck they are peaking early , finish line is a long way away, can they keep this going ?
@kiwiinmelb said in NRL 2018:
If there is a concern , fuck they are peaking early , finish line is a long way away, can they keep this going ?
Hopefully they have a good run during State of Origin.
@no-quarter said in NRL 2018:
5 on the trott, fucking outrageous. This is a very different Warriors side this year, they were still pumping in the final 10 there - a NQ comeback was never really on the cards. Good shit.
We never looked in danger, but old habits die hard so I was waiting for a warriors surrender that never came. In person our wingers are massive and run the ball up like forwards. We look super solid all over the park, now if we can reduce Adam Blair's errors and penalties we'll be even more dangerous. Great atmosphere at Mt Smart on a clear night as the crowd fed off the team, at times the din was amazing. 100x more raucous and fun than your average Eden Park crowd
@kiwiinmelb said in NRL 2018:
If there is a concern , fuck they are peaking early , finish line is a long way away, can they keep this going ?
Hopefully they have a good run during State of Origin.
Our typical S of O bounce could catapult us well clear at the top of the table. We have no players likely to be involved?
@no-quarter said in NRL 2018:
5 on the trott, fucking outrageous. This is a very different Warriors side this year, they were still pumping in the final 10 there - a NQ comeback was never really on the cards. Good shit.
We never looked in danger, but old habits die hard so I was waiting for a warriors surrender that never came. In person our wingers are massive and run the ball up like forwards.
Don't know who remembers 2007, but that was one of our best ever years, and was heavily built on Manu Vatuvei and Wade McKinnon running huge metres both on kick returns and generally to really take the heat off the forwards.
Solomome Kata deserves some props. Great step run and pass to set up the first try, did his job without fuss all game. Bunty Afoa is a terror with ball in hand. He, Lisone and all the young forwards are playing great
Five and Oh! to start the season. Is it me or is everyone so happy right now?
AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!
Return of (former) Captain Mannering: He came off the bench, played a bit at prop and then returned to his old slot in the secondrow. In his 60 minutes he never looked tired or rusty. Kearney wants him wearing the number 11 this season which means the edges will feature Tohu Harris and Simon Mannering. Very scary for opponents. Saw him after the game and have to say he looks really happy (after playing so many mediocre seasons this start must be a blessing).
If Mannering plays the rest of the regular season, his 300th match will be the final regular season game.
Getting all defensive: For much of the second half, the Warriors seemed fine with playing without the ball. Their defence has been the key factor in these five wins - it resembles something from the NFL. In that second half Jazz Tevaga was playing middle linebacker, Tohu Harris and Simon Mannering were the outside linebackers, while Adam Blair and Bunty Afoa were the defensive ends.
The real MVP(s): David Fusitua and Ken Maumalo were the best players tonight. Disarming every kick, returning it with vigour and making smart plays all night long. Teams are scared of Fusitua when he goes up to retrieve the high kick - twice the Cowboys illegally took him out of the play (and were penalised for it). He doesn't have the same speed as Fusitua but I see why Maumalo is in the team. He's useful on kick returns and can help the forwards out with several hit ups through out the night. He's the new Manu Vatuvei (except better under the high ball).
What about the other guys? Seeing the Cowboys team list it's surprising to see the team is 1-4. The Cowboys are 2017 Grand Finalists and STACKED with depth. But Thurston is playing with a bad shoulder and despite it being his last year, you have to guess the pressure will be on to replace him with Te Maire Martin and make Michael Morgan the chief playmaker again if this continues. Maybe Father Time has caught JT?
Sign of the times: A lot of Day Ones out there.
@sneakdefreak wonder if those ones that burnt thier Jersies last year are back on board?
Maumalo was a beast on kick return and hit ups, with better hands and higher workrate than Manu. JT looked same old out there, he's a shadow at the moment based on that game
@taniwharugby said in NRL 2018:
@sneakdefreak wonder if those ones that burnt thier Jersies last year are back on board?
Probably have already bought new ones. Lol.