Rebound or collapse? The burning questions for Warriors ahead of Broncos clash

By Michael Burgess

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

Ahead of Saturday’s clash with Brisbane at Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, the Warriors are 13th on the NRL ladder.

Last weekend’s record-equalling 66-6 loss to the Titans left them with a 6-1-8 record and in danger of diving out of contention. Michael Burgess looks at the key questions with nine rounds of the season to go.

How important is Saturday’s game against the Broncos?

It’s not quite make or break but it’s getting close to it. Even with the congested NRL table this season, to have any chance of making a run for the playoffs the Warriors need to win at least one of their next two matches ahead of the round 19 bye. Forget the mathematical formulas that will be touted – if the Warriors are 6-1-10 in two weeks, it’s basically all over.

That makes a victory on Saturday imperative, or at the minimum a strong, confidence-boosting performance ahead of the trip to face Canterbury-Bankstown in Sydney. That match will be far from easy, as the resurgent Bulldogs are unbeaten at home in six matches so far this season.

What do the Warriors need to fix?

They’ve got to rediscover their defensive grit, after conceding 18 tries in the past two weeks. While they were let down by structure and awareness against Melbourne, the Titans faced minimum resistance, with a complete lack of effort at times.

Their cause wasn’t helped on the Gold Coast by having players out of position, from Dylan Walker in the second row to Chanel Harris-Tavita as a hybrid lock. The expected return of Mitch Barnett – the most consistent performer of the season so far – and Kurt Capewell will help.

On attack, they have to rediscover their sharpness, variation and connection, though a better defensive platform will help that. The combination between Te Maire Martin and Walker will be crucial – as it was in the recent bloc of three wins – while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is due to spark on home soil.

Is this the end of the road for Shaun Johnson?

No. Within the club there is an expectation that he will be back and the Herald understands he will be given every chance to be the main playmaker again, once his fitness and confidence have returned. No one has forgotten what he did in 2023 and trying to play with niggling injuries just wasn’t working. But it’s a big challenge for the 33-year-old.

On reflection, where does the 66-6 mauling on the Gold Coast rank in club history?

It’s right up there, due to it being against the last-placed Titans and with a strong, established squad full of quality players. The 70-10 in Melbourne in 2022 was ugly but that was the Storm, on Anzac Day, during the Covid mess.

The 62-6 at Penrith in 2013 was also awful but that was a new team, under new coach Matt Elliott, still finding their way. Many of the other notable thrashings came in seasons of struggle, such as 2000 or 2004.

How did the Warriors react?

To their credit, quickly. “We faced the music fast,” said Webster. There was a team meeting called at 9.30am last Sunday, with the entire squad forced to watch all of the worst clips. Webster was impressed with the response – “The boys owned it, completely owned what they saw.”

There was another review session on Tuesday. It has made for some frank discussions, though there were no crisis meetings or “honesty sessions”. That’s what happened in 2013, after the Penrith debacle, where each member of the team was asked to stand up in a meeting and say what they could offer the squad. That kind of thing wasn’t considered, with the coaching staff emphasising a reset rather than a deep dive.

Why didn’t Andrew Webster swing the axe for the Brisbane match?

To have 13 of the 17 retained after such a performance will raise eyebrows but it’s not entirely surprising. Webster likes to be loyal – especially to his senior men – though some won’t have too many more chances. It’s also due to the stage of the season.

If it was in the early rounds, there would be more room to gamble on wholesale changes. But he has opted to pick and stick, figuring that is the best chance of a result against Brisbane.

There are rumours of cliques and division – are the Warriors a united group?

They didn’t look like one last week, with some awful body language on display during the humiliating Titans defeat. But coach Webster and the players are adamant that it was just a really bad day, rather than evidence of a deeper problem.

“There is nothing wrong with [the culture],” said hooker Wayde Egan. “We are best mates and we care for each other on and off the field.”

Captain Tohu Harris reinforced that message. “Within the walls, everyone is still enjoying turning up, enjoying each other’s company,” he said. “We need to fix ourselves individually and as a team.”

Time will tell.

There has been some friction with the group this season – more than in 2023 – though that is understandable given the inconsistency and on-field struggles.

The fact they have already been in a deep trough once this season, with the four-game losing streak culminating in the roasting by the Roosters in round 10 is both good and bad. They were able to rebound then, which gives confidence for what is ahead, but the fact they are back in a hole again hints at a fragility that wasn’t present last year.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission