NRL 2021: New Zealand Warriors Season Review

The New Zealand Warriors came into the 2021 NRL season full of hope but never really got going to finish 12th on the ladder and in a similar spot to 12 months earlier.

Here’s your New Zealand Warriors Season Review for 2021:

• The Season In Brief: Stats and Summary
• Takeaways From 2021
  • Things I Liked: Chanel Harris-Tavita, Lodge + Fonua-Blake, Reece Walsh
  • 3-2-1: Josh Curran, Wayde Egan, Tohu Harris
  • Summer Notepad: Close Games
• Preseason Prediction Throwback
• Way Too Early Thoughts On 2022

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The Season In Brief

We’re summing up the NRL season in a few words before getting into the nitty-gritty and breaking down some of the key moments in 2021.

By The Numbers

The New Zealand Warriors took a ‘bigger is better’ approach to team selections this year but it didn’t translate into a rampaging middle. The Warriors averaged just 1,580 running metres per game (12th) which led to only 24.2 tackles inside the opposition 20-metre line per game (14th). With a lack of opportunity and a disrupted spine for much of the season, their attack struggled to threaten for 18.9 points per game (13th). The fatigue created by a poor middle and inconsistent attack cost the Warriors most weeks as they conceded 26 points per game (12th).

Copy: Bar Chart
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The Season In 200 Words

There has never been a year that hasn’t been “our year” for the New Zealand Warriors heading into Round 1. Albeit another disrupted season across the Tasman and with a new coach in charge, the feeling was for this group to compete for the Top 8. They never really got close despite being a mathematical chance late in the season.

Playing an NRL-high 13 ‘close games’ this season, the Warriors won just six of them. A turnover in players made developing cohesion in a relatively unfamiliar side difficult. Injury, form and Nathan Brown tinkering until he found something that worked cost them dearly late in matches.

Reece Walsh’s arrival is positive even if it did effectively cost them Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s last season. Matt Lodge offered some positive signs in the limited period he could stay on the field. Tohu Harris did Tohu Harris things while Josh Curran burst onto the scene as a first-grade backrower. Chanel Harris-Tavita also continued his development. However, individual positives scattered throughout the playing group didn’t translate into wins as the Warriors struggled to string good games together to win just eight matches – the same number Todd Payten managed in 2020 playing four fewer games.

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Takeaways From 2021

Things I Liked

Jason picks out a few moments, matches or players that he liked most throughout the 2021 NRL season.

Chanel Harris-Tavita

Regular readers won’t be shocked to see Chanel Harris-Tavita at the top of the list. The 22-year-old is a personal favourite which seems to be in direct contrast to the fan base overall.

Harris-Tavita’s best work doesn’t come through on the stats pages. He was built up as a junior with flashy skills thanks to his scorpion kick for the Junior Kiwis, however, he has focused more on the little things in his game since becoming a first-grade regular. He is an eager learner and has circled game management and footy smarts as areas to develop ahead of earth-shattering steps and cut-out passes.

Perhaps it’s the flash and flare of Reece Walsh that has forged opinions on Harris-Tavita. The criticism’s on Harris-Tavita’s game grew loudest following Walsh’s arrival as it appeared as though he was being outplayed by an 18-year-old rookie. Walsh is excellent (more on him soon) but he often finished a game as a net-negative. For every try or try assist, he often let one in or came up with an inopportune error. Harris-Tavita, on the other hand, may not fill the highlights packages post-game, but he doesn’t do anything to play himself out of the side.

He’s solid at worst and a crucial part to the Warriors attack at best.

It’s no coincidence the Warriors averaged 20.2 points per game with Harris-Tavita on the field (22.3 per game if we ignore the horror Round 25 loss to the Titans) compared with 17.6 points per game with him off it.

I’m going over old ground here but Harris-Tavita’s improvements in how he changes the tempo of his runs, deceives the defence and creates favourable opportunities for teammates is worth repeating.

Round 1:

“The young half sees Fa’asuamaleaui hunched over with his hands on his knees and heads straight for him. With the ball out in front, Harris-Tavita takes three or four quick steps and bang – Fa’asuamaleaui is on his heels and going backwards.

David Fifita does well to cover his inside shoulder and drag Bunty Afoa to the ground. But his diving effort can’t stop Afoa from releasing a pass to Nikorima backing up.” – NRL Notepad: Round 2

Round 9:

“It went largely unnoticed because it was Walsh who ended up scoring the try, but it’s Harris-Tavita’s work that creates the opportunity. Like the play above, he uses those quick feet straight at the line to sit Josh Schuster on his heels which allows Tohu Harris to get enough of his body free to release an offload.” – Player Appreciation Post: Chanel Harris-Tavita

These are mature plays. He’s not relying on audacious passes and overzealous runs to create points. Harris-Tavita is identifying opportunities throughout a set and working to areas of the field to action them.

His combination with Shaun Johnson has mouth-watering potential. With a solid five-eighth commanding the left edge and providing width to yardage sets as the Warriors work their way upfield, Johnson won’t be short of opportunities to work his magic on the right side.

We started to see Harris-Tavita’s value to the side most in the games he missed last season. Hopefully, that isn’t such an issue in 2022 and he finally finds some luck in the injury department.

Lodge & Fonua-Blake Linking Up

Matthew Lodge and Addin-Fonua Blake only managed six games together thanks to injury and suspension and there are always a few teething issues when new combinations are in the developing stages, but there are some very positive signs moving forward.

Both can cart the ball up the field with the best in the game.

Lodge uses brute force and a willingness to put his body on the line to run for roughly 130 metres per game. Meanwhile, Fonua-Blake is a little more subtle. Equally destructive and strong, Fonua-Blake finds a few extra metres (160 metres per game) by using footwork at the line to step to the shoulder of on-coming defenders.

Both also have the makings of a passing game.

Lodge’s best game in Warriors colours came in Round 18. He played the full 80 minutes and ran for 144 metres and broke ten tackles in a massive performance against the Panthers while completing a career-high 15 passes. It’s one of the better games the Warriors played all season and Lodge’s passing was a key factor. However, Nathan Brown appeared to have instructed him to put the pass away with Lodge completing only 11 more all season (4 games).

Fonua-Blake’s passing hasn’t been such a factor, but there was this in Round 24:

That’s something to get excited about. A massive prop with dangerous footwork dragging in two defenders before tipping the ball onto another big prop, isolated onto an opposition halfback.

How that combination develops over the summer will have a significant impact on how the Warriors attack in 2022.

Reece Walsh

The debates over whether or not Reece Walsh should have displaced Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will rage for years to come.

Regardless of your stance on the matter, Walsh was good enough to justify playing 16 first grade NRL matches at only 19-years old. He scored nine tries, handed out 11 try assists and often looked like the Warriors’ only hope in attack.

He popped up on the edges and made good decisions in attack. His cutout pass became an instant threat and his floater is enough to suggest he isn’t hamstrung to one move in those situations. While he is never going to be very productive in yardage, he still found 119 running metres per game with his acceleration often enough to break through half a gap.

His struggles in defence saw him targeted later in the season, though. Opposing teams worked to areas in which he would be defending at A on the goal line and proceeded to target the diminutive fullback. Similarly, the Warriors’ reliance on him in attack made it difficult for him to have an impact later in the season as defences focused in on him throughout those shifts to the edges that had previously been successful.

Overall, Walsh put together a good rookie season. He had his ups and downs, but that’s expected from somebody his age in a key playmaking position. However, he is set to be the biggest beneficiary of Johnson’s arrival in 2022.

Everybody is a focus when Johnson has the ball down the right edge. Regardless of who is wearing the jersey, the defence knows Johnson can get them over the line. They can’t afford to overcommit on Johnson at risk of opening up space elsewhere. With Johnson engaging and breaking down the line further infield, Walsh will be presented with opportunities to use his triple-threat skillset (pass, run, kick) against stripped defensive lines.

Being put in some difficult situations at times this season will help Walsh prepare for 2022 when things should come a little bit easier for the Warriors in attack.

~ Jason

3-2-1

True rugby league fans will know there’s nothing more legitimate than the Dally M’s 3-2-1 voting system…With that in mind, Oscar picks out three elements from the 2021 season that deserve a mention.

3 – Josh Curran

2021 was a breakout season for Josh Curran. 

I was surprised to learn he actually debuted for the Roosters back in 2019, but after five games over his first three seasons, Curran’s 14 appearances for the Warriors this year marks his development into a genuine first-grader. He’s not the prettiest of players but everything about Curran oozed effort in 2021 and I’m here for more. He was a Fantasy gun in a time of great personal need and he ended the season as one of my favourite players to watch each week. 

Used on the left edge, right edge and through the middle in the backrow, Curran did a job wherever he went. He runs a wonderful line off his half on the edge and it’s a repeatable action I want more of in 2022.

Sean O’Sullivan does a tidy job as the ballplayer here and the Warriors’ cause is certainly helped by Canterbury’s awful goal line defence, but the work from Curran is still impressive. He strolled over himself a few times running this line and when he didn’t he still had the skill and awareness to get the ball away. He isn’t the slickest of ballplayers but Curran’s soft hands are effective enough to earn him a utility tag and I liked how Curran found ways to use those skills in different areas on the field. 

It’s the little one-percenters that I liked most about Curran in 2021, however.

Kick pressure efforts like this were part and parcel of Curran’s game by season’s end. Not only does he force an error from Lachlan Lewis here but Curran is first to dive on the loose ball and win possession for his team. Rewind the tape a little further and you’ll notice it was Curran who not only led the kick chase to begin this defensive set but also made two tackles before forcing the turnover on the last. Two plays later and Reece Walsh scored to take the Warriors’ lead out to 12 – thank you, Josh.  

There’s a part of me that worries it was all just a flash in the pan but I’m not hedging my bets – I’m all in on Curran next season. He provides a nice point-of-difference to the monsters (M.Lodge, B.Murdoch-Masila, A.Fonua-Blake, E.Katoa etc) in the Warriors pack and he can offer a ballplaying option down an edge if Nathan Brown uses him right. 

2 – Wayde Egan

I don’t know how it happened, but I’ve ended up as the Wayde Egan guy here at RLW. 

Things didn’t start off so well with Wayde and I. It might be because it reminds me too much of my own equally ineffective childhood Benji Marshall impersonation, but I will never be a fan of the Egan no-look pass. It rarely fools opposition markers and often makes for a poor pass from dummy-half. Egan’s propensity to overplay his hand whenever the Warriors earnt a hint of ruck speed had me pulling at hairs and asking Jase how he ended up as the club’s first – and arguably only – choice dummy-half to begin the year. 

By season’s end, however, I’d seen enough to become somewhat of a begrudging fan. 

When he gets it right, Egan is a dangerous runner from dummy-half. He’s strong and quick off the mark and that threat – even if he doesn’t run at all – is enough to keep markers and A-defenders honest. He can also read the defence effectively and when he gives it early Egan’s service is sound. It was good enough to net him eight try assists in 2021 but that number could easily double if Egan continues to develop his pass selection and decision making from dummy-half. 

This action in Round 12 was one of a few that Egan nailed in 2021. 

He does just enough at dummy-half to send the defence infield before bouncing back to the short side. He also holds the ball just long enough to keep Jake Clifford at A-defender interested but not long enough that he has time to react. The only thing stopping Ben Murdoch-Masila this close to the line is a poor pass from dummy-half and Egan played his role perfectly here. It’s a repeatable action that the Warriors should be looking to build for regularly in 2022 with the forwards at their disposal and if Egan can continue to get this pass right. 

Knowing when to throw this pass is where I saw Egan most improve in 2021, and this action in Round 23 against the Broncos shows it best. 

Brisbane’s left edge defence is so concerned about Reece Walsh sweeping out the back here that Bunty Afoa gets clear passage at Alex Glenn’s inside shoulder and nearly breaks through the line himself. The Broncos’ cover defence drags him down just before the line and Walsh immediately pulls shape down the right edge again, looking to get Brisbane on the short side. 

Egan had other ideas. 

Having just seen how Brisbane reacted to Walsh sweeping out the back of shape down that edge, Egan went straight back there again. Glenn and Anthony Milford both shoot off their line at Walsh just as they did on the previous play and a lovely pass straight off the ground to Josh Curran gets them on the inside. 

This was smart footy from Egan and it’s enough to have me backing him in again in 2022. He will be key to getting the most out of a stacked Warriors forward rotation and to unlocking the talent of Shaun Johnson and Reece Walsh out wide. He doesn’t have to be brilliant each week but if his development continues it’s starting to feel like I might be up for a serving of humble pie in 2022. I’ve got my spoon ready. 

1 – Tohu Harris

I don’t have anything on Tohu Harris that Jase hasn’t said throughout the year already. 

He’s without a doubt the most underrated player in the competition and a personal favourite here at RLW. Rather than bang on about the multitude of un-appreciated actions Harris produces from week to week, I’ve got two clips from early in the season that sum up how effective Harris can be through the middle. 

Round 2 vs Newcastle Knights:

The involvement of Harris here turns a regulation settler into a four-pointer for Ben Murdoch-Masila. The way Newcastle’s defence is bunched up around the ruck indicates that they certainly thought the Warriors were taking the hit-up and Harris was good enough to punish them. He sees Bradman Best is well out of position on the left edge and in an instant he straightens up on his overs line to engage Phoenix Crossland and tips Murdoch-Masila into a hole. Try time. 

Round 6 vs St George-Illawarra Dragons:

My man Wayde Egan does a good job at deceiving the markers here and affords Harris a predominantly one-on-one situation with Ben Hunt on the try line – good luck. Blake Lawrie does get a shot at Harris’ legs here but with a hit-and-spin, the big lock-forward pushes through the contact and slams the ball down. Try time. 

There are only two forwards in the competition who look as comfortable passing at the line here as they do barging over it themselves – Cameron Murray and Victor Radley. Neither of them are 195 centimetres tall and 112 kilograms. Harris’ combination of size and skill makes him incredibly dangerous in these situations and it’s something Nathan Brown needs to incorporate more into this team’s attack in 2022.

~ Oscar

Summer Notepad

The NRL Notepad is a feature that has run all season. With the 2021 campaign wrapped up, we’re starting to think about what we’d like to see between now and March next year.

Close Games

This team needs some coaching over the summer. Their struggles in close games this season suggest a lack of understanding and direction. Teams practice end-of-game and field goal sets all year. Good teams know exactly where to be and when regardless of who is on the field when it comes to completing one set to win or ice a game. The Melbourne Storm provided a perfect example back in Round 8 last year.

The Warriors, on the other hand, lost seven of their 13 games decided by six points or less.