The Warriors’ performance in a shock 66-6 loss to the Titans has been labelled “appalling” and “abysmal” amid a big theory regarding the New Zealand club’s ugly slide in 2024.
‘The Wahs’ were a dominant force in 2023, going down to the Broncos one game before the grand final, whilst rookie coach Andrew Webster earnt Dally M coach of the year honours.
However, this season the Warriors have been a shadow of their former selves, allowing Des Hasler’s outfit to rack up the highest score in the history of the Titans club.
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For veteran rugby league reporter Phil Rothfield, instead of sliding to 13th place on the ladder, the Warriors should be working their way into the top eight during the Origin period.
The New Zealand club didn’t have a single player feature in the Origin series opener and now have Kurt Capewell and Blues’ 18th man Mitch Barnett in the representative showcase.
Alongside their omission in Round 16, the Warriors have also been hit hard with injuries so far in 2024, but for Rothfield there’s ”no excuses”.
“My goodness, where do you start. I look at Shaun Johnson’s stats, he had one run for two metres. They missed 51 tackles, they’ve got the Dally M coach of the year,” he said on the Big Sports Breakfast.
“On paper they’ve got pretty much the same side that was an excitement machine this same time last season. This is the first time they’ve faced real negative publicity since Covid.
“They are in all sorts, I can’t see them coming back. The things is this is a period of the year… the good sides are really badly weakened this time of year.
“But there’s no excuses for the Warriors. That was an appalling, abysmal performance on Saturday, but the Titans were great.”
Rugby league legend Laurie Daley also posed a big question, has Addin Fonua-Blake’s decision to leave the Warriors had a negative impact on their performances?
In December it was announced Fonua-Blake would sign with the Sharks from the 2025 season onwards, and the Warriors have only won six of 15 games so far this season.
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In comparison, at the same point of the 2023 season, New Zealand had won eight games and were sitting in sixth, with Daley also pointing on a big clue that hints to his theory.
Fonua-Blake was dropped after removing himself from the dressing room after his side’s impressive win over the Panthers in Magic Round.
Webster’s side, without their gun prop who was omitted from the team, went on to win 24-20 against the Dolphins in one of their best performances.
“They have gone backwards, they have dropped him, they’d have been disappointed he decided to leave,” Daley said.
“Then for disciplinary reasons they dropped him, and then the game they dropped him for it was arguably one of their best performances of the season.”
Rothfield also added: “I look back to the start of the season, Cronulla went over there in Round 1 and the Warriors led them 12-0 but got run down.
“So it has been going on really since the start of the season.”