Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave and NZ Herald's Bonnie Jansen get together to preview a packed weekend of sport and shout 'up the Wahs!'
Video / NZ Herald / Photosport
The Warriors will be significant underdogs on Saturday night, against a Brisbane team that has been red hot for most of 2023. But it’s far from an impossible mission. Michael Burgess looks at how they could achieve a famous win.
Rein in Reece Walsh
Walsh is the wunderkind of theNRL and has had an extraordinary season with nine tries and a phenomenal 22 try assists. He’s particularly potent on the right edge, with his slashing acceleration, sidestep and ability to execute a range of passes at blinding speed. The former Warrior is especially dangerous in the back end of each half, when opposition players begin to tire.
Like they did with Newcastle fullback Kalyn Ponga, the Warriors need to pin him back as much as possible, stacking the odds in their favour. For all his brilliance, the 21-year-old can be erratic. He has mistakes in his game and his decision-making frustrated the Warriors’ coaches at times last season.
Reece Walsh has had an impressive season with the Broncos. Photo / Getty Images
When the Broncos pack gets going, led by Payne Haas who is the most destructive prop in the game, they are like a snowball barrelling down a mountain. Their collective work in the forwards is arguably the fastest in the NRL and halting that momentum can be like trying to hold back the tide.
But the Warriors have to find a way to slow down their forwards, with a clever territorial game and aggressive defence. If they can gain ascendency, they have the more mobile pack, especially when Dylan Walker and Jazz Tevaga enter the fray, which could create problems through the ruck for the home side.
Kick for the seagulls
It’s one of Graham Lowe’s favourite mantras and it will ring true on Saturday night. Finding open spaces with their yardage kicks – even if it means kicking early in the count sometimes – is vital, given the ability of Walsh and the Brisbane wingers to return shallow efforts with interest.
It’s going to be a brutal territorial battle, so any extra metres off the boot will be precious. Shaun Johnson provided a template last Saturday, with a series of judicious kicks.
Skipper Tohu Harris will need to lead from the front. Photo / Photosport
Allow Tohu Harris to shine
The Warriors’ captain is one of the NRL’s best ball-playing forwards and his work as an extra pivot this season has been instrumental in their success. Making sure he gets the opportunity to use those skills – rather than being forced to tackle all night – will be key to the Warriors game plan.
The Warriors aren’t a one-man team, but so much of what they do offensively hinges on Shaun Johnson, as was vividly displayed again last week against Newcastle. Not only will Brisbane try to shut him down and exert constant pressure, but they will also want to tire him out, by sending as much traffic as possible his way.
Johnson has shown this year he can more than handle himself defensively but the 33-year-old will still need some protection, with Marata Niukore and Rocco Berry on important assignments beside him on the right edge.
Shaun Johnson in action against the Knights. Photo / Photosport
Find another chink in Brisbane’s home record
For all their accomplishments this season, Brisbane have been far from invincible at home. They have a 7-5 record in the Queensland capital, dropping matches against the Raiders, Rabbitohs, Panthers, Titans and Storm. Sure, most of those defeats came in the first four months of the season and they’ve only dropped one of their last nine games at any venue but Suncorp hasn’t been the fortress you might expect. Conversely, the Warriors have impressed on their travels, winning seven matches in Australia.
Nail every opportunity
Chances will be at a premium and can’t be wasted. The Warriors frustrated with their profligacy across the last quarter of the regular season, even though they kept getting the results. They were much sharper against Newcastle and need to continue that efficiency in the preliminary final. That means accurate execution and good decision-making in the search for scoring opportunities and repeat sets.
That extends to goalkicking, with Adam Pompey’s excellent work off the tee compounding the misery for the Knights in Auckland.
Restrict Adam Reynolds
The Brisbane No 7 is arguably the most versatile playmaker in the NRL. He has a massive array of short kicking options, a deceptively good running game, and a wide range of passing options.
In Napier earlier this year the Warriors hung off Reynolds to their cost, which allowed him to dictate the match for long periods. Without over-committing, the Warriors have to close down his options as fast as possible and limit his influence, otherwise it will be a long night.
Play their own game
As coach Andrew Webster has said many times over the past few weeks, the Warriors have to be themselves, rather than try to become something else, which was the biggest difference between their respective performances in the first two weeks of the finals.
As much as the stakes are high and the stage is bright, they need to remain true to the structures and processes that have worked so well this season, rather than feeling a different recipe is required. That doesn’t mean that some extra pizzaz won’t be needed but the same base has to be in place.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad of the Warriors (right) celebrates with teammates during the elimination final match against the Newcastle Knights in Auckland. Photo / Photosport
Use their experience advantage
As Warriors’ historian Will Evans points out, the team can draw on a unique experience advantage. Though the Warriors haven’t been in the playoffs since 2018, they have individuals who have enjoyed success at this time of year. They have six players who have won a preliminary final (Tohu Harris, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Te Maire Martin, Shaun Johnson, Dylan Walker and Marata Niukore), while this Broncos team, for all their State of Origin experience, have only two players who have previously played beyond week one of the finals series (Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell).
Push through pain barriers on defence
This game will be the greatest physical test of the season, with an intensity that will outstrip any of their previous 26 matches. Despite that, they can’t relent or slacken. They have to maintain their defensive line speed for the entire night, to have any chance of limiting Brisbane’s attacking potential. The Warriors will also need to present a united, suffocating kick chase, given the potency of Brisbane’s back three.
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He has also reported on the Warriors and NRL for more than a decade.
