Johnson's play is far too laterally. He surely ran more metres sideways than forwards last night. Eventually his class shone through and he created a try for himself but the Warriors aren't going to win much on the back of that philosophy this season.
Where are the fast play-the-balls? Where is the creativity out of dummy half? Where are the dummy runners and hole runners to give the play-makers some options? Nowhere to be seen based on the first three weeks. This forward pack is still weak compared to the other 15 clubs. It just doesn't bend the line and therefore doesn't get quick ball. Kieran Foran will not fix that no matter how well he plays.
At the other end of the field the Warriors looked disorganized and lacked desperation when defending their own line. Make no mistake - the Bulldogs are a poor attacking team but they badly exposed the Warriors almost every time they went into the red zone.
It seems inexplicable that this Warriors side can show such a lack of heart and effort given what they have been through the past few seasons. It might be time Jim Doyle and Stephen Kearney made some big and tough calls.
They could start with moving on from fan favourite and club legend Manu Vatuvei. He is never going to get back to his previous best. Injuries have caught up with him and his career-long short-comings now outweigh the ball-carrying and try-scoring feats he once starred with. The decision to re-sign him to a long-term contract was poor and it is costing them badly.
Likewise it is clear that veteran forwards Ryan Hoffman and Jacob Lillyman don't provide what this team needs and they need to be moved on. The salary cap prevents the club from signing replacements for this season but playing younger players like Bunty Afoa and Isaiah Papali'I will bode well for future seasons.
It is also time to give up on the over-hyped, over-rated and everywhere man Tui Lolohea. Future star he isn't. If he wants a release - give it to him. The guy has no clue when the pressure goes on. He is too much of a project to invest in and they'd be better off letting him clean up the mess in his game at a club that isn't in rebuild mode. His jumping up and down on the spot gives all the impression of a deer in the headlights not knowing where to run.
Sam Lisone is almost a mini-version of the Warriors problems. He shows a lot of promise but despite now being in season three of his first grade career he continues to make rookie mistakes that undo a lot of the good work he does. He has genuinely turned the momentum in games already this season but every game there will be the token unforced error followed up with an unnecessary penalty - the ones that frustrate the coach.
Issac Luke needs a rocket and Johnson needs to toughen up. If they don't like that message - dump them to reserve grade. The club is paying them too much not to expect more from them.
The Warriors have a reasonable amount of cap space available to them for 2018. To wisely spend that they need to figure out what they realistically have this year. Waiting until round 8-10 will be too late. They need to get in and get the cream of the crop before rival clubs start picking away at the options.
They have decisions to make and, unlike their onfield performance, it is time to be ruthless.
