Golden boy Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is just as good for the Warriors as he was for the Roosters. Photo / Getty Images
Golden boy Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is just as good for the Warriors as he was for the Roosters. Photo / Getty Images
You start to hear the same things about the Warriors, whether they win or lose. There are those that implore us to "keep the faith" and that "this is our year" which actually turns into sighs of resignation. But there is hope.
A spine of exciting little men, a forward pack that can match it and two wins on the trot are making most of us forget about that first half against the Tigers in round one. But there will always be the same complaints so here are some handy answers.
"Should've won that Roosters game easily"
Yes, they should've won that game easily and it shouldn't have headed into extra time. But referees' boss Tony Archer explained that they got the Ryan Hoffman call wrong and it was obstruction and to rule that the ball was a shade beside Simon Mannering's inside shoulder on a disallowed try was the Bunker just doing its job. It's a game of centimetres.
Crikey, mate! He slotted six of seven against the Knights. His general kicking is getting better but the comeback from the ankle injury is obviously taking longer than we thought.
"Roger Tuivasa-Sheck isn't as good as he was at the Roosters"
This one was bandied about after the first three games of the season, mainly because he wasn't ripping through teams like he did in Sydney. He's run 103 times for 1025 metres to lead the competition in both categories. He's fine.
"Simon Mannering can't offload"
Why should he? Next thing they'll be saying, "They offload way too much".
"Sack Andrew McFadden"
Again? Another coach gone? Maybe Laurie Daley is coming to help, maybe he isn't, but can we please give this guy at least to the end of his contract to see if the players he's brought in and developed from the juniors perform. When you give the team a game plan and they don't execute it, then the onus must go on the players. Since 2011, only Craig Bellamy has remained in the same job in the NRL.
That one came in this week to Radio Sport in a text. Solomone Kata, Albert Vete, Charlie Gubb and Sam Lisone was the reply. Sure, these guys were in the system before McFadden but the same happens to any coach -- they inherit the good young ones.
"They should never have let Ivan Cleary go"
Ivan doesn't coach in the NRL any more. Ruthless business.
"Too many Aussies/not enough Aussies"
What's the line being set here for Aussies at Warriors? Is it 5.5 or is it higher? Should it be lower? Or should it be just get the best players in the roles for what game plan the coaches want to execute.
Manu is supposed to score tries and in a career where he's played 214 games and scored 148 tries, he's one of the greatest strike weapons ever. If Vatuvei is the last line of defence, it's likely 12 other players haven't done their job.
"They only get up for games against the Storm or Broncos"
Great. Because while they've lost games already this season against those two teams, they're currently the top two teams on the ladder whereas their wins are against the bottom two teams on the ladder. Which leads to ...
"They shouldn't lose to bad teams"
Which flies in the face of "man, it's so hard to tip in the NRL because everyone is beating everyone". And finally ...
