League: Dour Betham still the right man for job

The Warriors' Karl Temata is tackled by Canberra's Matt Adamson at Ericsson Stadium. Picture / Richard Robinson

It's a sure sign of desperate times when the fans are no longer prepared to roll with the punches.

Monty Betham, he of the belligerent heart and sometimes unwise head, was greeted with a chorus of boos around Ericsson Stadium on Saturday night as the Warriors prepared to face the Raiders.

This may have been another visit to the last chance saloon for the Warriors, but the gathering crowd appeared to have had enough of the chief gunslinger.

Even for a constant critic of the Warriors and their wobbly ways, this was a touch harsh.

Betham's offence was a bit of push and swish in the victory over the Roosters last week which cost his side a try. Foolish maybe, especially given his reputation, but hardly a major crime.

If Betham started with some hiss, the largest Ericsson Stadium crowd of the season, a touch over 18,000, indulged in roars as the Warriors hammered the Raiders, although it took an age to get the final nail in. From their crushing forward runs to the brilliant try-producing skill from the relentless worker Wairangi Koopu, Canberra were fairly put to the sword. Not that it was all cheering stuff for the Warriors.

The major complaint in the 24-16 victory was that given the weight of possession, territory and weight itself, the Warriors should have won by more in their belated quest for the top eight. And the irony is, given Betham's reception, that the sort of pigheadedness he excels in will be pivotal in getting them home.

On the law of averages that surround their form, the Warriors are unlikely to win enough games against the Panthers, Eels, Storm, Knights (ie Andrew Johns) and Sea Eagles to sneak into the top eight. They need to upset some apple carts. Betham, whose tasks include firing up the Warriors' defence, is - you suspect - one of the central characters in this despite his fallen-hero reception on Saturday night.

My first viewing of Betham - whose father Monty was one of New Zealand's greatest boxers - was during a Junior Kiwi test against Australia. The youngster became so incensed at the lack of progress by his team that he went on wild search and destroy detours while carting the ball up. This was especially unusual as he was playing standoff.

Weeks later, his mother recounted to me the Betham family version of the Full Monty. The lounge furniture would be cleared, Monty snr (still in prime shape) and junior would strip to the waist, and then proceed to launch into each other. Just good healthy competition, you understand, even though a game of battleships might suffice for most of us in this regard.

This is also clear-the-furniture, all-hands-on-deck time for the Warriors and they will have to rely heavily on the desperation factor.

In terms of finesse, the Warriors are still short of the mark. They often save their best ad hoc attacks for desperate times when they fall well behind on the scoreboard, yet clam up when the going is good.

Coach Tony Kemp's rotation of players in key positions has contributed to his side entering the final stanza of the season with a lumbering attack. Even on Saturday night, the jersey numbering meant about as much as a barrel full of Lotto balls. Lance Hohaia, despite last week's classy showing, was out of the early luck.

Nathan Fien was listed at standoff but headed straight into the first scrum of the match and proceeded to play at dummy half, with some help from fullback Brent Webb, until the listed No 9 Hohaia came on. Betham, who was named as the run-on hooker in a ruse, went straight into the second row. These early shuffles saw Sione Faumuina duck out of the pack and stand at first receiver at scrum time.

It's a complicated business, Warriors central control, and not particularly effective on this evidence. They failed to test Canberra on the flanks as they might, despite having a host of opportunities to do so. Faumuina - the harum-scarum offload man - couldn't get any ball away in the tackle.

The main attacking hopes were provided by Stacey Jones' snipes and, more often, crossfield kicks to the corners. At one point, when a diagonal to the right didn't work, Jones regathered and repeated the dose to the left where David Howell took a brilliant hands-above-head catch. You've always got a chance if these kicks are accurate, but the Warriors appeared out of ideas.

Had Broncos ace Darren Lockyer lurked behind the advantage Iafeta Paleaaesina, Ruben Wiki and co gave the Warriors, Canberra would have been slaughtered. Then again, if Lockyer was playing for the Warriors, he'd probably be at hooker.

Brave little Canberra were continually bludgeoned by Wiki and mates, and were left relying on players like lightweight prop Josh Miller and hooker Lincoln Withers - who was credited with a massive 58 tackles - to keep the visitors hanging in.

Warriors captain Steve Price, returning from a long injury break, weighed in with a competent if not dominant 48 minutes of action. Canberra were hurt more by two handling mistakes from their just-returned veteran Matt Adamson which led to tries.

When they had the ball, Canberra were smashed on to the back foot and couldn't get momentum into their kicking game.

It was an exhausting night for the Raiders, who risked one union-style line dropout and regather rather than face another heavyweight Warriors attack.

The odds are still against the Warriors making the top eight but this victory may have landed a double blow. Battered Canberra, one of their rivals, will need a miracle to bounce back from this pummelling.