Hey Mitch, great minds think alike eh? Haha. Not sure if I’m allowed to drop links to my personal blog on here or not? If you’re on FB feel free to look me up (Gareth Sykes – profile pic is of Kiwis logo) and add me if you like. I also run a Warriors supporter group called “New Zealand Warriors #Faither” where i share my articles so feel free to join that. Anything I write goes onto my blog, as I’m not sure if I can actually supply the link here or not if you just google “New Zealand Warriors Faither Supporters” it’ll pop up. Been a bit quiet on it of late as I’m still hurting after another dissapointing season lol. Oh, and if you’re interested in writing articles I’m always looking for more people to add content to the Warriors blog. Cheers mate

Team selections, poor bench rotation, lack of attacking game plan (43 points in 3 games = 14 points average per game. That’s terrible considering the wealth of attacking flair we have), different goal kicker every game, a seemingly lack of energy/enthusiasm from the side for the majority of the games we’ve seen under Kidwells watch to name a few suggest the coach has some answering to do.

The NZRL dropped the ball, simple as that. Who knows what they were thinking giving the head coaching job of an international team to an Assistant Coach, you might have been able to get away with it 20 + years ago but with the professionalism of the game these days you can’t afford to give anything to the opposition .

I agree with everything you’ve said. Thompson must feel extremely hard done by not to have made the tour.

As far as I am aware he is contracted up until the World Cup.

I hope Kidwell doesn’t stay on until the World Cup. He is out of his depth in a big way. I can’t get my head around the fact that the NZRL administration thought he was the best candidate for the position. Really? THE best candidate available? NZRL need a damn good look at themselves in the mirror. They should have had a much better plan for post Kearney life

I hope England win tomorrow purely so the kiwis can’t make the final. They do not deserve to be there in the slightest

I thought they were very lucky against the poms. They were ordinary as they have been throughout 2016 and were lucky England weren’t on their game. The poms deserved to win that opening match

Thanks eagleJack. I was hoping to get it out last night but life interfered with my free time haha. Damn adulting! ??

I honestly believe Kidwell is well and truly out of his depth. I cannot understand the thought process in throwing a rookie into the head coaching role so close to a World Cup.

He seems to have zero idea with his interchange.

As a player he showed plenty of mongrel but often showed very little intelligence with silly plays that followed him throughout his career and that has certainly transferred over to his coaching career.

I’ve never had huge wraps on him and his coaching ability and any positives I used to hold toward him in that regard are very quickly diminishing

I missed the Scotland game due to being at work, looks like it was the right call to go to work instead of staying home to watch the game.

When Kidwell was appointed i thought we would struggle and from his 4 games in charge so far I can’t see things improving.

I think immediately upon their return from the UK the NZRL need to step in and remove him from his coaching position and employ someone who has some sort of experience at head coach.

Ivan Cleary is only part time with the NRL and he has a desire to return to coaching, I think he could very well turn the kiwis fortunes around

And hey man, at the end of the day i don’t know stuff all. I am just a big fan who decided to put his ramblings into an article instead of annoying the mrs about my thoughts on the Warriors haha

I wasn’t intending on it to come across that travel has zero effect on team performances, i totally get that. I was merely trying to suggest that, in my own personal opinion, i believe there is still room for some tweaking to their current system. It wasn’t a case of me ignoring that season, it was just that heading back 5 season resulted in my ending up on 2012. If i had of included 2011 it would have annoyed me that i was working off 6 seasons and i would have had to make it 10 seasons and to be honest i couldn’t be bothered going through that many results just because my brain wouldn’t have been able to handle 6 seasons worth of stats instead of 5 lol

Wait what? Last year was the first time the Cowboys won the premiership? Nooooo!?

Yeh they have been a regular in the finals, something the Warriors haven’t really been during their entire existence. The Cowboys travelling home after each game does nothing but confirm that THEIR system works for THEM, it is a case of horses for courses, what works for one doesn’t mean it will work for another. I am well aware of how taxing travel is as i’ve spent the early part of my career flying around as a shopfitter. You are incorrect that the Warriors have started a game at midnight NZT in Perth, the latest it’s been was 11pm or maybe 10.30 where the game finished closed to 1am. I am well aware of this. With all your babbling on about travel only confirms that:

A: The Warriors should arrive earlier in the week for their away games, and
B. When playing back to back games in Australia they should remain in the country to avoid the time difference and having to adjust so regularly.

Hmmm not sure who the Warriors could get to pay their accomodation, maybe with Doyle being the business savvy man that he is he could be able to work something out that kept costs to a bare minimum. It’s business, there are ways around these things. Tax right offs? Nope? Ofcourse not

Ah okay i am with you. Just for my own reference in future where on earth did you manage to get those figures from so quickly? Man all those figures are confusing haha I am not the best with maths but you seem to have your finger on the pulse with it. At the end of the day there is still room for improvement and i believe with some tweaking the Warriors can improve on that %. Especially when they play 2 games back to back in Australia.

Jacko: Cant wrap the lads up in cotton wool, plenty of people in every day life have to stay away from home for extended periods and if staying away from home for longer helps the club get more wins a season then so be it. Might be time for the boys to put their big boy pants on! The goal is to win a premiership and you make whatever sacrifice you are required to make in an attempt to lift that trophy.

Oh and the old “you’re not a real fan” chest nut, gotta love that nothing line that implies that one is not a fan purely because their thoughts on a situation don’t align with someone elses, therefore anyone not agreeing must not be a real fan. Heard it before and i will hear it again. The one thing i am not is a cheer leader towards the team i support. As for the pre 2012 line i threw in, just a bit of tongue in cheek champ, no need to look too far into it.

Also with the title of the article, that isn’t what i submitted it was changed by the powers that be within The Roar and i agree there, it is now a misleading headline to what the article was meant to be about.

You’ve lost me bro. What 2 games over a 4 year period? Where did you get 35% from?

Jacko the Warriors have had 3 games outside Auckland in NZ this year. Not sure on the travel times involved with those but it probably wouldn’t be much more than the 70mins it takes the Cowboys to get to Brisbane and/or Gold Coast

I am not trying to claim any side has a worse travel burden than anyone else. The point i was trying to make was that the Warriors as a CLUB need to find a system that is more effective than the one currently being used. You’re spot on about Cowboys, they have more or less the same travel throughout a season yet seem to be more than capable of winning on the road. I just don’t like how the Warriors come home between games when they have back to back games in Australia

Bench is still not right! Agree with Maximillian, Ayshford either starts of dropped entirely. He isn’t a bench warmer

What’s the word around the club regarding McGregor mate? Is he on borrowed time? Have the Dragons got anyone in their sights?

Yeh i am lost for words in regards to his decision to persist with selecting Wright. Bizarre

Do you think that Lolohea has REALLY made a claim to any position he has played in? Has he actually outperformed any of the players who are currently playing in a position he could be playing in? Tommy is by far and away the best 5/8 option this season, without a doubt. Fusi looks a much more comfortable player at FB than Tui and on-field performances suggest as much. Maumalo was patient but boy when he got that chance in first grade he has done everything in his power to hold onto it. In my humble opinion, Tommy, Fusi and Maumalo have all demanded those positions, positions Tui has had first crack at but not been able to stamp his authority on. I do, however, feel that Tui would be better value to us on the wing and unfortunately that means Manu might need to take a step down a grade.

I can’t disagree with you re Wright. He should never have been in front of our young home grown wingers.

The problem is who gets the job if we move on from Cappy? I would probably spend a week in the fetal position and crying to myself if we go with yet another rookie coach. Who is available to come if need be? And more importantly, of those available who actually wants to take the job on? Toovey has already said he doesn’t want to leave Australia for an overseas coaching role. The squad is very different from when Cleary left and his record at Penrith over the last 4 seasons wasn’t that great with a winning record of around 44%. Cappy in the same time has a winning record of 45% heading into the Raiders game.

That’s a fair call, he most certainly has the cattle available to get the side into the 8, anything less is a massive failure. Matulino seems to be stuck in 3rd gear this season, not sure what it is but he just doesn’t seem to have the same presence on the field he normally does. Not sure if coming off the bench is throwing his game or effecting his confidence or what it is? He should be starting with Jacob in my opinion.

I was really excited about Hoffman coming to our club but to be honest he has really left me feeling a bit flat about him. Not playing anywhere near the level i thought we would be seeing from him. You’re right though, we have a VERY strong forward pack and should be travelling better than the position on the ladder suggests.

The thing i like most about Cappy is he is holding blokes accountable and has the balls to make some tough calls when he has to, even if it weakens the team it sends a very clear message that the players are not in charge within the organisation. For far too long ive seen the club sweep things under the carpet and turn a blind eye to this or that and continue on their merry way which is normally sliding down the ladder late in the season.

I believe Cappy will lead us into the semis and i think 2017 will be a very strong year for us

An unnamed source giving that information out re Hingano. I saw that as well. Whenever someone says “i can’t reveal my source” it very rarely becomes true. That rumor seems to have been squashed by a friend of mine (possibly on the same thread you are referring to) who has always been bang on the money with any information he has passed on since i’ve known him, so i’ll take his word when he says Hingano isn’t going anywhere.

Hingano has a lot of talent but Tui will get first shot at 5/8 next season no doubt. That being said, the pressure will be on Tui to grab that chance with both hands because he will have Hingano nipping at his heals just waiting for a chance to grab that spot from him.

Spot on Max. To be fair he wasn’t given the greatest of rosters when he took over originally. He’s slowly building a very very good team and while it can seem frustrating at the moment, a little more patience in the man and we’ll all be singing his praises

I saw an article about that. The one i saw didn’t have any quotes from anybody that specifically linked Lolohea to Brisbane, seemed like it was a bit of an “the lady who does my wifes hair, well her sisters husbands fathers nephews best friend heard this”……Tui contracted with Warriors until 2018 and he has come out saying he doesn’t want to leave so i can’t see anything happening. Although, as they say, where there is smoke there is fire.