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Speaker 1: The Big League Podcast League podcast News TALKSB.
Speaker 2: This week on The Big League Podcast, The Prince of
Speaker 2: Pinrose gets a walk off when we unpacked Sean Johnson's
Speaker 2: spellbinding final outing and the NRAL as the Warriors stunned
Speaker 2: Cronulla and it's time to pick off the scam that
Speaker 2: is the twenty twenty four season Highlights, low lights and
Speaker 2: fearless predictions for next year. My name is Nick Bewley.
Speaker 2: Let's go b LB. Never have we been more happy
Speaker 2: to admit we were wrong. After four straight defeats and
Speaker 2: a final match against the top four side on their turf,
Speaker 2: it defied logic to see this going any other way,
Speaker 2: but Sean Johnson and his final NURL appearance, along with
Speaker 2: a cast of co stars, had other ideas. To be honest,
Speaker 2: I was just tough to see one last SJ line
Speaker 2: break in the assists for Luke Metcalf to score the
Speaker 2: warriors first try. Little did we know then we'd get
Speaker 2: a second half master class, two more assists, including that
Speaker 2: final pass for dw Z's third, and a memorable comeback
Speaker 2: when it seems scarcely believable, but that is sewn Johnson right,
Speaker 2: he could make the ridiculous look routine. One final entry
Speaker 2: into the catalog of clutch moments, a fitting finish to
Speaker 2: a career that's been a thrill to witness. Alex Powell
Speaker 2: from The New Zealand Herald unpacked that one for me, mate,
Speaker 2: I mean, not the fairy tale season, of course, but
Speaker 2: a fairy tale finish for Sean Johnson. How good was that?
Speaker 3: Mate? Thanks for having me? First off? It was great.
Speaker 3: You know, it was everything that we could have wanted
Speaker 3: at this point of the year, with everything basically with
Speaker 3: nothing on the line. I thought it was great. I had.
Speaker 3: I loved that little passing the torch moment between Johnson Metcalf.
Speaker 3: I think that was basically I'm trying to even think.
Speaker 3: I'm trying to think, how are we actually say it up? Because,
Speaker 3: like you say, the season was gone, there's nothing to
Speaker 3: play for, but we all got what we wanted. That's
Speaker 3: how I sum it up.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just I kept catching myself throughout the contest,
Speaker 2: especially in that second half. Obviously we're unpacking in greater detail,
Speaker 2: but you know, they're twenty two to four down. It
Speaker 2: followed a script that we've talked about so many times,
Speaker 2: where they they've started well, they've scored the first points,
Speaker 2: they've dominated all the key metrics, they haven't been able
Speaker 2: to convert that into points. Then their opposition on this case,
Speaker 2: the Sharks get a sniff and it's just like a
Speaker 2: freight train towards the back end of that second half.
Speaker 2: At that point, Alex, how close were you to turning
Speaker 2: the TV off? I have to ask, I was very.
Speaker 3: Close, so just to sort of peel the curtain back.
Speaker 3: This was also in between me trying to get Oasis tickets,
Speaker 3: so I was just down on more than one front.
Speaker 3: I think if you'd said you can have one of
Speaker 3: two at the moment, you can have tickets or a
Speaker 3: Warrior's win, I would have not have gone for the
Speaker 3: Warriors win. But in a way, I'm sort of glad
Speaker 3: that's the one I got.
Speaker 2: Nice, nice, and then so obviously the Sharks have denied
Speaker 2: those last couple try a couple of tries to start
Speaker 2: the second half, which were big moments I don't disagree
Speaker 2: with either. Court was one of those sort of subjective
Speaker 2: I suppose obstruction calls with Niko Heinz denied. But then
Speaker 2: the Warriors, you know, they just started to chance their arm,
Speaker 2: which is all we've kind of wanted since the season
Speaker 2: has been over in terms of playing to get into
Speaker 2: the finals, rather the sort of conservative get to your
Speaker 2: kick approach. We had a try on one of what's
Speaker 2: Ennis Lesnicks tries. I think the kick through was on
Speaker 2: tackle three. We had willingness to run from an urn
Speaker 2: end that it was great footy to watch and you
Speaker 2: couldn't help but feel as much as you bast and
Speaker 2: the enjoyment of the moment, you're kind of going like,
Speaker 2: where has that been?
Speaker 3: It's a phrase that Stephen Kerney actually used when he
Speaker 3: first became coach of the Warriors, warriorball, you know, where
Speaker 3: you do stuff that's about outside the box. You'd like
Speaker 3: to chance your arm. And I'm glad that we've seen
Speaker 3: the Warriors can do it. We know that this is
Speaker 3: in their locker. We saw it, you know, on a
Speaker 3: ca last year. But this year has been a bit
Speaker 3: more methodical and we've seen that they're just up against
Speaker 3: clubs who maybe know how to do the ordinary a
Speaker 3: bit better. But when the Warriors are playing like that
Speaker 3: they're playing with freedom and they're playing with unpredictability. I
Speaker 3: think that's when they're really going to catch teams out.
Speaker 2: Yeah, bang on, let's go to the last minute.
Speaker 4: Then.
Speaker 2: Obviously Kronulla did well. They were down a man and
Speaker 2: we'll touch on that too, but they scored while having
Speaker 2: Kayle in the bench to retake the lead. After the
Speaker 2: Warriors had scored three tries on the trot Jack Williams
Speaker 2: there interchange prop drop the ball with about ninety seconds
Speaker 2: to go. Let's have a listen to Sean Johnson. I'm
Speaker 2: sure if you're listening to the Big League podcast you
Speaker 2: all know what happened from there. But let's hear from
Speaker 2: the man himself unpack that final set, which of course
Speaker 2: culminated in DWZ going over in the corner for the
Speaker 2: match winner.
Speaker 5: Do I see to walk slid get us in the
Speaker 5: right strip, don't deliveryone? Now I'm done, Lad, I'm done.
Speaker 5: He's going now, so pretty mu.
Speaker 6: Which was a three play sequence where I wanted just
Speaker 6: to give my menument around the spots I knew we
Speaker 6: could walks.
Speaker 5: He took control of the footy.
Speaker 6: We spoke about fading and certain spots Barney got a
Speaker 6: quick play the book and then we just doubled up
Speaker 6: on it. And I think that feeling of being in
Speaker 6: the zone where you know why you're doing something and
Speaker 6: the look you want to create for me to be
Speaker 6: able to finish my career on that moment is probably
Speaker 6: what I'm so content about. There's probably actually a bit
Speaker 6: of talking to like, it wasn't just a one cutout ball.
Speaker 6: There's things that lead led into that play to create
Speaker 6: that look, and it's just the truth. You know me
Speaker 6: and walks ahead embraced before because it was like he
Speaker 6: was like, you're crazy man, because he knows exactly what
Speaker 6: I said to him, and he went and executed it
Speaker 6: and put me in a good spot to come up
Speaker 6: about last Pass.
Speaker 2: I just love him unpacking the game like that. I
Speaker 2: think we can all agree. He's obviously already started his
Speaker 2: own podcast, but he's going to have a big future
Speaker 2: in the game and great to hear from him to
Speaker 2: post match to say he's real keen to work with
Speaker 2: the future Spine players and the key positional areas around
Speaker 2: the halves going forward as a sort of a mental
Speaker 2: or a coach. That last pass, it's just right on
Speaker 2: the money, isn't it. And you think it's you know,
Speaker 2: it's corny, it's sort of fairy tale stuff, call it
Speaker 2: what you like. But for thirteen seasons and then for
Speaker 2: it to come down to that game on the line,
Speaker 2: to have that clutch moment, it's just it's so hard
Speaker 2: to fathom for me that you know that the NRL
Speaker 2: gods or the Rugby League god someone was smiling down
Speaker 2: and said, you know what, for your service mate, We're
Speaker 2: going to give you this one.
Speaker 3: I don't think Sean Johnson were remembered for that one play.
Speaker 3: It'll be you know, it'll be the line breaks, it'll
Speaker 3: be the steps, it'll be you know, some of the kickses,
Speaker 3: you know, just just all the stuff like that. It
Speaker 3: just adds into what Sean Johnson is and that's been
Speaker 3: the guy who has been the talisman of this team
Speaker 3: for most of those thirteen years. Will forget those years
Speaker 3: at the Sharks, but you're right, I'm glad that he
Speaker 3: got to end it on a way where he was
Speaker 3: the main man.
Speaker 2: Yeah. As I said in the top, a catalog of
Speaker 2: clutch moments just before we get to the highlights, courtesy
Speaker 2: of our friends at Fox Sports. I did want to
Speaker 2: touch on a couple of other players because as I
Speaker 2: mentioned so Sean Johnson was front and center, but there
Speaker 2: was some really strong co stars, if you will. For me,
Speaker 2: the guy who jumped out and I've been a big
Speaker 2: fan of him ever since he made his first great
Speaker 2: debut last year was tamed to a picky at the
Speaker 2: back himself. He had two tryass just super busy. You know,
Speaker 2: he's a small guy, but he puts his body on
Speaker 2: the line, you know, twenty plus runs and you know
Speaker 2: that's his sixth game this season. Unfortunately for me, he's
Speaker 2: had a couple of hia's where he's had to go off.
Speaker 2: But he's been now involved in the Penrith win earlier
Speaker 2: in the campaign, the Cronulla win at the weekend and
Speaker 2: way back in Round three when the Warriors hosted the
Speaker 2: Raiders down in my neck of the woods in christ Church.
Speaker 2: He was the fullback then. So what did you make
Speaker 2: a taine? And I guess, more broadly speaking, has he
Speaker 2: shown how valuable he could be going forward into twenty
Speaker 2: twenty five.
Speaker 3: I like you, I'm a huge entertained to a picky.
Speaker 3: That's such a hard job when you know you're not
Speaker 3: the main guy, and he still comes in every week
Speaker 3: and plays his hard out there, leaves nothing out there.
Speaker 3: You mentioned the games he came in full. Let's also
Speaker 3: not forget he was going to play that Dolphins game
Speaker 3: at Mount Smart as well, but then was withdrawn at
Speaker 3: the last minute because his partner went into labor. So
Speaker 3: he could have played another one there but didn't. I
Speaker 3: don't know what I want for tain to a picky.
Speaker 3: I love the fact that the Warriors can call on
Speaker 3: a guy like that to step in when they need him,
Speaker 3: and there's so much of that of being a guy
Speaker 3: who isn't going to play every week, but he's just
Speaker 3: so safe when he does. Do you I'll put back
Speaker 3: to you, do you think he should stay.
Speaker 2: Stay at the club? Well, I hope he stays at
Speaker 2: the club. I think he's got a big part to
Speaker 2: play next year. To be perfectly honest, I know you're
Speaker 2: probably more on the camp that going into twenty twenty
Speaker 2: five they look at Roger at fullback. I'm sort of
Speaker 2: the view and I'm probably, you know, perhaps reaching here
Speaker 2: after one performance, but I wouldn't mind first round next
Speaker 2: year seeing to a picky at one charms in the
Speaker 2: centers and Roger on the wing, and that would then
Speaker 2: mean Montoya, as much as I love his effort and
Speaker 2: hard carries, would make way. But that's a discussion for
Speaker 2: another day. But I get the sense that tame to
Speaker 2: a picky he is a first grader and for him
Speaker 2: to just have to settle for New South Wales Cup
Speaker 2: at his age, at twenty five, I think there'll be
Speaker 2: another club sniffling in and around if he can't get
Speaker 2: regular opportunities. Let's get to the highlights then, courtesy of
Speaker 2: Fox Sports. It was a brilliant call, I have to
Speaker 2: say from Andrew Voss. It was quite fitting. I thought
Speaker 2: that that VOSSI got the final Seawn Johnson game. Here
Speaker 2: it is Warrior is thirty Kranulla twenty eight Saturday.
Speaker 7: Super Saturday Night in Cranella and the Warriors first use
Speaker 7: Johnson on the flat foot john set it so back
Speaker 7: to Mecca.
Speaker 2: That is so good.
Speaker 7: The seven of the six r Johnson.
Speaker 2: It's a good a passing of the bed, a.
Speaker 7: Woman, Trindleby's shop to Ronson render for play, then number
Speaker 7: seven for Granilla last play swingle.
Speaker 5: Women so cling round.
Speaker 7: And a great fame in New Zealand. Let be leading
Speaker 7: scores against the Lais.
Speaker 2: The first one was Wilton.
Speaker 4: This time he goes to the outside and plays the
Speaker 4: hero who is just so powerful.
Speaker 7: Eighty four games before the final our last a ruck
Speaker 7: Belod broadly passes to stop straight the Londal.
Speaker 5: Juna is on his way, the kid.
Speaker 7: Living his drone in the Cronulla Sharks jersey. He's promptly
Speaker 7: dreaded that heine's calling for it.
Speaker 2: He's with it, not for the line, says, but.
Speaker 7: What a hardlight really is getting a four pointers if
Speaker 7: you will? Tobby boy deff Reagan now the right side.
Speaker 7: Johnson turpicky a tote zalazni Ark to score the nineteen
Speaker 7: ninth trime of his career and the fiftieth for the Warriors.
Speaker 7: Still a chance with the Warriors midcalv little show chops,
Speaker 7: all kicks any here comes down.
Speaker 6: He wins the race and down the.
Speaker 7: Tri Sister Johnson and Delan with Tennis Alesia.
Speaker 5: Brings up the tone.
Speaker 7: One hundred career tries.
Speaker 2: What a special moment.
Speaker 7: Mogan, you walk up, double put Johnson, tour Picky rock down.
Speaker 7: It clicks up.
Speaker 4: Tenny's Alesiac was it over the He is such a
Speaker 4: physical player here and just hits the lesbiack as he's
Speaker 4: slipping from the inside. Had to be made great desperation
Speaker 4: from Kennedy, or if some of the others have been
Speaker 4: high contact. Oh thoughts on here now we're going, here
Speaker 4: we go.
Speaker 2: He's in the middle of that.
Speaker 4: It's drindle drindles throwing the little the little shop pis
Speaker 4: Wilton Stone Street, go back to back, So you aren't
Speaker 4: into the brief.
Speaker 2: Gone, Kyl, you're right. It pays the.
Speaker 5: Penalty you to slip.
Speaker 2: Eagan Johnson to a.
Speaker 5: Picky said, you got a Nickel Club.
Speaker 7: Star going for the line. The Warriors have got another.
Speaker 7: The Warriors maybe riding in a headline. Here hold the
Speaker 7: front page. Look MEPCD, look.
Speaker 4: The front.
Speaker 5: This is a stradry front.
Speaker 7: The Warriors plaily fires it across Treadll to Kennedy. They're
Speaker 7: playing return and Stone's trade is over. The scores are level,
Speaker 7: possibly their last checks. Hagan Newalker Johnson Clutside outside runs
Speaker 7: his own screen Riddled, produced directed by Sean Johnson, the
Speaker 7: movie His Last Game Wins It for the Warriors.
Speaker 5: Big League Podcast.
Speaker 2: Right, let's get into our season review, and of course
Speaker 2: I know Nathan Lemon and Michael Burgess. They started this
Speaker 2: podcast last year and they had the you know, the
Speaker 2: wonderful year that was where in terms of it sort
Speaker 2: of season review that they couldn't They had a top
Speaker 2: five each of their moments of the years. Bit of
Speaker 2: a to get through five. I think in season twenty
Speaker 2: twenty four we've taken the liberty to change it up
Speaker 2: a touch and hand out some awards, highlights, low lights, etc.
Speaker 2: I mean, if we completely unpacked the season, we'll be
Speaker 2: here all day, but where we're going to look at
Speaker 2: some of the key parts that stood out for us
Speaker 2: in season twenty twenty four. Of course, the Warriors don't
Speaker 2: play this week due to a buye, and irrespective of
Speaker 2: what happens this weekend, they'll finish thirteenth with a record
Speaker 2: of nine wins, a draw and fourteen losses, this of course,
Speaker 2: coming after making the preliminary final last year. Let's start
Speaker 2: with a grading, Alex, what mark do you give the
Speaker 2: Warriors and why so?
Speaker 3: I would go with a D plus. I don't think
Speaker 3: other than the Titans away, there's not really been games
Speaker 3: where I've been embarrassed for the Warriors. But at the
Speaker 3: same time, there hasn't been enough good to overtake the
Speaker 3: bad I think they should absolutely finish higher than thirteenth
Speaker 3: from what we saw last year and from the players
Speaker 3: at their disposal, I think there's been a lot of
Speaker 3: mitigation and players being unavailable and some decisions that go
Speaker 3: against them, and just moments they were going against them.
Speaker 3: So I think a DED not quite a C minus,
Speaker 3: but not quite a D. Okay, Yeah, I'll just go
Speaker 3: with a firm D.
Speaker 2: And of course, you know, context is important, and we're
Speaker 2: measuring the warr is this iteration of the warr is
Speaker 2: on last year, because you know, if we look back
Speaker 2: to how we all felt twelve months ago about the
Speaker 2: team going into this season, you know, all the noise
Speaker 2: was getting back to a preliminary final, getting inside and
Speaker 2: ensconced into the top four, let alone the top eight,
Speaker 2: and for the season to fall away as it did
Speaker 2: was incredibly disappointing. As you mentioned, injury issues, Tauhu, Harris
Speaker 2: Sean Johnson barely fit throughout the course of the season.
Speaker 2: I thought way Egan looked pretty banged up from about
Speaker 2: round ten or eleven. He had a really strong start
Speaker 2: to the year but faded away and hopefully some rest
Speaker 2: will be good for him. Heading into season twenty twenty five,
Speaker 2: but just the nature of some of the defeats as well.
Speaker 2: I know we'll get into low lights shortly, but yeah,
Speaker 2: just a lack of evolution to I just felt like
Speaker 2: they rested a little bit. I'm hoping things would just
Speaker 2: click as it did last year, and as we know
Speaker 2: in the NRL being one of the toughest competitions and
Speaker 2: sport in the Southern Hemisphere, you just have to continue
Speaker 2: to get better. It felt like that sort of second
Speaker 2: year syndrome and away, and unfortunately for the Warriors, they'll
Speaker 2: look on with envy as a season of what ifs
Speaker 2: has gone by. What was your highlight? Then Alex Lea's
Speaker 2: get onto a positive note.
Speaker 3: So initially, Nick, you and I talked this morning about
Speaker 3: what would do here, and I've had a late change
Speaker 3: from my heart of the year. Okay, initially I'd put
Speaker 3: Mitch Barnett's origin call up just for what it meant
Speaker 3: for him and the way the clubs read that. I've
Speaker 3: since changed that to the signing of James Fisher Harris.
Speaker 3: That is by far the best I felt this year
Speaker 3: in terms of the Warriors.
Speaker 2: I think in many ways, highlighting two individual moments kind
Speaker 2: of sums up the collective, you know. I agree those
Speaker 2: are both great moments, and the Barnet elevation and eventual
Speaker 2: debut for New South Wales was thoroughly deserved. And the
Speaker 2: excitement around James Fisher Harris. I remember at the time
Speaker 2: thinking when Fish signed for the Warriors, I was like, oh, okay,
Speaker 2: the premiership win though for mine is open still and
Speaker 2: I felt it was closing on this group losing not
Speaker 2: only Sean. We didn't know we were losing Sean at
Speaker 2: that point, but we certainly knew that Adam fanoor Blake
Speaker 2: was off. Now I'm still excited about Fisher Harris coming
Speaker 2: and filling in those shoes from Adam fanol Blake, but
Speaker 2: I do have my concerns with Johnson making way around
Speaker 2: that half back position. My highlight of the year, I'm
Speaker 2: going to go with the game, and I don't even
Speaker 2: care if you call it recency bias, but I just
Speaker 2: loved Saturday. I loved Sean getting his moment and getting
Speaker 2: that comeback went over Cronal something like. I just never
Speaker 2: really liked them, and we had that last year, of course,
Speaker 2: and we've had it again this year. A shout out
Speaker 2: to tell the young guys that came in and topped
Speaker 2: Penrith that was bloody cool and magic round. I think
Speaker 2: that deserves an honorable mention. But yeah, that that final game.
Speaker 2: I know you mentioned before, Alex. You know Sean won't
Speaker 2: be remembered just on that, but I think of, you know,
Speaker 2: if he was putting together a Greatest Hits album and
Speaker 2: it had his first try at Mount Smart and it
Speaker 2: had that runaway against the Broncos, and it had that
Speaker 2: you know that trice just for Lewis Brown against some
Speaker 2: album storm, I think I think there would be somewhere
Speaker 2: there in the in the Greatest Hits. So that was
Speaker 2: my highlight of the year, right low lights, sadly a
Speaker 2: few to pick from. I might go, that's OK, just
Speaker 2: to change things up, and you did you did mention
Speaker 2: Gold Coast before and feeling embarrassed. This is cheating slightly,
Speaker 2: but it's it's a combination of the two games against
Speaker 2: the titles. What is it about this bloody Gold Coast
Speaker 2: team We just I don't know we take lightly or
Speaker 2: what's going on. But if we cast our minds right
Speaker 2: back to even when the game was announced, I was
Speaker 2: so excited to finally get an Anzac Day game at
Speaker 2: Mount Smart. Of course it's become a or it had
Speaker 2: become a tradition. The Warriors would face the Melbourne Storm
Speaker 2: and pretty much exclusively was held in Melbourne. We finally,
Speaker 2: after groundswellow momentum after last season, get a ans auct
Speaker 2: Day fixture. It had been a bit of a middling
Speaker 2: start of the season by this point. Round eight was
Speaker 2: the Anzac Day fixture that they look good. They almost
Speaker 2: beat Melbourne Storm. Round two a good one down here
Speaker 2: against the Raiders, sort of up and down, but for
Speaker 2: them to lose that game on Anzact was just as
Speaker 2: a real flat moment. Yes, they had some moments not
Speaker 2: long after that that turned things around, but then to
Speaker 2: roll and face them again eight weeks later over there
Speaker 2: at a point of the season where their campaign was
Speaker 2: still very much alive, and for the Warriors to be
Speaker 2: beaten sixty six points to six against any opposition, let
Speaker 2: alone the Gold Coast Titans, with all due respect, was
Speaker 2: deeply embarrassing and upsetting for the Warriors fan base and
Speaker 2: just frankly unacceptable. And from there it really felt like
Speaker 2: the wheels started to fall off. Yes, they won the
Speaker 2: following week, against Brisbane, but it never really felt the
Speaker 2: same from there, so that was my low light. It
Speaker 2: was the closest. In fact, I think I did walk
Speaker 2: away in the seventieth minute of that game and just
Speaker 2: said I can't cop this anymore. So yeah, how about you.
Speaker 3: I agree with everything you said on that Titans game.
Speaker 3: The record lost as well. Something that was never picked
Speaker 3: up by the media was that I also orted Chinese
Speaker 3: that night and it took ages to get to livid
Speaker 3: and I was just watching as the Warriors they didn't
Speaker 3: try out to try So that was a bad night
Speaker 3: all around.
Speaker 5: My low light.
Speaker 3: I've actually gone aback a bit earlier, so to round
Speaker 3: seven when they traveled away to Saint George.
Speaker 2: To face Dragons week before the end zecdote, yep, exactly.
Speaker 3: Week before there was the same week they signed James
Speaker 3: Fish Harris and you used the phrase the wheels fell off,
Speaker 3: and that's the exact same prase I've used for this one.
Speaker 3: So basically for context, the Warriors opened the season with
Speaker 3: two losses against the Sharks in the Storm. They then
Speaker 3: won three on the bounce against was it the Raiders,
Speaker 3: the Knights, and gil who is it now? On they
Speaker 3: smashed outs. They then drew with Manly and I was like, okay, well,
Speaker 3: you know, you take a draw and those Then they
Speaker 3: went to Saint George and they were played off the park. Now,
Speaker 3: that game triggered a formtch losing run, which I don't
Speaker 3: think the Warriors came back from. When they took the
Speaker 3: field against the Dragons that night, they were seventh on
Speaker 3: the ladder. They were never in the top eight again
Speaker 3: after that. The way they played I think was really
Speaker 3: when there was just no coming back from that, and
Speaker 3: known they had moments where you think, yep, this is it.
Speaker 3: They make a run for here were on and then
Speaker 3: it never happened. So that Dragon's game for me was
Speaker 3: where it was the beginning of the end basically for
Speaker 3: twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2: I don't disagree with any of that, and it's bringing
Speaker 2: aboaut some memories of that day too. That yeah, I
Speaker 2: don't want to recall on, Well, don't recall on with
Speaker 2: any fondness. All right, let's get back to a bit
Speaker 2: more of a positive. Then we'll mix things up a touch.
Speaker 2: What was who's your player of the year. I feel
Speaker 2: like this is relatively obvious and I think we're unanimous here,
Speaker 2: but you go first.
Speaker 3: I think everyone's unanimous here, including the club. The Simon
Speaker 3: mannoring medallist will announce it. How the Simon mannoring medalist
Speaker 3: here on the Big League Podcast look out that this
Speaker 3: is not an exclusive. I'm I believe will be Mitch Barnett.
Speaker 3: I don't think anyone else comes close to what Mitch
Speaker 3: Barnett's done this year. He's led the team both as
Speaker 3: captain and just as a senior player. There was a
Speaker 3: point in the year where Mitch Barnett was the most
Speaker 3: expensive player and er off fantasy. And I know that's
Speaker 3: never how we should judge it, but I mean, if
Speaker 3: you said that coming into the start of the year,
Speaker 3: even when you know back when Barnett signed for the club,
Speaker 3: then this guy will be the best player in the league,
Speaker 3: you'd have all left. There was a great video the
Speaker 3: Warriors did before Round one last year where all the
Speaker 3: new players got their jerseys presented to them, and Barnet
Speaker 3: had just come from the Knights where he was told
Speaker 3: he wasn't wanted. And you know Round one twenty twenty
Speaker 3: three was against the Knights, so that was a nice
Speaker 3: little coincidence for him. And he said as he got
Speaker 3: the Jersey. A lot of people were asking him if
Speaker 3: he wanted to prove the Knights wrong, and he didn't
Speaker 3: want to do that. What he wanted to do was
Speaker 3: he wanted to prove.
Speaker 2: The Warriors right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and that has stood by me or stood with
Speaker 3: me ever since. Just the amount of respect I've had
Speaker 3: much Bunnett and he just gets better and better. Origin
Speaker 3: kept it all off, you know, come out well because
Speaker 3: the Warriors don't have Origin players because a we don't
Speaker 3: really get the top end Australian players coming here. We
Speaker 3: might every now and then Fluke one, which is like
Speaker 3: what's happened here?
Speaker 2: Well, I think Barney he was the first for New
Speaker 2: South Wales at least where he'd made his debut while
Speaker 2: playing for the Warriors. So of you know, in the
Speaker 2: past we've had players and sort of more thinking along
Speaker 2: the Queensland lines you Lilliman's or your Price or more
Speaker 2: recently in the capable yeah, where they've already made an
Speaker 2: Origin debut. But for him to on Warriors form into
Speaker 2: the Origin arena, I think just typifies how good he was.
Speaker 2: And yeah, he had an outstanding season and he can
Speaker 2: hold his head really just on. I guess that conversation
Speaker 2: around him joining the club, like it's easy to forget
Speaker 2: too that he joined on the premise that Nathan Brown
Speaker 2: was going to be his coach, who'd worked with at Newcastle,
Speaker 2: and you know a guy like that could have easily gone,
Speaker 2: oh well, like I've come over here and now you
Speaker 2: guys have binned off Brown and who's this Andrew Webster Feller.
Speaker 2: But he bought him to the idea and he's still
Speaker 2: here now and he's going to have a big part
Speaker 2: to play in the next couple of years. Longside James
Speaker 2: Fisher Harris, who or what surprised you most in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty four. This canna be good or bad. So I've
Speaker 2: gone for a good one and it's Tomighty Martin. You know,
Speaker 2: Tomighty Martin's had a strange career. I was a huge
Speaker 2: fan of him at the Cowboys. They obviously backed him
Speaker 2: to be the man that replaced Jonathan Thurston and then
Speaker 2: of course he had that brain bleed and to get
Speaker 2: the game away, came back after three years out, went
Speaker 2: to the Broncos and played fullback and ended up coming
Speaker 2: to the Warriors as sort of an exchange for an
Speaker 2: unofficial exchange for Reese Walsh, but the way he's played
Speaker 2: in Seawan Johnson's absences here, so he's had sixteen triasis
Speaker 2: in sixteen games. I think most of those came in
Speaker 2: about a three or four game stretch when Shawn Johnson
Speaker 2: was out. I've never seen to Mighty Martin as sort
Speaker 2: of a sitting halfback at a game managing halfback like
Speaker 2: Sean Johnson was, but when he has played there, it's
Speaker 2: absolutely looked like the best position for him. And he's
Speaker 2: obviously he's played He's played alongside Johnson, he's played alongside
Speaker 2: Jonathan Thurston, he's played alongside Michael Morgan, and he's never
Speaker 2: been sort of the guy. He's always been the support act.
Speaker 2: But when we saw him as the main man, I
Speaker 2: think that absolutely took him to a new level. And
Speaker 2: I have no doubts next year about who's going to
Speaker 2: wear number seven. First up, It's going to be to
Speaker 2: Mighty Martin. Wow, wow, wow, Do you not think No,
Speaker 2: I'm not a line there. I agree with what you're saying,
Speaker 2: but I thought that the fade and form and towards
Speaker 2: the back end of the season made it pretty easy.
Speaker 2: Of Course, they're always going to bring Shan Johnson back,
Speaker 2: but I don't. I only think there's probably one safe
Speaker 2: spot in that back line for twenty twenty five at
Speaker 2: the moment, and that's what's in is listening. Wow. Anyway,
Speaker 2: that's maybe a conversation Nathan and Burge can get us
Speaker 2: back in for some hot takes in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2: My surprise, and I sort of touched on it before.
Speaker 5: It was.
Speaker 2: When they were at full strength, which was few and
Speaker 2: far between, but even when those senior players were there
Speaker 2: and playing and available, it was that lack of evolution
Speaker 2: with ball in hand and that conservative nature that I
Speaker 2: was quite surprised by. And I'm sure there's a lot
Speaker 2: of layers in context as to why they constantly would
Speaker 2: choose that fifth tackle, conservative keck option or always use
Speaker 2: the right edge for shape and trying to get what
Speaker 2: Ten's leasing out was so effective in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: But just a couple of stats that jumped off the page,
Speaker 2: and it's not they're not big numbers, but they sort
Speaker 2: of show a little bit where the Warriors sort of
Speaker 2: dipped attack wise. Anyway, one hundred and eleven tries they
Speaker 2: scored in twenty twenty three ninety this year, and the
Speaker 2: Warriors had the second best or going into Obviously there's
Speaker 2: still all the other sixteen clubs still have this week
Speaker 2: ind to play, but the Warriors as things stand have
Speaker 2: the second best completion rate of any team at eighty
Speaker 2: two percent. And for mine, it's that conservative nature of
Speaker 2: trying to not chance your arm that we just saw
Speaker 2: when we were so good against Cronulla that ultimately I
Speaker 2: think is proved the bit of their undoing and I
Speaker 2: hope that they can find the balance right. It needs
Speaker 2: to be closer to what you termed earlier as Warrior ball,
Speaker 2: or even back in the day where Ali Lawatiti was
Speaker 2: throwing it around like a Harlem globe trotter like. I
Speaker 2: just don't think they got that right, and that was
Speaker 2: a surprise to me. I thought that they'd elevate their
Speaker 2: attack to another level and if anything, it went backwards.
Speaker 2: One last individual one, what was your who was your
Speaker 2: young player of the year.
Speaker 3: I've gone for Ali Latawa handful of appearances, but every
Speaker 3: time he plays he just looks incredible.
Speaker 2: How good was he on Saturday?
Speaker 3: He just gets better and better, like ever since he
Speaker 3: played one game last year and didn't look out of
Speaker 3: place for a minute. And that was a way to
Speaker 3: the Raiders, which for me was one of their best
Speaker 3: wins of twenty twenty three. This year has not been
Speaker 3: as easy's and injuries. He's been concussed, but I think
Speaker 3: if he's not in the conversation to be a starting
Speaker 3: center next year, they've got rocks in their heads.
Speaker 2: Just got some stats.
Speaker 3: See average one hundred and twenty six running meters per
Speaker 3: game from center. You know that's not getting the ball
Speaker 3: every set, but you just can't stop him. Three tries
Speaker 3: to assists in six games, seven line breaks. He has
Speaker 3: to be in there next year.
Speaker 2: Putting Nico Hines on his back side on Saturday too,
Speaker 2: got a lot of enjoyment out of that, but not
Speaker 2: nothing against Heines. I like him as a player, but
Speaker 2: it was just a bollocking run. Yeah. I'm almost wanting
Speaker 2: to agree, but just for the sake of changing things up,
Speaker 2: I'm going to go with Lequahala Seema, who's still well.
Speaker 2: He's got a lot of rugby league ahead of him,
Speaker 2: but I got his first taste of first grade, some
Speaker 2: real nice flashes of what he could be, whether it's
Speaker 2: through the middle or out on the edge. He's been
Speaker 2: carving up a new South Wales Cup. I think he
Speaker 2: was born in two thousand and five, which makes him
Speaker 2: either I think he's nineteen. I know that's crazy to
Speaker 2: say out Louday, I think he's nineteen later this, Yes,
Speaker 2: there's a long way to go, but you can tell
Speaker 2: if he's already at that point in time where they're going,
Speaker 2: you know what, We're happy to give you some minutes here.
Speaker 2: In first grade he came up with some real eye
Speaker 2: catching if it's his first run in first grade, he
Speaker 2: ran over the top of a bulldog's middle. I was
Speaker 2: just like, yeah, there's something about this kid, and we're
Speaker 2: going to see lecque halo seema a lot, hopefully in
Speaker 2: a warrior's jersey. They need a time down long term, right.
Speaker 2: Last one is with a view to season twenty twenty five,
Speaker 2: what is your fearless prediction? And we will come back
Speaker 2: to this of course, right.
Speaker 3: So this is actually quite a negative one. I think
Speaker 3: we're going to see the end of to Harris next year.
Speaker 3: Injuries have continued to hit him. His contract up at
Speaker 3: the end of the next year. They've got younger players
Speaker 3: coming through. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw the
Speaker 3: captaincy given to a Barnett or a James Fish Harris,
Speaker 3: like what they did when Roger Tavasashak came and they
Speaker 3: took it off Simon Mannering. So I know, like we
Speaker 3: should never be into sort of hear say stuff, but
Speaker 3: my chiropractor goes to the same gym as tour Who
Speaker 3: in the off season. It just says that he does
Speaker 3: not look like he moves painfree.
Speaker 2: Look, I think they did this sensible thing in terms
Speaker 2: of not playing him for the back end of the
Speaker 2: season to at least give him a chance. It seems
Speaker 2: everywhere on like you say, in and around the traps
Speaker 2: wiries forumsly like online that you know, this fear is
Speaker 2: he might have not even get to the start line
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty five. But I'm sure they'll put every
Speaker 2: effort there. But yeah, it wouldn't shock me if that
Speaker 2: comes to pass. A fearless prediction. And this is real
Speaker 2: negative Nancy pessimistic areas. But I just have great concerns
Speaker 2: around I know you're a lot more optimistic around tomorrow
Speaker 2: Martin at half back, but I just don't out of
Speaker 2: what they've got with Martin and Metcalf and Harris Tavita.
Speaker 2: I just can't see a half back or a halves
Speaker 2: peering taking the club back to at least where they
Speaker 2: were or near where they were in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: So my fearless prediction is the Warriors won't make the
Speaker 2: APE next year. And I'm already of the view, which
Speaker 2: is just the way my brain works. But I'm more
Speaker 2: excited about twenty twenty six than i am twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2: I'm always happy to be proven wrong when I'm negative
Speaker 2: about these things, but that's just how I feel at
Speaker 2: this point in time. And contextualizing that too with when
Speaker 2: you look at some of these other clubs who are
Speaker 2: just so well set for the here and now, and
Speaker 2: a team you know, for example, like South Sydney will
Speaker 2: bounce back, I just, yeah, I think it might get
Speaker 2: I'm not necessarily going to say it might get uglier
Speaker 2: before it gets better, but we might be in a
Speaker 2: bit of a holding pattern while we balance what's a
Speaker 2: roster with some older players with someone who are just
Speaker 2: starting to taste first grade l Big Hits, Big.
Speaker 5: Moments, the Big League Podcast.
Speaker 2: Well, goodness, gracious me, it was a tough old week
Speaker 2: for tipping. I was saved by Sunday's games, I was
Speaker 2: one for six going and uh it was just the
Speaker 2: Panthers at that point. And then Newcastle got the job
Speaker 2: over Gold Coast and my smoking of the week came
Speaker 2: in the Raiders beat the Roosters in a real testing affair. Gee,
Speaker 2: I've seen see Brandon Smith and Sam Walker season ending
Speaker 2: knee injures, Victor Radley out verbal barbs, exchange between Trent
Speaker 2: Robinson and Elliot Whitehead. There was a bit bit doing
Speaker 2: in that game. It wasn't too much better for you either, Alex,
Speaker 2: you're one out of the box. Came in the Eels
Speaker 2: beating the Dragon. But like me, it was pretty lean,
Speaker 2: wasn't it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, not a good week. And there were so many
Speaker 3: results that you sat there as they came and went, oh,
Speaker 3: this will come back to buy me on the podcast.
Speaker 3: Isn't it there?
Speaker 7: What I mean?
Speaker 2: I feel yeah, like the Dolphins being a you know,
Speaker 2: running out of steam. They just absolutely rolled through the
Speaker 2: Broncos and now very much alive in the in the
Speaker 2: top eight picture. Let's look at the final round. Plenty
Speaker 2: to play for a lot of teams live for that
Speaker 2: eighth spot. The Broncos are not one of them. And
Speaker 2: they'll open things up against the Melbourne Storm home US
Speaker 2: and Mett Alex. We weren't to know at the time
Speaker 2: of recording that Craig Balamy was going to say, oh,
Speaker 2: let's rest a dozen players, so there was a little
Speaker 2: caveat around that prediction.
Speaker 3: Right absolutely, Like like you say, the Cowboys did so
Speaker 3: well to get up and beat them, but I think
Speaker 3: I'm going to tip the Storm this week. The Broncos
Speaker 3: just looked horrendous. I don't know if you saw Kevin
Speaker 3: Walter's press conference after Saturday.
Speaker 2: I didn't catch it. No, what did you say?
Speaker 3: Oh, he just looks like a man beaten? Yeah, you
Speaker 3: know all those those like Australian based enter our journalists
Speaker 3: are just root clos Like you know, when the coach
Speaker 3: starts asking questions back to the journalists, you know, what
Speaker 3: war would you do? And the journals we're having none
Speaker 3: of it. You know who They're just going No, I'm
Speaker 3: not the coke. I love that yeah, Storm as well.
Speaker 2: I think the cues and the rack for the Broncos
Speaker 2: and those guys at the Storm rested last week were
Speaker 2: now wanting to be hit the ground running ahead of
Speaker 2: what will be a one V four game for them
Speaker 2: next week the Battle for the Wooden Spoon Friday Night,
Speaker 2: West Tigers Parramatta Eels. He doubling down here on the Eels, Alex. Yeah,
Speaker 2: same reason, guys looking to prove themselves for next year.
Speaker 2: New coach coming in. Great went over the Dragons, that
Speaker 2: could have ended their season. But yeah, go with the Ears.
Speaker 2: See they looked like were they up like forty four
Speaker 2: to twelve or something and they just forgot how to
Speaker 2: play rugby league for it. But they got a little
Speaker 2: bit diicy, but they got the job done against St. George. Yeah,
Speaker 2: flip a coin. I'm going to go. I love Benji Marshall,
Speaker 2: so I'll tip the Tigers, Ah Rabbits roosters roosters with
Speaker 2: all these injuries.
Speaker 3: Yeah, like you said Walker, I don't think Walker is
Speaker 3: definitely out for the season, but Brandon Smith and Victor
Speaker 3: Radley are. I don't see how they come back. Throwing
Speaker 3: to the fact that the Rabbit O's is a local rivalry,
Speaker 3: so they will be pumped to try and finish their season.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, these two hate each other. I'm going to
Speaker 2: go with South Sidney as well. Just inflicting a bit
Speaker 2: of damage even though well about a week to ten
Speaker 2: days ago. I thought the Roosters they were my Premiership favorites.
Speaker 2: But I think if Walker is out and I know
Speaker 2: they can shift Kerry and do some things. They got depth,
Speaker 2: but Smith as well. That's a big blows Dragons Raiders.
Speaker 3: I mean, I'd like to think the Dragons, like you said,
Speaker 3: they scored a lot of points very quickly to finish
Speaker 3: that Els game just wasn't enough. Look, I've got a
Speaker 3: good record of going against the Raiders with these so
Speaker 3: I'm going to keep that for another week.
Speaker 2: I'm going to stick with what's been a good thing
Speaker 2: for me, the Great Machine. After last week beating the Roosters,
Speaker 2: they're not completely done that they've had. Some crazy things
Speaker 2: would need to occur, particularly in this last game of
Speaker 2: the regular season. That both these teams, in fact, their
Speaker 2: points difference differentials are shocking, so they're going to need
Speaker 2: a bit to go their way. Two teams that are
Speaker 2: safely ensconced in the eights, the Bulldogs and the Cowboys.
Speaker 3: I didn't like the Bulldogs last week, but I think
Speaker 3: they'll still get up.
Speaker 2: Agreed and doubly agreed. We both tipped them and they
Speaker 2: were turned up by the Manly Seagulls. But perhaps it's
Speaker 2: one of those ones where a good time to have
Speaker 2: a loss and reset and perhaps look at some things
Speaker 2: that have been papered over. So I think the Bulldogs
Speaker 2: are particularly at home where they have a really strong record,
Speaker 2: will get the job done. Panthers Titans. Panthers don't need
Speaker 2: don't it's quick fire predictions for a reason. We don't
Speaker 2: need to get into that one. Manly Sharks Sharks interesting.
Speaker 2: Keen to hear your thoughts on that just quickly.
Speaker 3: Do we know what Tom Taboovich's prognosis is.
Speaker 2: I think they were thinking he'd be at least a
Speaker 2: week and particularly given that they can't get into the
Speaker 2: top four, that they would give them some time heading
Speaker 2: into finals, whereas Cronulla after that loss of the Warriors,
Speaker 2: still have the potential of finishing in the top four.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean you'd think Manly be used to playing
Speaker 3: without Tom tavoybitch by now. But I think it is
Speaker 3: a huge loss. Sharks have a point to prove. They
Speaker 3: shouldn't have lost that game last week and they'll know it.
Speaker 2: No, I agree with that what you're saying. I'm going
Speaker 2: to go with Cronulla as well, particularly if they're all
Speaker 2: without Manly, without Tommy Turbo and to round things out,
Speaker 2: this is the one really that should determine who gets
Speaker 2: that eighth spot, Newcastle and the Dolphins.
Speaker 3: Is it fins up, Alex, No, Look, I'm going with
Speaker 3: the Knights. Andy McDonald's friend of the podcast, the producer
Speaker 3: of Week in Sport with Jason Pine is a huge
Speaker 3: Knights fan. I'm on this for you, Andy.
Speaker 2: I'm with you, mate. I do like Andy McDonald, but
Speaker 2: I'm going to go fins up when they're with ball
Speaker 2: in hand and they got guys like the Hammer and
Speaker 2: Herbie Farnworth and they Wayne Bennett's really changed things up,
Speaker 2: hasn't he. He drops Young Katawa, the Halfbacker's gone pretty
Speaker 2: well with Jake Averillo's and the halfs. But yeah, I'd
Speaker 2: love to see the Dolphins in year two. That'll be
Speaker 2: a great success story for expansion to see them playing
Speaker 2: finals football. Rodio. I think that about wraps us up
Speaker 2: for season twenty twenty four, at least from a NRL standpoint.
Speaker 2: We'll have a word to our big boss Nathan Lynn
Speaker 2: once he's back from his European travels and see if
Speaker 2: we can get some big league podcast action in the
Speaker 2: international season when the Kiwis and Kiwi fans open their
Speaker 2: Pacific Championship campaigns. But thanks so much for everyone tuning
Speaker 2: in across the course of the season. We will be
Speaker 2: back in due course and we hope we'll be bringing
Speaker 2: you a lot more positivity out of the Warriors, particularly
Speaker 2: in season twenty twenty five. But my thanks to you
Speaker 2: Alex for stepping in. I think we've done okay, haven't
Speaker 2: we for a couple of guys off the bench pretty much,
Speaker 2: you know, Jazz Tavanga areas just up up the guts.
Speaker 3: I'd say we're the Chanelle Harris Devita and to Mighty
Speaker 3: Martin to Berg and Nathan being Shawn Johnson, Luke Metcalfe.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll allow that. I'll allow that so long as
Speaker 2: I'm Chanel.
Speaker 3: Yeah, all right, sweet up, it's mine.
Speaker 2: Appreciate it's on though, mate, And thanks again for all
Speaker 2: those who have listened to keep us subscribed. And once
Speaker 2: we have new episodes coming into wherever you your podcasts,
Speaker 2: you will see them first thing
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