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Sir Peter Leitch Club AT MT SMART STADIUM, HOME OF THE MIGHTY VODAFONE WARRIORS 20th July 2016 Newsletter #131 Vodafone Warriors in Perth Photos by Ra Pomare Bugger! By David Kemeys Former Sunday Star-Times Editor, Former Editor-in-Chief Suburban Newspapers, Long Suffering Warriors Fan DO NOT know whether to laugh or cry. craft. But this one is almost as hard to swallow as the IThe bloody Warriors do this to me all the time. I agonising sight of Daly Cherry-Evans sinking us in did not give them any chance against Manly – our golden point. hoodoo team, especially in Perth – our hoodoo ven- ue. McFadden said after the game that we were getting the benefit of three big boys, which is certainly true, Then the buggers lose Jake Lillyman and Bodene in Manu Vatuvei, Ken Maumalo and David Fusitu'a. Thompson before kick-off. It pisses with rain that In- dia would be proud of in monsoon season, they start “We had them running the ball back, and in those like busted cats, grind out a monumental comeback conditions it was the big men making the ground. against some stunning Manly defence, only to lose in We thought for a long time about getting Tui on but golden point – again. we couldn't find the right spot, so we weren't going to make the change for the sake of it.” And it is like coach Andrew McFadden has some kind of death wish, some kind of desire to prove that I for one disagree. It was not working, so no one was only he can be right and the rest of the league com- going to crucify McFadden for at least rolling the munity are just muppets who know nothing, that dice. Not rolling it, that’s a different story. sees him lining up to stick his head into the lion’s Lolohea must have been knackered from all that mouth. warming up, because even when he did get on, he This week it was leaving Tuimoala Lolohea on the managed just one touch, scampering out of dum- bench until the 81st minute. my-half for about 30 centimetres. No one, no one goes into a game and plans to only This is the bit that really sticks in my craw, from the play with 16 – that’s lunacy. much-criticised McFadden: “People will probably over-exaggerate because we lost by a point.” It’s like volunteering to start a man down. Yes we bloody will Andrew, because you had a Not surprisingly, he has had to defend himself. chance to do something, and sat on your hands. Good luck with that. We have had the awful experiment with Shaun John- son at stand-off and Robson at halfback, which Ray Anyone could see we were struggling to find a way Charles could see was not going to work. We have through, though to be fair, all credit to Manly, whose had the blind loyalty to players who are clearly not defence was pretty sharp. And it pains me to credit up to it, and the list goes on. But if anyone wanted Manly with anything, because I hate those pigging more ammunition to deride McFadden, they just got Sea Eagles for no good reason. it. And according to McFadden, if Blake Ayshford, who We Bombed It did not cover himself in glory defensively, had not been injured, Lolohea would not have got on at all. Another trip to the hell-hole that is Perth, and an- other loss. This time in golden point, which is at least You might as well pick Jonathan Wright, then at least better than the drubbings we have registered in the fans would be glad we had a player who did not get shittiest city – next to Canberra – in Australia. on. By my count that is eight trips to a place that has zero Apparently the wet conditions meant our plans to good reason to exist, for eight losses. Let me think send in Lolohea just after halftime got derailed, to about that for a minute – no, still crap. which you would then have to ask: What was the bloody point? We could have saved the airfare. McFadden has stunned us all repeatedly all year. We won’t go over all the doubtful things we have wit- nessed, and it is certainly true he is still learning his Continued on next page... Sir Peter Leitch Club Newsletter Page 2 Continued from previous page... But a draw, is a draw, is a draw. You don’t send the Pt Chevalier Pirates under 10s out to kick field goals if Now poor old Andrew McFadden is lamenting the they are all locked up against Te Atatu’s Roosters do botched chances that cost us, and having bagged the you? guy for the Tuimolala Lolohea debacle, we do have to concede that with an ounce of luck, and certainly Sure you are going to have to do something in finals some better execution, we could - and should – have footy, where you have to get a result, but the real won. problem as I see it is that the referees utterly bottle it in golden point. The normally reliable Solomone Kata had one squeeze past his fingers over the line and stand-in There is no off-side line, there is never a penalty, kicker Issac Luke missed a penalty you would have players wander all through the play the ball, obstruc- expected him to land. tion is rampant, and all of those things mean, to me, golden point is no kind of contest anyway, it’s just a But far worse was the string of handling errors lottery. throughout the match, and the utterly pitiful start. What Was THat Start About? Sam Lisone, bless him, won’t ever volunteer to swing a boot in field goal anger again, but I’m going to Being a moaning old bastard, I had written off our excuse him because whoever was running the cutter chances in Perth, as I have already admitted. But that at the time took some crazy decisions and headed start left a bit to be desired did it not? all over the park in every direction except straight ahead. My favourite bitch – giving away early penalties – came back to haunt us for about the 900th time, and Even our go to talisman Shaun Johnson could not our defensive line was a shambles. save us. His attempt was charged down, though having the benefit of a massive head start – ie, typical Sure we had a couple out, and that must affect you, Manly, that bloke is offside - didn’t help. but it was a slow start of the type we have, thankfully, not seen in recent weeks. That is three golden point games this season, for a win and two losses, and I have to tell you, I like the We managed only a handful of sets in the first 20 winning feeling a lot better. minutes – and some of those we butchered. “We practice it quite a bit so the players know what to do. We got charged down and they kicked theirs. If we are going to revert to our old habits of giving That's how tough the NRL is. It’s pretty cruel some- sides a head start, expect to get flogged when you times, but that's what we've got to live with,” McFad- come up against sides with penetration. den said. Grit Was Commendable Golden Point Or Not? Never let it be said that I was unwilling to give credit The fans love it, and it gives you a result, we are told. where it is due. After a less than impressive start, But is it really true? our collective effort in clawing our way back into the Who would know? The reality is there is no way of game was pretty bloody good. knowing where the majority sits, but I’m firmly in the Bunty Afoa, who was playing only his second game, camp that a draw is fine by me. having debuted alongside Simon Mannering in his I do not say this because of our loss, or even our one 250th outing, now has two tries to his name – and win, two losses record. both were good ones too. But if two sporting teams go at it for 80 minutes and And from that point on, we controlled it, give or take can’t be separated, where is the problem. It’s not like the odd scrambled defensive effort. it makes the table impossible to sort out. The second half in particular was one-way traffic, We would only be one point better off – given that though the inability to finish the moves would ulti- we got two for the golden point win over the Roost- mately, as we know, cost us dearly. ers, and none for the Sharks or Manly. Continued on next page... Sir Peter Leitch Club Newsletter Page 3 Continued from previous page... period, nor was his presence the reason we lost at the weekend. “We didn’t start well but we did get back in it. To fall to a field goal is disappointing. They didn’t look like Vatuvei was guilty of handling mistakes but we scoring points but we didn’t take our chances. In always look better with him in the team, and his those conditions you’ve got to,” McFadden said. work-rate out of the defensive end in particular is spectacular. Coach Still Confident McFadden was happy enough.

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