Sir Peter Leitch Club AT MT SMART STADIUM, HOME OF THE MIGHTY VODAFONE WARRIORS 30th June 2016 Newsletter #128 Vodafone Warriors v Sharks Game Andrew Fafita is tackled by Jacob Ben Matulino on the run Blake Ayshford sprints away from an Lillyman and Simon and Simon attempted tackle Mannering Blake Ayshford tackles Gerrard Beale Izaac Luke on the attack Ryan Hoffman on the attack Sharks celebrate Shaun Johnson defeats the tackle of Solomone Kata gets tackled James Maloney Photos courtesy of www.photosport.nz Paying the Penalty By David Kemeys HERE WAS only one topic of conversation after the heartbreaking loss to Cronulla –that penalty try. TWhat I have a difficulty with, is that it has taken this long to come, when you see the same thing week after week, and I am also a big enough conspiracy theorist to say, there is no way in hell the Warriors would be given a decision like that. Not even at Mt Smart, let alone in Australia. There just isn’t. So it is hard to criticise Vodafone Warriors coach Andrew McFadden for going so far as to accused the NRL of caving to pressure – especially from the media - and changing the interpretation of the penalty try in the middle of the season. What was really galling was that it was awarded to Jason Bukuya, the former Warrior. Talk about former play- ers coming back to haunt you. And the reason I found it so galling was that he was nothing but a passenger, a dismal failure for us. If there was ever a player you could point at and say that guy is not giving everything, he looks like he doesn’t want to be here, it was Bukuya. In fairness to the club, they refused to blame the loss on the decision, and I also happen to be in the camp that is unconvinced Thomas Leuluai made the line either, so some decisions go for you, and some against you. But do you know how many incidents like the one when Simon Mannering held Bukuya back there have been this year. No, I don’t either, but it is plenty. And how many have resulted in penalty tries? One. So hands up anyone who is surprised it was awarded against us. That’s no one. Captain Ryan Hoffman argued on the field, and we could all see him do it, that there was no way anyone could be certain the try was going to be scored. Crikey Mannering had to take a couple of swipes at it. The inconsistency is a shocker. Only last week we saw the Roosters' denied a penalty try against us in an inci- dent that appeared remarkably similar to me. No wonder the club, and us fans, are scratching our heads. McFadden agreed with Hoffman there was no certainty Bukuya would have got there, and said the rules had changed without the clubs being told about it. “That looks like a bit of media pressure.” Hoffman, who has grown as a captain – which is hardly surprising when you consider what he has had to deal with – did not hold back. “There's been quite a few this year that they couldn't definitively know he was going to score. I don't know what's changed to reckon there was no doubt he was going to score with a ball bouncing everywhere.” Even Sharks captain Paul Gallen said he was surprised, and their coach Shane Flanagan called for consisten- cy. “I thought it was a brave decision to award it,” Flanagan said. Brave, that’s one word for it. Here’s some others – stupid, inconsistent, confusing, inexplicable... Sir Peter Leitch Club Newsletter Page 2 What Was THat Selection About? and put it down, something he was utterly incapable of doing later in the match with the line beckoning, UR MUCH criticised coach Andrew McFadden and his attempt to scoop up a ball right on halftime Odropped Tuimoala Lolohea to the bench for the was lamentable. game against the Sharks, and I can’t have been the only one wondering what the hell that was about. Just fall on the bloody thing, there’s seconds to go. McFadden has taken a lot of stick for a lot of things Instead he missed it in an all or nothing play, leaving this season, but one of the things I do admire about a yawning gap for Cronulla to score in. him is his loyalty to players. Not much of a debate if you ask me. The problem with loyalty is that it can be seen as a refusal to accept what is – according to the rest of us It is awful to rag on one of your own, but is it any –the obvious. wonder the fans call him Seldom. His persistence at the start of the year with Shaun Sorry Andrew, but loyalty only goes so far. Enough is Johnson at stand-off and Jeff Robson at halfback is a enough. case in point. Apparently THis Is THe Answer Even then his argument was that it was a just a num- With apologies to David Skipwith at the Herald, ber on your back and it didn’t really matter. That’s a where I stole this article and shamelessly cut and club of one among NRL coaches I suspect, and if it pasted it into the newsletter, McFadden defended his doesn’t matter, why not reverse them? decision, saying there are areas Lolohea needs im- Instead he stuck with it, and we endured a less than provement in. stellar run. Yeah and there are a few Wright could do with im- And the decision to drop Lolohea – which was proving in to. apparently down to the outstanding form of Da- McFadden is at least “aware his decision left people vid Fusitu'a – is another one where the rest of us, I scratching their heads” but says there remain facets suspect, were left muttering why make a change that of Lolohea's defensive game that require attention. brings Jonathan Wright back into the side, and leaves one of our genuine strike threats riding the pine. “There's been things in Tui's game we haven't liked. We know how good Tui is and it won't be long before McFadden dropped his little bombshell before kick- he's back in the side.” off, shifting Fusitu'a to fullback, the reshuffle bring- ing Wright in and putting Lolohea on the outer. Yep, only until this weekend I’d have thought. McFadden thought Fusitu'a could have a bigger in- Apparently McFadden is aware many of us think fluence from fullback. “It was more to do with David Wright is not up to it, but does feel some of the and how well he's been going. He's had two games at criticism he gets is off the mark, and he blamed Blake fullback and did a good job. We probably felt like we Ayshford for the dropped ball-blunder. got a bit more out of our kick returns, and with Tui, “The ball was behind and high on him. And when we felt like he was lacking a bit of energy in a few are- you're running flat-stick, that's the last place you as of his game.” want it. But he does a lot of good stuff for the team According to one press report it was “debatable” and the team does recognise that.” whether the move paid off. Anyone else remember Wright’s last appearance. I thought Fusitu'a was excellent. That’s right, against Canberra in New Plymouth, where he ran for about 35 centimetres. And here I will surprise you, I thought Wright deliv- ered to his absolute best too. It is just that his absolute best is nowhere near good enough. He scored a try, sure, but all he had to do was catch it Sir Peter Leitch Club Newsletter Page 3 Damn You Maloney Kata Signing Great News Talking of players who come back to haunt you, I’m very far from upset we have signed centre Solo- stand up Chad Townsend, and in particular James mone Kata until the end of the 2019 season. Maloney, whose golden point field goal was one of the wobbliest I’ve ever seen. But they all count. The 21-year-old, has been one of our best, scored 22 tries in his 38 games for the club since making his He was good around the park, and Townsend, who is debut last season. another who failed to cover himself with glory while with us, made a number of telling breaks. He was our top try-scorer with 12 last year and leads the way this year with 10. But perhaps perversely, given that we lost, I thought there was much to admire about our game. Keeping winger Ken Maumalo is good business too. Only weeks ago there was talk he would leave for Sure we made mistakes. the Dragons.But he has grasped his opportunities in recent weeks and I believe has plenty more to offer. But few rated us any chance going in, and we put on a performance that, if we could repeat it consistently, Also re-signed was hooker Jazz Tevaga. would in my view see us a lot higher up the table than we are. You can get a gauge of the club’s thinking, with Bunty Afoa signed until the end of the 2019 season, with Cronulla are genuine contenders. They are top for Erin Clark, Patrick Sipley and Ofahiki Ogden given good reason, but we stayed with them and were gen- one-year deals.