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June 29, 2024 • 11 mins

The Warriors have bounced back from their Gold Coast NRL horror this weekend.

The team walked away victorious by beating the Broncos 32-16 at Mt Smart stadium.

Former Super League player Willie Poching joined Piney to discuss.

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk ZEDB. We're all Weekend Sports.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
What a difference a week makes from the depths of
despair last weekend one of the worst defeats in Warrior's history.
They responded last night with, well, you have to say,
what was one of their best performances of the year.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
That's going to get it done here at Mount Smarts Stadium.
Man the Warriors of bounce back and fight fashion after
la horror show on the Gold Coast, take the two
points here against the Brisbane Broncos thirty two to sixteen.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
And they led from start to finish, produce some sparkling
tries and some tough defense to claim a vital thirty
two to sixteen win over the Broncos. Former Super League
player and coach, Foundation Warriors player, Sky Sports analyst and
very keen Rugby league observer Willie Poaching is with us
on Weekend Sport. Willy, Hindsight's a wonderful thing, I know,
but did you expect the bounce back you saw or

(01:06):
last night from the Warriors after what happened against the
Titans a week ago?

Speaker 4 (01:12):
Not to that degree? A positive response was needed, There's
no doubt about that. And it wasn't necessarily about getting
the win, but getting back and getting the performance that
was going to take them in the right tradiciary. But
to get the win and get it in that fashion
was outstanding from the club and from the coaching staff

(01:33):
and the work that they put in through the week.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
What placed doubt in your mind that they would be
able to bounce back? Was it the possible ongoing effect
of the loss and the weight of it That was the.

Speaker 4 (01:46):
Big thing for me. How deep the scarring was going
to be after that Titans game and the loss that
was inflicted upon them. But to see that they've put
that aside and just gone about moving on quickly and
focus on last night's game was outstanding for them. The
Broncos were missing a couple of players, but their effort,

(02:10):
their energy and how they played the game last night
was reflective of how they were when they were winning
games a couple of weeks ago. That's the formula for them.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
What sort of conversations do you think happened in the camp,
particularly the front end of the week. Will you've played,
you've been a coach? What the conversations would have gone on.

Speaker 4 (02:29):
Probably mending emotions and there would have been some mental
scarring from the Titans game. People disappointed in their performances
and that was across the board. That was the hard
thing about the Titans game was no one really played well.
So I was just about trying to get everyone confident again,
get them back on the same page. A big one

(02:50):
would have been getting the half that pearance as soon
as Sean Johnson was injured after that Titans game. Had
to move on to get in Chanelle and and getting
him and to Marty Martin together, getting them on the
same page, sinking in together, and they were fantastic last night.
I think those were Those would have been the biggest
parts of the conversations earlier in the week.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Yeah, I've got written down here Shanelle, Harris, Tavita and
to Mardy Martin and Keen to get your analysis on it.
What happens now when Sewn Johnson comes back. There's a
bit of a quandary there for Andrew Webster, isn't there
There is?

Speaker 4 (03:26):
But there isn't for mine. They're playing well, they're working
together well, and at the moment they're on form and
they're winning games. When they're together. So it's tough. It's tough,
and it'll be tough when Sean has fit. But I
can't see him being automatically put in at the moment
the way those two are playing.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Apart from six and seven. Have else impressed you or
what else impressed you about the way the Warriors went
about things last night?

Speaker 4 (03:54):
Well, I really liked Dylan Walker in the middle. I
thought he had he added some starts, but some leg speed.
But the whole team, they've played with a lot more energy.
They played with a lot more pace that the Broncos
couldn't keep up with. If their first couple of tries
they really had the Broncos on the back foot and
couldn't recover. And they just played a lot quicker than

(04:16):
they did last week. They looked a lot more up
for the game, if you can say that, you know.
But throughout their eighty minute performance was fantastic. Defensively, they
had a bit of starch about them, They had some punch,
some line speed. A couple of moments with the Broncos
really struggled to get out of their own ten meter zone.
That's a real strong indication that these young guys that

(04:37):
have come in, are really really energetic and up for
the game, and it's glad that they've turned themselves around
there to keep this season alive well. And truly, he.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Sat on the Sky broadcast last weekend and you've mentioned
it again during our chat today that you did worry
about the possible ongoing effects of that loss to the Titans.
With this win, have they been dispelled altogether, Willy or
they just sit there in the back of their minds.
It's a bit of a reminder about what can go
wrong if they're not fully focused.

Speaker 4 (05:04):
Yeah, And you've got to fall back on it every
now and and just as a reminder and keep your
sales on track that you don't even want that to happen.
And it's important that that sits there at some place.
You don't let it hurt you too much. You've got
to move on. But the way that they've moved on
now and everyone's back and playing the way that they

(05:25):
know they can, that's got to be the driving force
for them going forward.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
I guess when a team suffers a defeat like that,
the coach has a couple of options. They can either
make wholesale changes or they can stick largely with the
players who got you know who didn't play well last
week and ask them to turn around and put it right.
And that's the approach Andrew Webster talk minimal changes. Do
you still expect those some of the youngsters at his
disposal to be given some opportunities as the season continues?

Speaker 4 (05:52):
I think so. I think so they've learned it, they've
that trust whenever they've been called upon so and injuries
will dictate some of that too, which is the case
in the half backs. But I think in the future
of the side, I think they've aren't their opportunities, and
more importantly, when they come in, they're pushing the older

(06:13):
and more experienced guys you.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Reckon the worries are a top eight side.

Speaker 4 (06:18):
I think they are on their day. On their day,
they very much are the top eight side. They just
haven't been able to string enough of those days together.
And if they can do that in this back half
of the season, there they'll get themselves in there. And
when they get in there, they'll be very dangerous if
they can continue playing like they did last night.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
Yeah, that's the tail of the tape, isn't it. Seven wins,
eight defeats in that drawer of course that they also
had outside the top eight, but only by a point
as things stand right now. I mean, it just seems
like it just seems tantalizingly close. For they just string
three or four wins together, as they have done in
the past, and all of a sudden they are right
up there.

Speaker 4 (06:56):
Yeah, and it's eventual losing the habit. Winning is a habit.
If they can get the right habit going, confidence and
everything else that clicks them to gear, who knows what
sort of run they could go on very similar to
what they did last year.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
Indeed, well, it's a much brighter Sunday today than it
was last Sunday. Trying to pick over the bones. Yeah,
I mean, I don't want to religate it, but I
don't think I've ever seen anything like that from from
the from the Warriors, even in the darkest days.

Speaker 4 (07:26):
No, that's what hurt, yeah, Verding, And they were hurting
for the players, they were hurting for the coaching staff.
And I was so happy that they got a sold
out house last night and the four full house sign
went up and the crowd were really happy and they
got to enjoy a fantastic performance and a win.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Great to get the chance to chat, Willie, enjoy the
rest of day, mate, Thanks for taking our call. Cheers,
Thank you, Willie. WILLI poaching with his analysis of last night.
I know you'll have some to your chance to react now.
Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty. It wasn't a
must win. Let's not get carried away, but it was
a very important test for this team and it's ability

(08:06):
to react to an utterly horrible outing a week ago. Oh,
eight hundred and eighty ten eightyes, number going to open
the lines. It was important, as I say, to put
things right and use the embarrassment of last weekend because
that was what it was embarrassing to use that embarrassment
as fuel this time around. And I thought they did

(08:26):
that really well. I thought they really did. Selection question
for you, have we now actually inadvertently uncovered the first
choice halves combination for the Warriors. Chanelle Harris, Tavita and
to Mighty Martin combined in really excellent fashion last night.

(08:51):
That's the third time they've worn six and seven together
this year, and the Warriors have won all three of
those matches now sewn. Johnson's injury forced Andrew Webster's hand
on this one, of course, but he will have a
decision to make when Shawn Johnson is fit again. Interesting
to hear will he poaching say yes, he's got a decision,
But he has and he hasn't. He has to stick

(09:12):
with what's working, doesn't he. They say, you never change
a winning team, you know, a player holds onto the
jersey until they don't deserve to, or any any cliche
you like, Or is Sean Johnson actually in the terminology
that I use a lot above the selection line? Now
what that means is that a player who lives above

(09:33):
the selection line is a player who, when they're fit
and available, play no matter what. They just come in
they play. Now, not many people live above the selection line,
but some people do. And I think twenty twenty three
Sean Johnson definitely lived above the selection line. When he
was fit and available, he played, and there's no reason

(09:55):
to think that he can't become twenty twenty three Seawn
Johnson in twenty twenty four. His injuries have clearly affected him,
but if he shakes those and is one hundred percent fit,
he is absolutely one of the best going around. But
Chanelle Harris, Tavita and to mighty Martin present a fairly

(10:15):
compelling case, and you have to say you love to
see it. I loved watching it last night, and I'm
sure Sean Johnson enjoyed watching it as well. Oh eight
hundred eighty ten eighty And now you can also just
before we go to the lines, you can also now
reveal it's safe now to reveal whether you were nervous
before last night or how nervous you were. I'm a

(10:37):
bit like Willie po Chin. I expected them to bounce back.
I kind of expected them to win, and I love
the start. Not for the first time. The Warriors started
hot sixteen nil ahead, but there was a little bit
of doubt creeping in a specially when things were tight
in the second half. Broncos got back to twenty two sixteen.
In any case, Warriors closed it out, got the points
and put the Gold Coast ghosts to bed. And who knows,

(10:59):
maybe that nightmare over there might actually turn out to
be a good thing.

Speaker 1 (11:03):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen live
to news talks at b weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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