1) Downed tools
In his post-match interview, Gareth Widdop questioned the players’ attitude, which is a concerning statement. There were times last night where it looked like the squad had just given up. This isn’t something exclusive to the Leeds game, for there were patches of the Toronto match which made me think the same, after which Mike Cooper said he felt the performance ‘lacked professionalism.’ It certainly doesn’t look like the players are playing for Steve Price right now.
One of the basics of rugby league is completion. If you don’t get to the end of your set, you are never going to score and that is exactly what happened last night. There was a point late in the game where Wire had completed less than half of their sets - appalling. The reason we were never getting to the final tackle in the set were handling errors - we made FOURTEEN handling errors last night. In terms of respecting possession, it was one of the worst displays I’ve ever seen.
3) What has happened to the defence?
Throughout his time at Warrington, Price’s philosophy and identity has been built on an excellent goal-line defence. However, in the last two matches, Wire’s defence has been woeful, conceding 58 points to Toronto and Leeds, with both having further scores disallowed too. I’ve always been a critic of Price’s defence-first approach as it only takes one or two scores for the game to be gone, but the foundations of Wire’s back-line have been shoddy in the last two matches. Mistakes, gaps, half-hearted tackles - it was terrible. Again, have the players just given up on Price?
4) Half a job
The signing of Gareth Widdop was meant to give us one of the best half-back partnerships in the world, not just in Super League. However, only one of the two is performing even vaguely acceptably. Blake Austin has been largely awful this season and this was another woeful game from the former Canberra man. His defence is getting worse and he is offering nothing in attack. Widdop hasn’t been brilliant yet but he worked hard last night and was constantly in the tackle. When Matty Ashton is back, I’d be having him at full-back and Stefan Ratchford next to Widdop in the halves - Austin looks disinterested.
5) Away day disappointments
It’s now EIGHT consecutive away defeats for Wire, whose last win on the road came against London Broncos in July, with only two away Super League wins since the start of May 2019. The team’s form on the road is bordering on farcical.
6) What needs to change?
For me, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the players are not playing for Price. I would’ve made the decision to sack him at the end of last season but after such a poor start to this year, how long does he have left? It’s not just Price though - last night was another damning showing of Wire’s useless recruitment. We are painfully lacking a top (or even competent) centre and the pack is looking embarrassingly light - Wire were battered in the forwards battle. There’s the nucleus of a good squad there but it needs a better coach and better balance if it is to achieve its potential.
Stefan Ratchford - 4/10
Didn’t do much notably wrong and at least kept fighting until the end.
Tom Lineham - 2/10
Somehow failed to score what looked like a certain try and made a few errors too.
Keanan Brand - 2/10
A very tough debut for the youngster - nothing went right for him.
Josh Charnley - 1/10
Probably his worst performance for Warrington. Was beaten for a few tries and was poor defensively.
Blake Austin - 0/10
Genuinely abysmal.
Gareth Widdop - 5/10
Was constantly in the tackles and at least looked to make things happen.
Chris Hill - 3/10
Not a pleasant return for the skipper. Wire were well beaten in the forwards.
Daryl Clark - 5/10
Made a few breaks from acting-half and was our most dangerous player.
Mike Cooper - 4/10
One of few who defended reasonably well.
Ben Currie - 4/10
Was pretty good in the first half, should’ve done better for one of their tries in the second.
Ben Murdoch-Masila - 1/10
I think his sin-binning was a bit harsh but he had a stinker even aside from that.
Jason Clark - 4/10
Went about his business as he usually does.
Joe Philbin - 2/10
Surprisingly had very little impact on the game as Wire were well beaten in the pack.
Luis Johnson - 3/10
Ran the ball hard and wasn’t the worst player by any stretch. He’s got a good future.
Matt Davis - 2/10
A poor stint from Davis, who made a few errors and lacked his usual impact.
Luther Burrell - 0/10
He needs time in the reserves to get an understanding of his role.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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