Warriors Ratings From Gutsy Round 3 Win Over The Roosters

1 - Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 10/10

CNK reminded us why Webby has stuck with him for so long as he managed to replicate his 2023 form and a bit more against the Chooks. A jaw-dropping 316 metres and 96 post-contact metres shows how hard he was working in his 50th Warriors appearance. As well as this, he had two line break assists and two try assists highlighting his excellent distribution skills at the back. These type of games are always going to suit Charnze, when there is a real grind between the two teams he seems to be at his best. Hopefully he can continue this form throughout the season.

2 - Taine Tuaupiki 7/10

Might not have hit the heights of last week but still looked impressive. 103 metres and five tackle breaks shows how elusive he can be. He’s certainly making a statement that he has to have a spot in the 17 even when DWZ returns from his hand injury, but where though? I am still unconvinced about having him on the wing. He has been great but I think he could be an incredible sparkplug if we could get him more involved and give him more opportunities to show off his ball playing skills. So does he play fullback, five-eighth? Both positions are well occupied and have quite the logjam pushing for a spot so will be interesting to see how Webby deploys Tuaupiki throughout the season.

3 - Ali Leiataua 10/10

His best performance in a Warriors jersey so far. Two tries, 113 metres and 17 tackles in a well rounded performance both on attack and defense. His power game adds a real point of difference to the rest of our backline. The threat of this opens opportunities for all around him and add his good playmaking ability and he becomes almost unstoppable. I believe he is a future superstar in the making.

4 - Adam Pompey - 6/10

Think RTS’ injury has saved some uncomfortable conversations around Pompey’s spot in the side. Pompey gets a lot of hate from fans, I’ve always felt he is relatively misunderstood but was certainly underwhelming. Consistent as always with 132 metres, 45 of them post contact, but predictable. Made two errors and bombed a try on the left wing. Only one tackle break and nine tackles, showing teams have realised his main strength for the side is his defensive reads so less traffic is going towards him. Plays a power game but in recent times has lost his explosiveness in the carry, maybe due to consistent injuries seemingly hampering him. Most likely will switch to the wing to cover RTS for the foreseeable future, maybe that can reignite his career.

5 - Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 7/10

Hard to rate due to him being forced off with a hamstring injury in the 55th minute. A threat with ball in hand as always with 139 metres in 13 carries alongside three tackle breaks. Made one of the great try saving tackles with a torn hamstring, so won’t judge him too harshly for giving away the 40/20 a couple phases before. Will certainly miss his impact over the next little while as he recovers.

6 - Chanel Harris-Tavita 8/10

A great showing of how he’s grown as a half. Was actually the more dominant half on the night with more receipts and passes and the same amount of kicks as Metcalf, probably due to Metcalf having another off night. Despite being the dominant half, still managed seven carries for 66 metres, a good sign showing he is still looking for his running game while also controlling the game. Starting to develop into a great five-eighth, would love to see his strengths utilised better potentially with a different halves pairing.

7 - Luke Metcalf 6/10

Not his best work again. On the positive side, I thought he controlled the game well. We controlled possession and our completion rate was infinitely better than the Roosters, it would be unfair to not give a fair amount of credit to Metcalf for these stats. Also, he realised early it just wasn’t his night, due to this, he stepped aside and let CHT run the show. It takes a brave and mature player to do this and is key in positions which work in pairs like the halves do and was something we often begged SJ to do last year when he was overplaying his hand. But Metcalf was predictable. Only two carries, which is really disappointing. In comparison he had nine last week against Manly. It is his best skill and when he runs the ball he is dangerous, but in Vegas and this game against the Chooks it seems he struggles to juggle this with managing the team. I still believe he is best suited at 6.

8 - James Fisher-Harris 7/10

Solid. 126 metres, 49 post contact as well as 37 tackles. Thought he looked tired though particularly in his first stint, which reflected in the stats with him playing 48 minutes this week in comparison to 58 last week against Manly. Not really a lot to say other than that, think a 7/10 is about as bad as it gets for Fish, Mr Consistent.

9 - Wayde Egan 9/10

Continues his awesome start to the 2025 season. 110 metres out of dummy half is ridiculous. His work through the middle on attack and keeping markers humble is so crucial for Metcalf and CHT as it gives them easier reads and looks as well as controls the tempo of the game. On defence made a team high 48 tackles, missing five. Played 80 minutes again, clearly increidbly fit but is it sustainable? With Sam Healey injured in NSW Cup it seems likely this will continue for a while so we will see.

10 - Mitchell Barnett 8/10

Would say it was his best game so far in 2025. Was heavily involved in the grind with 156 metres and a team high 15 hit ups. Made 28 tackles which isn’t super high for his standards but the Roosters main carriers were Angus Crichton and Naufahu Whyte, instead of his matchup Spencer Leniu so that makes that stat make more sense. Also played less minutes than last week with only 49, certainly missed him through the middle when he sat down at the end of the first half.

11 - Kurt Capewell 9/10

Also would say his best game of 2025. A bit of everything, 91 metres, three tackle breaks, one offload, 34 tackles and even a forced drop out with an awesome cross kick. Spent the last half an hour in the centres and randomly I’d be interested in seeing him spend some more time there (though this is unlikely). Gives the team a margin for error as he is awesome at fixing mistakes (as we saw with his kick for the dropout) and his leadership you can tell is crucial when guys like Barney and Fish take a break. After maybe being under a bit of pressure to start the season I think he’s cemented his spot in the starting lineup.

12 - Marata Niukore 8/10

Statistically he was relatively quiet, but that does not come close to painting the whole picture. He is such a threat with his line running and carries full stop. Has taken on the role of tiring the defensive line which then allowed guys like Leka Halasima, Demtric Vaimauga and Ali Leiataua to wreak havoc with their explosive carries. Draws at least three defenders whenever he receives the ball, and if some of the late short balls start to stick then he could profit with a couple of tries. Still I’d like to see him more involved, maybe a switch between him and Barney putting Marata back in the middle could be the answer.

13 - Erin Clark 8/10

168 metres the most in the forward pack. So persistent in the carry, just never stops working. Another guy who saw less minutes with only 44 this week. Ten passes is a good sign also as his ball playing at lock is certainly improving. Missed a tackle which resulted in Naufahu Whyte’s opening try but is certainly looking at home back in Warriors colours.

14 - Dylan Walker 8/10

Our rotation at lock is very impressive, not sure if there is a better two man punch at 13 in the comp. Walker brought on his attacking spark making 25 passes and carrying for 137 metres. Was solid defensively as well with 26 tackles. Matched Clark with 44 minutes, which makes sense in a matchup like this one where our game management was always going to be key, he certainly played a role in keeping control of the game alongside the rest of the spine, particularly during the two middle quarters where the game was in the balance.

15 - Jackson Ford 7/10

Was consistent again, but can’t for the life of me understand how he played the most minutes out of all of our middles comfortably with 62. Has a great work rate and in long minutes shows his worth, but a dodgy defensive read resulted in Naufahu Whyte’s try, made 43 tackles but missed 6. If we are planning on playing our interchange 62 minutes not sure why we wouldn’t start Laban in the 15 jersey.

16 - Demitric Vaimauga N/A

Only played 18 minutes so pretty much impossible to rate, which is probably for the best. Not his best 18 minutes, but how much impact can he really bring in such a short period?

17 - Leka Halasima 9/10

47 post contact metres on just 7 carries! Talk about bench impact. His explosiveness and speed is such a luxury to bring off the bench, and it is no surpirse that the first game he’s given proper minutes he proves his worth. Hopefully some of Ford’s 62 minutes get redistributed between Leka and Demitric this week against the Tigers where we will need their explosiveness to match what has been a great Tigers forward pack in the opening rounds of the season.