Three games into the 2021 NRL season and all three Aotearoa Warriors games have been fun to watch. There was a fresh vibe to the win over Gold Coast Titans, then came a high quality battle against Newcastle Knights in which we saw some Warriors mana and then we were all tweaking throughout a barn-storming contest vs Canberra Raiders. Who else needed a sesh after those 80 minutes in Canberra?

The nature of the first half set up a key narrative that is front and centre of my noggin...

Good start - easy try to Addin Fonua-Blake.

Oh look - Joseph Tapine is down injured and is being taken off.

Wtf - Ryan James and Sebastian Kris are both leaving the field together.

We've got some luck going our way huh?

Jack Wighton try.

Ryan Sutton try.

Iosia Soliola try.

George Williams try.

#!%$&%#&^$*$^*#&%*%^*&$^%&#!$#^^!#.

After the Warriors scored their first try, the Raiders bounced back with four tries in the first half. At this point it was a storm of confusion as the trauma started to peep through, pain from decades of footy about to boil over. Kodi Nikorima scooted through for an easy try to start the second half and despite Elliott Whitehead scoring soon after, there was a slice of something new in what the Warriors were doing.

While the Warriors suffered a minor implosion, the feeling was different. The Raiders were fizzing before the real fatigue set in, the Warriors were rolling through various errors and yet the Warriors could still march down field and score points with ease. Having scored three tries via three playbook moves vs Knights, this element of Warriors footy was amplified as the team under Nathan Brown has a certain crispness to what they do; either funky footy via offloads, or execute simple set moves.

Take the first try where Eliesa Katoa popped a short, flat pass for Addin Fonua-Blake. Last week, Tohu Harris did the same for Ben Murdoch-Masila on the right edge and then it was Katoa on the left edge...

Short passing is crucial to Warriors success. Always tap into that.

Tohu Harris is crucial to Warriors success. Against the Raiders, Harris played 80mins and started on the right edge before moving to the middle as part of the injection of Murdoch-Masila, before finishing the game on the left edge as Katoa was taken off. That's low key bonkers for a bloke to play 80mins in all three forward roles, all while delivering:

17 runs for 129m @ 7.58m/run, 1 try assist, 4 offloads, 45 tackles @ 95%..

Last week Harris had a try assist on the right edge, this week Harris had a try assist on the left edge.

In three games, Harris has missed just 7mins of footy. Harris has 2 try assists, 3 tackle busts, 7 offloads and 132 tackles @ 94%.

Good recruit this Addin Fonua-Blake chap?

Game tahi: 56mins, 19 runs for 202m @ 10.63m/run, 22 tackles @ 96%.

Game rua: 48mins, 13 runs for 144m @ 11.07m/run, 24 tackles @ 96%.

Game toru: 53mins, 15 runs for 175m @ 11.66m/run, 23 tackles @ 93%.

And if we're talking about the Warriors upper-echelon...

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck: 25 runs for 253m @ 10.12m/run, 2 linebreaks, 10 tackle busts, 6 offloads and everything that can't be measured but we know Tuivasa-Sheck is doing.

Tuivasa-Sheck himself is showing signs of this short passing style, either being on the end of a pocket-pass from Wayde Egan's crafty ruck work or sliding a pass out the back while threatening another 10m carry. The effort in Tuivasa-Sheck's defence, to go with everything he is now doing in attack kinda makes Otahuhu College's finest the complete fullback. No point in doing anything other than being grateful that we get to experience Tuivasa-Sheck at this level, praise jah.

Across the team, this was another hearty display and a win like this requires everyone playing at a solid level. Sean O'Sullivan was nice in his first game for the Warriors, replacing Chanel Harris-Tavita's left boot with his own so the Warriors didn't lose anything there. O'Sullivan ran when he wanted to and buzzed around in support. Neither he nor Kodi Nikorima play as a dominant halfback, which could be niggly but they are nifty little blokes playing behind a powerful team (outside backs included) and can execute the right kicks.

The Warriors have patience in what they do. O'Sullivan and Nikorima don't need to do anything crazy as far as steering the team around, which is evident in their kicking games as their main concern is pegging the opponent deep in their territory. These two halves didn't have a kick go dead vs Raiders and in the first three games, there has only been one kick go dead from the Warriors halves - Harris-Tavita vs Titans.

Despite looking as fragile as you or I on an NRL field, Wayde Egan played 80mins for the second game in a row. I quite like what Egan's doing around the ruck and defensively, Egan has ripped in. Egan had 55 tackles @ 98 percent vs Knights, followed by 46 tackles @ 94 percent vs Raiders.

It's all a bit of a mind-bender with Egan as he definitely isn't a dynamic NRL dummy half, although he is effective. Here are Egan's dummy half running stats from the first three games, starting with a busy effort in just 45mins vs Titans...

Game tahi: 5 runs for 43m @ 8.6m/run.

Game rua: 5 runs for 36m @ 7.2m/run.

Game toru: 4 runs for 44m @ 11m/run.

Combine solid defence and at least 7-8m each time he runs with how slow Egan looks when distributing. This is reflective of how the Warriors are playing as they are very flat (hence so many forward passes and semi-forward passes). Egan's putting the ball in front of these flat players, which keeps everything aligned with a powerful, skillful playing style and all of these examples led to tries..

One of those featured Bayley Sironen scoring a try, his second try of the season and both have come from the same play. Against Canberra, Sironen stepped inside Josh Papalii and this could be an example of wider trends in the Warriors playbook as they are putting Sironen in positions to do what he's good at. Harris has try assists, Murdoch-Masila and Katoa are running dynamic lines, Tuivasa-Sheck is extremely busy around the ruck etc etc. Clear plans, working to the strengths of players.

The Warriors had their own bout of adversity with Peta Hiku injuring his knee, meaning Jack Murchie played 30mins at right centre. Strictly as a centre, Murchie had 6 runs for 60m @ 10m/run and made 15 tackles without a missed tackle. Fantastic.

The Raiders were under the pump and as good footy teams do, they stepped up to that adversity in front of their home ground to scratch and claw through this contest. Having toiled hard against the Knights and falling short, this win in Canberra is another lovely step along this season's journey and it's impossible to ignore how different this team feels under new guidance.

Peace and love.