Warbrick praises Storm’s Coates’ enhanced defense.
Will Warbrick thinks his teammate winger Xavier Coates has been leading the Storm charge, so his defensive performance to help Melbourne defeat Penrith in their opening round match comes as no surprise.
Coates’s attack speed, strength, and aerial prowess have long been recognized.
However, there have been doubts about the 23-year-old’s defense.
Coates made two huge tackles in the last minute of the game to keep the Panthers scoreless, allowing Melbourne to win 8-0. The last tackle dislodged the ball from second-rower Liam Martin.
Will Warbrick thinks his teammate winger Xavier Coates has been leading the Storm charge, so his defensive performance to help Melbourne defeat Penrith in their opening round match comes as no surprise.
Coates’s attack speed, strength, and aerial prowess have long been recognized.
However, there have been doubts about the 23-year-old’s defense.
Coates made two huge tackles in the last minute of the game to keep the Panthers scoreless, allowing Melbourne to win 8-0. The last tackle dislodged the ball from second-rower Liam Martin.
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Regarding Coates, “he’s probably had one of the best pre-seasons that a player can have at this club,” stated Warbrick.
“I’ve seen the effort he’s put into his game; obviously, he works hard on high balls and other things, but he’s also worked hard on his reads and physicality when playing defense.
“To see it coming off in a pretty crucial time of the game, it’s pretty inspiring for myself and also the rest of the team.”
After switching from Sevens to rugby, Warbrick had a breakthrough season last year and earned an Olympic silver medal with New Zealand. He claimed to have worked with Coates to enhance their respective games.
“I’m the same boat, I had a few things I needed to work on and defence was one of them so we made a point of working on it together,” added the 26-year-old.
“It’s probably not just the wingers but our edge as the statistics showed that we weren’t great in the area so we definitely had a focus on rebuilding that and I think it showed on the weekend.”
Melbourne vice captain Jahrome Hughes stated prior to the team’s home game against the Warriors on Saturday night that they wanted a repetition of theirmust strengthen their defense and increase their incomplete percentage, which was only 68%.
Young player Jonah Pezet will wear No. 6 for the Storm, while ace playmaker Cameron Munster, who is still dealing with a groin injury, will be absent once more.
“We were happy with our defence and our scramble to be able to keep such a good team like Penrith to zero points,” Hughes stated.
“It’s good to do it one week but we need to be consistent with that as that’s something we weren’t very good with last year so we’re going to focus on that.”