Evarn Tuimavave weighs in at 109kg. Photo / Getty Images

Evarn Tuimavave weighs in at 109kg. Photo / Getty Images

Every weekend, you hear an Australian commentator, player or coach blurt out one of these: "razzle-dazzle"; "big forwards"; "tire in the last 20 minutes". Michael Brown looks into some of the persistent myths surrounding the 2007 Warriors - and some of the realities.


1. Razzle-dazzle

Call it what you like - flair, razzle-dazzle, pizzazz - the Warriors don't have it. They did once but, under Ivan Cleary, they play a highly structured game based on field position.

They attempt to rumble it up into the opposition's half before chancing their arm a little more or going to the air with a bomb.

In truth, they could actually do with more 'razzle-dazzle' but probably need a ball-playing back-rower and a playmaker who unlocks opposition defences to do it.

"You have to have the players who can do these things before you can play that way," Cleary said. "I think we have got blokes who can but a lot of them are quite young so they're not as good at deciding when to try it. For young guys, the most important thing is to get the basics right. What we say to them is, 'don't try to force it'.

"I definitely want us to play to a structure. But, if anything, we have probably followed it a bit too much in the past couple of weeks. It's a balancing act but I definitely don't believe you can play without structure."

It wouldn't stand up to rigorous scientific examination, but the number of offloads is the easiest way to gauge a side's flair.

With a third of the season completed, the Warriors rate second behind Cronulla (12.78) with an average of 12.63 offloads a game.

While this appears to support the razzle-dazzle theory, it really serves to highlight the fact the NRL has become increasingly structured and more defensively oriented.

In 2003, the Warriors averaged 19.44 offloads a game and it has steadily declined since - 16.5 in 2004, 15.47 in 2005 and 17.08 in 2006.

Cleary thinks the flair tag has a lot to do with one man.

"There was definitely a period when we played like that but I think a lot of it had to do with Ali Lauitiiti," he said. "He's probably the best I've ever seen at it.

"That's what made Ali special. He didn't necessarily mean to do it, he just popped them up. Also under Daniel Anderson that was practised."

Conclusion: Myth