As a bush bunny whose roots can be traced back to Fiji, I feel I'm suitably qualified to analyse the views of those who found Roach's remark offensive.
"We're used to seeing them playing a bit of jungle ball when they offload the football at every opportunity," the 54-year-old retired prop forward said in his stint as a sideline pundit in the Warriors' away game against the Canberra Raiders on Saturday.
"But they've been patient so far and caused a couple of line dropouts," he followed up as a backhanded compliment in the same breath.
Hey, Roach reportedly apologised for his faux pas on the grounds of a poor choice of words.
No doubt the "soothe sayers" will argue it's an overreaction to the former Kangaroo's "casual racism".
Former Warrior Monty Betham, also a TV sportscaster, was more abrupt in his perception of Roach's description on social media but it's not worthy of publishing in a family newspaper.
If racism is the point of contention then it seems UFC fighter Mark Hunt's rant aimed at drug cheat Brock Lesnar this week is a top contender.
I was in Kiwi Hunt's corner for the best part of the expletive-laden tirade towards the American pugilist and the promoters of legitimised thuggery until I got to this quoted paragraph:
"We'll let this f ... ing white piece of s ... f ... ing stick needles in his a ... and ... "
I can't imagine how the colour of a person's skin lends to Hunt's explicit resentment towards loss of income and defeat.
Would it make it any more palatable for the 42-year-old Aucklander if his opponent was Samoan?
I hasten to add, most likely not.
When you come to think of it, Canterbury rugby is not too far off after Waihora club player Bronson Munro was this month banned for 46 weeks after he was found guilty of racially taunting Fiji-born Southbridge counterpart Peni Manumanuniliwa in a club final clash.
This week, the province is under scrutiny again, amid similar allegations, except this time it's more worrying because not only is it institutionalised but involving under-14 boys.
But my pre-occupation isn't with the most cowardly form of discrimination that, dare I say, over time gives birth to chaos evident in the world and, more recently, transparent political factions that openly advocate maximum hatred for minimal reasons.
I'll actually let the numerous slip cordons in cricket chew cud over that in summer.
My fixation is with what makes Roach and former Queensland representative second rower Billy Moore put their foot in their mouths. Moore last year labelled the Warriors' game "that coconut style, Polynesian sort of football ... throwing it around".
Like it or not, if it wasn't for the unrehearsed passages of play, rugby and rugby league would be in a pretty sad state today. It's that very trait from the islands that has kept the codes in good stead over the past few decades.
That reckless broken play has made the Highlanders the most lethal of sides in Super Rugby, even if they lose the title in the remaining two playoffs, albeit hanging their muddy boots on the foundation of an equally stubborn defence.
TJ Perenara and the Hurricanes have used the same "jungle juice" to set their season alight for a maiden title. Lose and the capital franchise will be mentally scarred for a generation.
The Warriors have lost three of their four golden-point games in the NRL this season.
But look past the points lost to secure a home playoffs berth or a top-eight position and you'll see a side that have the licence to thrill.
To come from 22-4 down in the last 12 minutes to level 22-all before succumbing 26-22 in two minutes of extra time requires character.
The free-flowing display, once the shackles of following a textbook script are broken, is the reason why the Mt Smart loyalists keep the faith.
Frustratingly, coach Andrew McFadden, who described his troops as playing "dumb football", has left fans bewildered with another baffling selection against the Penrith Panthers on Saturday.
For reasons best known to "Cappy", Tuimoala Lolohea wasn't in his starting XIII for several weeks but is now back at fullback, displacing incumbent David Fusitu'a in the absence of injured first-choice Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
Lolohea's body lingo on TV last night suggests nothing is set in concrete just yet.
Shaun Johnson and interchange Lolohea created havoc at the weekend, allowing Thomas Leuluai to exploit the gaps.
The ongoing pin the tail on the donkey, predominantly pertaining to playmakers and game breakers, at a crucial stage of the competition shows a lack of understanding on what makes the Warriors tick.
It's a glaring example of a failure to appreciate entertainment in pursuit of winning at all cost.
