Is Manu or Maloney the best?

Who's your pick for Warriors player of the year?

Maipi – James Maloney

For a simple question, this one is incredibly difficult to answer and it's not due to a lack of talent in the Warriors squad but because it has been a team effort that has the the side playing September footy. I pick James Maloney because he's been the most consistent performer in a prime position. He is the team's highest point scorer (178), top in try assists (14) and second in meat pies (10). He has exceeded expectations big-time, stepping up to run a team like an NRL veteran. Maloney has to be tops.

Lawton – Manu Vatuvei

If you want to talk numbers, nobody at the Warriors has been putting up better stats this year than Manu "The Beast" Vatuvei. Before last night's hit-out against the Eels he'd scored 18 tries in 17 matches. In two of those he scored a hat-trick and on another two occasions he crossed the line twice. He also happened to be third-highest on the club's list for metres gained with 119.3 and first for line-breaks with 14 for the season. Yes, James Maloney has been good in his first year at the club. But he isn't close to being a match-winner like The Beast.

Warriors junior Siuatonga Likiliki was named in the NRL's under-20s team of the year. Did the club make a mistake in letting him go?

Maipi – No

We talked about this when Likiliki was originally signed by the Knights back in June and it seemed like something that could come back to haunt the Warriors. The fact that he's been recognised as the best centre in the Toyota Cup re-emphasises that premonition. It's easy to say this was a bad move by the Warriors but you have to remember that at the time the team already had Jerome Ropati and Joel Moon, they had signed Krisnan Inu from Parramatta and Brent Tate was still a chance to stay on the books. Attention needed to be focused on other positions.

Lawton – Yes

At the time Siuatonga Likiliki signed with the Knights, I couldn't believe the Warriors had let him go. He wanted to stay in New Zealand and his agent Stan Martin let the club know as such. But it seems as if they simply weren't interested. In this game, you can't keep 'em all. But when you've released a couple of handy backs in Brent Tate and Patrick Ah Van, logic would suggest that keeping your best junior player is the thing you do. The Warriors have invested in Likiliki for five years and yet it's the Knights who will reap that reward.

Who is your pick to win the NRL competition this year?

Maipi Titans

At the halfway stage of this year (round 13) I predicted a Dragons v Titans final, with Gold Coast winning its first premiership, and I'm sticking with it. The main obstacle to this prediction is the key injury to Luke Bailey (broken thumb) and their inspirational leader Preston Campbell (hamstring). With those two in the fold the Titans have all the bases covered. First of all they have a marquee playmaker in Scott Prince, plus he has huge support with Mat Rogers and Nathan Friend in key positions. But the biggest plus for the club is probably the most odd – half of their top line-up have Grand Final experience.

Lawton – Dragons

For two seasons, the Dragons have been the team to beat in the NRL. But after securing the minor premiership last year they bombed in the finals, losing both their games in what could only be described as a capitulation. Heading into the last weekend of this regular season, they've locked up the minor premiership again. This time around, however, I can't see them falling over so easily in the playoffs. With Wayne Bennett in the coaches' box, 2010 is looming as St George's first premiership since 1979.

Catch Te Arahi and Aaron on Boil Up every Thursday at 10.30pm on Maori TV

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