Best comeback in club’s history
Last night’s win over the Raiders in Canberra was one of, if not the best comeback in Warriors history.
It also means they start a season 3-0 for the first time in club history.
There was the stunning comeback win over the Storm in the 2011 finals series to book a spot in the grand final, Tony Tatupu’s miracle try against the Adelaide Rams way back in the early days and one or two others that come to mind.
But those were done with sheer brilliance. Rocks and diamonds stuff. This win was different. It was clutch and it was structured.
This time last year, I made the call that the Warriors wouldn’t have a shot at playing in the finals. Round three, and they were done for me. You could tell with the body language.
Twelve months on and I’m prepared to say they look every bit finals contenders. There is definitely something about the character in this side to suggest they can give the competition a shake.
The Warriors shouldn’t have been in that contest after the opening 15 minutes where the Raiders had almost exclusive possession of the football.
A 6-1 penalty count, Adam Blair sitting in the sin bin and a fired up Raiders side meant they were forced to defend their line for what seemed like an age.
Sure, they eventually conceded a couple of tries but the Warriors of last season would have been 24-0 at that point. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s second incredible try-saver in three games typified the intent the Warriors showed without the ball. That was extremely impressive.
While the Warriors fought back at the end of the first half and in the second spell, the game was really there for Canberra to put away with five minutes to play.
The Warriors always looked likely to score if they could stay composed and ask a few questions of the Canberra defence. They did that when Issac Luke saw a big gap and scored to get the Warriors to within a point.
They then produced a smart set, got themselves organised for a shot at the one point to draw level. We haven’t seen the Warriors do that efficiently at any stage in the side’s history.
To prove it was no fluke, they did it again to win the game in regulation and avoid golden point.
The last two wins over the Titans and Raiders weren’t pretty. They made a lot of mistakes, conceded too many penalties and were a bit helter skelter on attack.
But the intent, defensive effort and ability to get it right in the clutch indicates this side has the DNA to make a serious run in 2018.