Fusitu’a bags four as Warriors steamroll Knights
AFTER a rollercoaster season where there has been more lows than highs, the Warriors are finally showing what they are capable of.
A week after producing their best performance of the season against Brisbane, Andrew McFadden’s side backed that up with a 50-14 thumping of the Knights in Newcastle yesterday as winger David Fusitu’a ran rampant with four tries.
With the Knights languishing at the bottom of the table, this was a game the Warriors were expected to win and they remain a long way off from where they need to be.
The performance didn’t reach the heights of the victory over the Broncos – they lacked patience and discipline in the first half to give the Knights a sniff. But they kept their rivals scoreless after the break and showcased an explosiveness in attack that will have the rest of the competition over their shoulders.
The result, however, was marred by an injury to star winger Manu Vatuvei, who left the field early in the second half with a strained hamstring, while Shaun Johnson also went off late with a corked thigh.
‘‘I don’t know if it was any better performance [than against Brisbane] but it was a step forward in that we backed up last week,’’ said McFadden, who added Vatuvei would be in doubt for next week’s game.
‘‘We were a little bit patchy in the first half, we did some good things but certainly the second I thought was really solid both offensively and defensively.’’
It was only the second time this season the Warriors have recorded consecutive wins, moving them to 14 points and on the edge of the top eight.
And with the struggling Roosters up next at Mt Smart, they have a golden chance to push into the top half of the table.
The first half mirrored the Warriors’ wildly inconsistent season as they mixed brilliant with sloppy glancing periods of play.
The visitors set the tone early and led 10-0 after 10 minutes but they failed to kick on and exchanged tries with the Knights to take a 22-14 lead into the break.
The home team put up a similar fight in the first half when the sides met earlier this year before fading away in the second half.
They had the perfect chance to to post the opening points after the break only for Daniel Saifiti to drop the ball over the line.
And McFadden conceded was a pivotal moment in match.
‘‘I was really happy with the 20 minutes after halftime, it was a bit of a danger period.
‘‘The opposition played with lots of energy and if we had of given them anything in that first part after halftime they might of found something. But we did a really good job to shut them out.’’
Indeed, the Knights were made to pay for that blunder as the Warriors found a weakness down their rivals’ left edge which they exploited in relentless fashion.
The result was a 10-minute hattrick to Fusitu’a, who also crossed in the first half and is quickly fulfilling his potential after a couple of injury-plagued seasons.
The Warriors weren’t done there as Solomone Kata crossed before Albert Vete grabbed his second to complete the onslaught.
(David Fusitu’a 4, Albert Vete 2, Manu Vatuvei, Bodene Thompson, Solomone Kata tries; Shaun Johnson 5, Issac Luke 2 goals) (Sione Mata’utia, Brendan Elliot tries; Trent Hodkinson 3 goals). 22-14. that the
MARVIN FRANCE