Warriors set ‘coach’s dream’ record
The Warriors weren’t initially aware they had created a ‘‘coach’s dream’’ NRL record which has earned them lavish praise for the most completed tackle sets in the competition’s history.
Stephen Kearney’s side completed 46 out of 48 sets for a 96 per cent success rate in their impressive18-0 whitewash of the Dragons at Gosford’s Central Coast Stadium on Saturday.
They became the first NRL team to successfully complete 40 consecutive sets, and their 46 successful sets is also a competition record, according to Fox Sports Australia.
Centre Gerard Beale said yesterday that the Warriors didn’t know they made NRL history till well after the final whistle.
Beale said they knew they were going well, ‘‘because we just kept getting down the other end of the field’’, but ‘‘it wasn’t till after the game [that we learned about the record].
‘‘To see a stat like that, it’s quite crazy.
‘‘That’s every coach’s dream to see their team barely drop the ball. It’s good to execute a performance like that in the first game back.’’
When Beale said the Warriors would be working hard to improve on their Dragons display, an interviewer quipped: ‘‘How do you improve on a performance like that? 100 per cent?’’
‘‘That in itself is a really good motivator,’’ Beale said. ‘‘It might be hard to beat, but we will give it a crack, eh?’’
The former Kiwis international agreed the Warriors had benefited from being in camp in Australia in the leadup to the competition restart, and felt ‘‘it really helped yesterday’’, against the Dragons.
The Warriors successfully completed their first 44 sets before new second rower Jack Murchie, a recent signing from the Raiders, spilled the ball in a tackle in the 75th minute.
As a sign of the Warriors’ current resolve, skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck questioned the call, issuing a captain’s challenge, which was turned down after match officials viewed a video replay.
The Warriors’ 96 per cent mark was 16 per cent higher than the best completion rate across the 2019 season.
Steve Roach, a former Balmain, New South Wales and Australia prop, said during Saturday’s television commentary that the Warriors’ completion rate was ‘‘unbelievable’’.
‘‘I’ve never seen any side do that, let alone the Warriors,’’ he said. ‘‘They usually get tired and make mistakes in the back end of halves but not this afternoon, they’ve been outstanding.’’
‘‘When you get the ’six-again’ call you are getting a bit of an energy boost, but if you are on the back end of it ... it’s pretty daunting.’’
Beale used the enforced season shutdown as a positive, devoting himself to preparing for his NRL return after a serious knee injury last August led to surgery.
‘‘It gave me an extra few weeks to fine tune everything.’’
The 29-year-old did not shirk any aspect of his work, running for 102m to go with his 27 tackles from 29 attempts.
Beale said it had been a long wait between NRL games, but he just had to be patient, and he could not have wished for a better comeback performance from his teammates.
"The whole day was perfect.’’ Meanwhile, Beale "wasn’t too sure’’ how bad fellow centre Peta Hiku’s rib injury was, but claimed, "he’s a tough bugger’’.
He was full of praise for specialist dummy half Karl Lawton’s 55-minute cameo at centre, saying he had shown an ability to adapt and "get on with the job’’.
The Warriors are also looking forward to prop Poasa Faamasuili’s arrival on a fourweek loan from the Roosters to bolster their middle forwards division after a run of injuries.
Beale said any player schooled at a successful club like the Roosters would bring the right attributes.