Warriors get the 2nd half wobbles

Visitors come close to upset in Anzac Day thriller, before two late tries save Storm

The Warriors remain a work in progress. They are making progress — but there is still plenty of work to be done. The visitors came close to getting a dividend from one of the toughest assignments in the NRL — a road trip to Melbourne — but went down 20-14 to the Storm last night.

They were impressive for long periods, but ultimately lacked the belief, conviction and game management to achieve an upset win.

This match, like the game against Canberra, demonstrated that the Warriors can compete with the top sides in the NRL, but yet again they came up short.

They got the wobbles in the final quarter and never put enough scoreboard distance on the Storm to withstand Melbourne’s typically strong finish.

But at least, unlike last year’s Anzac Day clash, which was a massive anticlimax, this match lived up to the hype. It brought back memories of some of the vintage clashes between these teams over the last two decades, with some fantastic attack and gritty defence.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was outstanding, again, as he seemed to cover every blade of grass on AAMI Park while Shaun Johnson came up with some trademark mazy runs. Kieran Foran was solid, and made two crucial try-saving tackles while prop James Gavet underlined his status as the most improved Warriors player this season. He consistently made ground with the ball, and made an improbable basketball-style grab of one Storm bomb.

The Warriors were, for a long time, the Storm’s bogey team, able to upset the odds regardless of their respective positions on the table. But that feeling had dissipated over the last few years, as the Victorian side had won six of the previous nine clashes, including the infamous 42-0 battering last year.

It returned last night, as the Warriors matched up well for long