Comeback not enough for Warriors
WARRIORS coach Andrew McFadden may have been pleased with his side’s comeback, from being 16-0 down at halftime to level the game, but ultimately he was disappointed.
The Warriors went down 24-16 to the Broncos at Mt Smart Stadium yesterday, in the game that marked the club’s 20th anniversary, but the final score did not reflect the closeness of this match.
Corey Oates, Jack Maranta and Jarrod Wallace all scored first-half tries for the Broncos as the Warriors were bogged down by errors, missed tackles and failed to complete their sets.
When they fought back over the second half, with Chad Townsend, Matt Allwood, Solomone Kata all crossing the line, there was hope that this was going to be a memorable win. the second half and put some pressure on the opposition.
‘‘We did that well and we had our opportunities to win the game but we just didn’t take them.’
When a team levels the score after being down 16-0, they should go on to win it. The Broncos were shellshocked at the time but the Warriors were unable to land the killer blow.
‘‘As a team we just lacked that composure in the end,’’ McFadden said. ‘‘Our young kids are doing a great job – we’ve got plenty of them in the side at the moment – and we got beaten by a very good side, an experienced side.
‘‘They turned up to play and played some good footy but we just didn’t get there in the end.’’
Also of concern for the Warriors was the knee injury picked up by Ben Henry in the second half. The back-rower has already had two serious knee injuries and was about to start negotiations with the club on a contract extension. It is likely this will be put on hold until the situation with his knee is resolved.
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett paid tribute to the Warriors for how they turned things around in the second half.
‘‘I don’t think we dropped off, they got into their groove as we had in the first half and they completed set after set,’’ he said.
‘‘Their kicks put us under pressure and to the back of the field, and we had to work our way out of that all of the time.’’
Despite this loss, McFadden said the team would head across the Tasman feeling confident and still believing they were going down the right track.
‘‘There are a lot of things that we’re doing well at the moment, and some things we really need to work on, but as a whole the team is understanding what I want.’’