Pitiful Warriors butcher bid to make statement

New Zealand Warriors coach Andrew McFadden concedes Saturday’s game against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Perth was his team’s chance to lay down a marker to the rest of the NRL and they failed badly, losing 34-6..

It was a game in which the Warriors were outclassed in every department. Bryson Goodwin Chris Grevsmuhl, Tim Grant, Alex Johnston and Dylan Walker (twice) all scored tries for the Bunnies, while Manu Vatuvei’s score in the 26th minute was the only positive for the Warriors.

The New Zealand-based franchise completed just 59 per cent of their sets, missed 37 tackles and made just two line breaks compared to the Rabbitohs’ nine.

Another telling stat was the hookers: Issac Luke played 80 minutes and made 13 runs for Souths while Warrior Silvia Havili was on the field for 31 minutes and made just one. Nathan Friend, the Warriors’ other hooker who played the rest of the game, had just three to his name.

‘‘It was an opportunity for us to come up against a very good side and make our mark on the season but we fell well short,’’ McFadden said. ‘‘I guess it’s a bit of a reality check. we’d won three before that and there were reasons why we got beat.’’

Warriors assistant coach Andrew Webster said a number of factors contributed to the team’s biggest defeat of the season.

‘‘There were a couple of things that were glaring, our last plays weren’t great,’’ Webster said.

‘‘There were times when the kick game was good from our halves, they put it in the right spot for us, we’d tap the ball back but weren’t in the right position or they’d get the ball and run 20-30 metres, so we didn’t get the opportunity to build any pressure. On the other side of that, we dropped too much ball, there were too many errors in our own end.’’

Fullback Sam Tomkins was ruled out just before the game. He is still struggling to overcome a long-term knee injury. It meant a backline reshuffle with Tuimoala Lolohea switching to fullback and Ken Maumalo starting his second NRL game at centre.

Webster said Tomkins’ nonappearance wasn’t an excuse for such a poor performance but hoped the England star would be back for Saturday’s game with the Roosters at Mt Smart.

‘‘He was really close to playing and obviously travelled over with us,’’ Webster said. ‘‘But the medical staff decided he wasn’t right to play and give him a week off, I’m guessing he’d be OK for next week.’’