Warriors produce best display to slay unbeaten Dragons 20 12
League The Warriors proved their strong season start was no fluke by ending St George Illawarra’s unbeaten run with an impressive NRL win in Auckland last night.
After a flat display in their first loss last week against the Broncos, the Warriors produced their most energetic and clinical performance of the season on a wet night at Mt Smart.
The hosts enjoyed a 10-0 halftime lead and sealed the result with a try to bench back-rower Isaiah Papali’i with two minutes remaining, after the Dragons fought back to a four-point margin following a try to back rower Tariq Sims in the 72nd minute.
Coach Stephen Kearney praised his side’s attitude and spirit after they ran hard and defended like their lives depended on it to strangle the best attacking team in the competition.
“Commitment and attitude, that’s what the guys had,” Kearney said. “They were really committed to the process and putting pressure on the Dragons, which we thought was going to work for us, and to do that, you’ve got to have a real purpose about your job and they did that [last night]. There wasn’t anything technical that stood out but there was certainly a lot of spirit, commitment and energy.”
Dragons coach Paul McGregor questioned the Warriors’ tendency to concede goal line penalties but praised their defence while lamenting a handful of missed opportunities.
“They were just too good on the night,” McGregor said. “And they obviously came with a plan, they gave away a lot of penalties and defended their line well, whether that was part of it, I’m not sure. But certainly their line speed was incredible and their scrambling was the best I’ve seen from any team this year.
“But it was frustrating because it was stop-start for that first period but we had three one-one-one misses that led to tries and we had five other opportunities we didn’t finish.”
For the second time this season, back-up halfback Mason Lino stepped up to deliver for the Warriors in the absence of injured star Shaun Johnson, with the 24-year-old scoring their first try. New centre recruit Anthony Gelling also filled in admirably for Solomone Kata to score their second to send the Warriors to the sheds with a 10-0 lead.
The Dragons hit back soon after the resumption through halfback Ben Hunt and looked set to claim the lead inside the last quarter when centre Tim Lafai stole an intercept to run in before being called back for an earlier knock-on from front rower James Graham.
Warriors hooker Issac Luke then produced pieces of brilliance with a 40/20 kick before he ducked over from dummy half to score their third try beside the posts in the 65th minute.
The Warriors were dealt a blow in the first half with Tohu Harris departing after two separate head knocks before coming up trumps with Gelling crossing in the 35th minute.
The hosts tested referee Ben Cummins’ patience one time too many when Blake Green was sent to the sinbin but more determined defence saw them hang on to reach the sheds without their line being breached.
Tries to Hunt and Sims caused some concern but the Warriors showed tremendous resolve to hit back twice to seal a memorable win. Warriors 20 (Mason Lino, Anthony Gelling, Issac Luke, Isaiah Papali’i tries; Lino 2 cons)
Dragons 12 (Ben Hunt, Tariq Sims tries; Gareth Widdop 2 cons)
● The Melbourne Storm, the Warriors’ next opponents on Anzac Day (Wednesday), proved too strong for the Broncos last night, winning
34-20 in Brisbane.
The Storm scored three tries in each half and while the Broncos twice closed to within four points, Melbourne never relinquished control of the match.