Dragon slayers
Warriors overcome incredible adversity for epic 18-0 victory
The New Zealand Warriors have put the Dragons to the sword, winning 18-0 at Central Coast Stadium yesterday, picking up a win few thought was possible.
Incredibly, not only did the Warriors stop the Dragons scoring any points, but they also completed 46 of their 48 sets.
This may only be a NRL rebooted round-three game against a poor Dragons team, but given everything the Warriors have gone through over the last three months, this victory will go down as one of the most memorable victories in the club’s 26-year history.
There was more talk about the Warriors than any other NRL club during the competition’s hiatus and the sacrifices the players and their families have made to relocate to Gosford should never be forgotten.
However, the point of making this sacrifice was to play 18 more games and, ultimately, how they perform in those fixtures will be what the players are judged on.
The lockdown break seems to have done the Warriors a world of good, as the coaches clearly used the time to work on the team’s issues, and they looked a more physical, clinical and sharper outfit.
Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck said on Friday he was looking to exploit the ‘sixagain’ rule change for ruck infringements and stand closer to his team’s hookers, so he can make attacks up the middle.
It was crucial that the 26-yearold had a big game. He struggled to make an impact in the poor losses to the Knights and Raiders, and something that’s a fact for this team is that when TuivasaSheck doesn’t have a good game, the Warriors won’t have one either. Last night, they were both
outstanding. It was Jamayne Taunoa-Brown who made the first impact in the game, in the seventh minute picking up a grubber that Matt Dufty fumbled under his posts and the young prop did a great job to gather the ball, then dive over.
In doing so, he became the first Warriors player to score a try this season.
The Warriors continued to play well, with the defence keeping its shape and on attack they picked up their second try in the 25th minute, with the club’s new sensation Eliesa Katoa crashing through the Dragons line.
Ten minutes before the break Warriors hooker Wayde Egan was held up over the line.
However, it was still an outstanding first half from the Warriors, where they completed all 24 of their sets, and the period was only ruined by a rib injury to Peta Hiku, and Katoa and Adam Blair taking head knocks. Hiku and Katoa passed their HIAs, but it was game over for Hiku.
Two minutes into the second half Agnatius Paasi was put on report for tackling rival standoff Corey Norman after he kicked, but the Dragons couldn’t capitalise on the subsequent penalty.
In the 47th minute Kodi Nikorima kicked a penalty to make it 14-0 and they extended their lead in the 54th minute, with Nikorima making a sizzling 40m break, then finishing off the attack with a try.
From there, the Warriors kept their composure. It wasn’t until debutant Jack Murchie lost the ball with five minutes to go that they failed to complete a set.
It was the first time in the NRL era a team completed more than 40 consecutive sets. Still, that count and stopping an opposing team from scoring any points against them, for the first time since 2006, isn’t a bad afternoon.