Fervent crowd helps Warriors gain first win
Captain Tohu Harris praised the Warriors’ new secret weapon - the partisan Christchurch crowd - for helping lift them to their first win of the NRL season.
The atmosphere at Apollo Projects Stadium was at fever pitch on Friday as 17,249 fans roared the Warriors’ home 18-10, against the Canberra Raiders.
The Raiders were leading 10-6 near the hour mark and had just had a second potential try disallowed by the Bunker when the crescendo of support for the Warriors seemed to reach ear-splitting decibel levels.
Buoyed by the backing, the Warriors struck with two superb tries in quick succession, to Luke Metcalf and crowd hero Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
It was the second big show of southern support for the Warriors after 13,670 turned up to their trial against the Tigers in February, and proof that the Up the Wahs bandwagon has become a national phenomenon.
“We certainly heard them,’’ Harris said. “We came up with a couple of errors where the boys didn’t hear the call, and the ball went to the wrong person and got coughed up. That shows how loud the crowd can get.
“It really does give you a boost, especially defensively.
“They were huge, when we fell behind and needed to find some energy to get back into the game, and we just rode them home.”
Harris, who hails from Hastings, said while the Warriors are Auckland-based, “we consider it home’’ in Christchurch, and that’s what it sounded like too.”
The Warriors have sold over 30,000 tickets across two games in Ōtautahi this year, numbers and Friday’s frenetic ambience matched or surpassed anything at the Addington arena for many years.
As he walked to his berth in the box with his assistants , including new Kiwis coach Stacey Jones, Warriors head coach Andrew Webster was accorded the sort of rowdy reception usually reserved for select All Blacks coaches or multiple title-winning Crusaders mentors of a break-dancing disposition.
Webster said the reception was “pretty surreal” and an “unbelievable feeling’’.
“I was pretty proud, just how packed the crowd was, everyone was cheering. It’s pretty unique [in Christchurch] because you don’t get to walk through the crowd at most grounds, you’re usually hidden away. It was a really cool feeling, you could really feel the support.”
The Warriors scored first when they took a quick penalty, used second rower Kurt Capewell as a decoy and put prop Addin Fonua-Blake through a rare gap in the Canberra defence.
But the Raiders hit back with a try to Kiwi centre Matt Timoko, who eluded Tuivasa-Sheck with slick footwork and then smashed through Marcelo Montoya.
The Warriors led 6-4 at halftime, but were forced to reshuffle their backline in the second spell and play the final 33 minutes with Tuivasa-Sheck at fullback and Capewell at left centre after Taine Tuaupiki failed a HIA after a head knock.
They were caught napping when Montoya raced out of the line and Nick Cotric scored near the corner to give the Raiders the lead.
But then the crowd clicked into top gear and Metcalf scored off a clever crossfield run by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and some Tuivasa-Sheck solo magic earned the go-ahead try.
The Warriors will play another game at Addington next year and then will bring a home game to the new Te Kaha central city stadium in 2026.
Try-scorer Metcalf isn’t the only member of his household who can’t wait to return to the South Island.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart doesn’t like losing - especially in his 250th match in charge - but he did have some kind words for the cracking Christchurch atmosphere.
“I like the big hostile crowds, I think it’s good for our game,’’ he said.
“You’ve got a packed stadium here and you’re going to get a brand new stadium in a year and a half.
“if you’re getting this sort of crowd, it’s a positive for you guys and for rugby league,’’ Stuart said.