New Zealand Warriors v Cronulla Sharks: Warriors pull off famous NRL win

Edward Kosi celebrates with teammates after crossing against the Sharks. Photo / photosport.nz

No one could have seen that coming.

After trailing 20-0 after 20 minutes against the Sharks on Sunday, the Warriors pulled off a remarkable 32-30 win – their third comeback of 20 points or more in history - to move to second on the NRL ladder.

There were less than 30 seconds left in the game when the Warriors took the lead for the first time, with a Shaun Johnson penalty from just under 40m out to push the side ahead, before his Cronulla counterpart Nicho Hynes pushed a potential game-tying shot wide with the final play of the game.

The result was one of almost unbelievable proportions in comparison to Warriors teams of recent seasons, who have rolled over when things got tough. This year, they instead roll up their sleeves.

No player personified that more so than fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who was a workhorse in carrying the ball from the back and popping up in support, while he was rarely out of position defensively and cleaned things up nicely.

Throughout the young NRL season, the Warriors have been terrible in the opening 10 minutes of games. That didn’t change against the Sharks.

On a wet afternoon in Sydney, the Warriors welcomed pressure inside 30 seconds when Marata Niukore lost the ball in a tackle on just the second play of the game. The Sharks scored moments later, then were in again before too long – both times exploiting space on the Warriors edges.

By the 10-minute mark, the Warriors trailed 12-0. At 20 minutes, they were down 20-0, and the Sharks were having their way with the Warriors left edge.

One thing the Warriors have been reliable with this season is set completion, and it was their ability to get through their sets and force the Sharks to work out of their own end that started to pay dividends.

Yes, their opening try of the game was the result of a somewhat fortuitous bounce that fell kindly to hooker Wayde Egan, but there was never a point where the Warriors looked like they had given up.

Trailing 26-12 at halftime – and starting the second without Niukore who was sin binned for a hip drop tackle on the stroke of halftime – it was almost a change of roles when play resumed.

The Sharks committed some bad errors in close proximity to welcome pressure, and that eventually saw Johnson scoot over the line, before a try to Ed Kosi saw the side behind by just two points with 28 minutes to play.

The Sharks were able to hit back with Kiwis winger Ronaldo Mulitalo scoring his second of the day, but as the sides fought for some sort of ascendancy, the Warriors continued to look every chance of fighting back.

That ultimately came when Johnson hit Josh Curran on the burst in a one-on-one situation with Sharks half Matt Moylan; the Warriors big man proving too strong. Johnson’s conversion set up a grandstand finish, and he did not miss his chance to cap off the comeback.

NZ Warriors 32 (Wayde Egan, Marata Niukore, Shaun Johnson, Ed Kosi, Josh Curran tries; Shaun Johnson 5 cons, pen)

Cronulla Sharks 30 (Ronaldo Mulitalo 2, Teig Wilton, Sione Katoa, William Kennedy tries; Nicho Hynes 4 cons, pen)

HT: 12-26