The Warriors have tapped into a rich vein of form in recent weeks. Photo / Photosport
The Warriors have tapped into a rich vein of form in recent weeks. Photo / Photosport
Stop me if you've heard this one before.
With four matches left in their NRL campaign, the Warriors remain a mathematical chance to clinch a spot in the top eight come season's end.
Sounds familiar, right?
But while the story is similar to past volumes, the road to get herehas been anything but.
After their match against the Newcastle Knights on Saturday night, Fox League host Yvonne Sampson noted the club had every reason not to turn up in these stressful times.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck salutes the crowd in Tamworth after the Warriors win over the Newcastle Knights. Photo / Photosport
That comment came after the Warriors handed the Knights their biggest loss of the season. The match was the perfect summation of just how drastically the Warriors have turned things around over the past six weeks.
In their first game of the season, the Warriors were cast aside by the Knights, 20-0. They managed just one try in the first two rounds of the competition – a late penalty try in a 20-6 loss to the Canberra Raiders.
When the competition resumed in May, after the Warriors relocated across the Tasman, they put all the issues to the side as they tamed the St George Illawarra Dragons 18-0. They were then blanked again themselves the following week.
After six rounds, the Warriors had a 2-4 record, having been outscored 132-73. After round six, Stephen Kearney was fired and Todd Payten took over as the team's interim head coach. Ex-Knights coach Nathan Brown was later announced as the man to lead them from 2021 and beyond after Payten turned down the full-time role.
After four weeks of inconsistency under Payten's eye in which they were thumped twice and dramatically downed on another occasion, the Warriors have blossomed.
Jazz Tevaga scored the final try in the Warriors' win over the Knights in Tamworth. Photo / Photosport
Since round 11, the Warriors boast a 4-2 record with their only losses being tight contests against the league-leading Penrith Panthers and the two-time defending champion Sydney Roosters. During that time there has been just as much noise surrounding the club as before; Blake Green leaving to join the Knights, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck rumoured to be looking at a move to union, talk about the future of players coming off contract at the end of the season – it's still a rich tapestry.
But as lock Jazz Tevaga so eloquently put it: "I feel like we've just put all the bulls*** to the side and we're just getting on with it."
Saturday's match against the Knights was a clear example of a team focused on the task at hand. Young half Chanel Harris-Tavita continued to play with the enthusiasm of someone who is genuinely stoked to be playing in first-grade; his effort and contribution on both sides of the ball a vital asset to the team.
Tuivasa-Sheck – arguably the hardest working man in the NRL – played his usual leading role in the No 1 jersey with a game-leading 266 running metres, while the forwards are stepping up and locking down the middle of the park. Add in Kodi Nikorima's newfound willingness to run the ball and the finishing out wide, the Warriors have all the tools to be a problem for any opponent.
Chanel Harris-Tavita has embraced a full-time role in the Warriors halves. Photo / Photosport
And they will need that to continue.
Over the next four weeks, they'll meet the Parramatta Eels (third on the ladder), Cronulla Sharks (eighth), Canberra Raiders (sixth) and Manly Sea Eagles (12th).
Their win over the Knights was the Warriors' first win against a side who were in the top eight when they met (now 1-7), which doesn't exactly bode well with three top-eight opponents in their last four games.
That said, in their current form, there's every reason to think they're capable.
As Payten said: "There's certainly some confidence and some belief - and that's a pretty lethal combination."
