After a week of endless debate about refereeing and NRL conspiracies, the Warriors got their groove back with a 24-12 win over the Bulldogs on Friday night.
Coach Andrew Webster promised the team wouldn’t be distractedby the swirling outside noise and so it proved.
It wasn’t their cleanest performance of the season – but nevertheless impressive, especially given the mental and physical toll of the recent three-game swing against the Storm, Roosters and Panthers.
They led 18-0 at the break – their biggest halftime lead in two years - and were good enough to go on with it, despite the Bulldogs lifting noticeably in the second half.
They’ll now return to the cusp of the top eight, with a 6-5 record.
In the circumstances it was a vital win, ahead of a bye before the Broncos visit in Napier in round 13.
The Warriors also enjoyed – in a marked change from recent weeks – the rub of the green with several calls at crucial times.
Captain Tohu Harris was a standout again, while the back five impressed with their yardage work and Shaun Johnson produced when it mattered.
The Warriors made a solid start though had little to show for it. They dominated field position in the first quarter, but Josh Curran’s sixth-minute try was the only dividend. It was a smart effort – as a Johnson grubber threaded the needle on the fourth tackle – but they needed more. However, their attack was a bit laboured, while the ball playing between the forwards was predictable, lacking the zest of recent weeks.
It meant that the Bulldogs – despite being hampered by errors – were staying in the fight. But the Warriors found themselves with a rollicking set – thundering through the middle from a 20-metre tap – before Dylan Walker’s delightful ball to set up Addin Fonua-Blake in the 24th minute.
It continues a remarkable season for the prop, who combines the footwork of a ballerina with the impact of a Mack truck. The Tongan now has five tries, providing the polish along with the power.
Josh Curran scores a try against the Bulldogs. Photo / Getty
From there the Warriors settled, ahead of their spectacular third try. An Adam Pompey intercept gave the impetus, before Johnson found Dallin Watene-Zelezniak with a perfectly judged cross-field kick, summing up the halfback’s confidence.
But the home side responded and got an early boost with Harrison Edwards’ 45th-minute try, after the Warriors couldn’t clean up a Matt Burton bomb. From there the visitors got a bit loose, unable to nail their opportunities.
A desperate Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad tackle saved a potential runaway try, before Johnson got a bit too cute with a telegraphed kick to Watene-Zelezniak, with the Bulldogs all at sea after a long-range Marcelo Montoya break.
It was looking a bit wobbly – before the match turned on two incidents. After an opportunistic Bulldogs try was chalked off (correctly) for a strip, Ronald Volkman scored a try out of nothing. It was a wonderful moment for the 20-year-old, who regathered his own grubber before sidestepping the fullback.
That sealed the win, but Webster won’t be thrilled with the finale, as the Warriors seemed to ease off, with Jayden Okunbor scoring in the 73rd minute, moments after another Bulldogs try was ruled out by the bunker.
Warriors 24 (Josh Curran, Addin Fonua-Blake, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Ronald Volkman tries; Shaun Johnson 4 cons)
