Warriors 24 Cowboys 12
Johnathan Thurston has inked a contract for more than A$2 million but it was the polished play of Warriors halfback Brett Seymour which looked a smart investment at Mt Smart last night.
In a match highlighted by returning stars, Seymour looked the man who could have played in the proverbial dinner suit while Thurston, worth $2 million over three seasons, was forced to dig in the trenches.
One minute, Seymour was chipping for the left-hand corner where Lewis Brown grabbed his first try of the season. The next, he was making ball-jolting tackles on the likes of halfback Michael Morgan.
Later in the match Seymour starred with a bomb for Kevin Locke to pluck the ball from the air and duck over; given the benefit of the doubt by the match referee.
The confidence Seymour brought back to the team transferred to James Maloney who had his best game in a Warriors jersey for a number of rounds. His 40/20 kick in the ninth minute led to Ukuma Ta'ai bullocking over for his fourth try in five games - straight past the shoulder of noted defender Luke O'Donnell who was doing his utmost to prove himself a contender for State of Origin.
Ta'ai was equally as powerful on defence, making bone-rattling tackles.
Midway through the second half, the roles were changing for Seymour and Thurston - the latter making a surprise return after injuring his AC shoulder joint against the Storm two weeks ago. Thurston helped create a couple of tries and put the Warriors under further pressure with a 40/20 kick.
A couple of decisions from referee Ashley Klein faced serious questions from the Warriors as Ta'ai wrestled his way out of tackle from Willie Mason that looked as if it was trying to remove his head. Brent Tate then got marched 10 metres for offering a second opinion.
The crowd also got in on the act, rustling up the sort of noise that would have had the noise controllers warming up the decibel meters.
The key to the Warriors win was their domination of the first half, taking control of possession and territory while forcing errors on the Cowboys and sapping their defence to be 20-0 at halftime.
The Warriors completed 67 per cent of their sets (14/21) compared to the Cowboys 38 per cent (6/16) and forced 11 errors on their opposition while committing just seven.
The Cowboys were forced to make 133 tackles while missing 14 whereas the Warriors were able to avoid the same attrition rate, making just 102 and dropping off four.
Those figures were balanced out in the second half but it was too late for the Cowboys. The Warriors were able to control their sets and maintain a decent slab of territory.
The home side looked a more settled outfit and certainly there was plenty of spirit in the camp, especially in the early stages.
North Queensland tried to force the issue at times but could not control the tempo of the match as the Warriors came at them with more line speed on attack and defence.
Manu Vatuvei had an unfortunate return in just his fifth match of the season. He dropped his first two ball carries where he was too flat, then injured his lower calf muscle in the 15th minute.
There were fears he had aggravated his hamstring injury as he battled on until the fourth minute of the second half.
He ran gingerly for the most part but was able to tap the ball back in a leap which created Brown's try.
In a sour note, Willie Tonga was sin-binned after the final whistle for retaliating in a last minute scrap between Maloney and Thurston.
Warriors 24 (U. Ta'ai, L. Brown, I. Henderson, K. Locke tries; J. Maloney 4 goals) Cowboys 12 (S. Bolton, M. Bani tries; J. Thurston 2 goals). Halftime: Warriors 20-0.
