There is now no doubt – the Warriors are in a bit of a hole.
That might sound strange, given the team will end the weekend still inside the NRL’s top four but things have unravelled badly over the past two months. From the high of smashing the Sharks in early June – with arguably their best performance of the season – they have dropped four of their last six matches, with three defeats at Go Media Stadium.
The once big gap between them and the chasing pack has evaporated, to the point where they could be pushed out of the top quartet by next weekend, with Brisbane, Penrith and Cronulla all ominously close. An injury crisis has been a significant factor – with so many key players sidelined – but they have also lost their mojo, getting squeezed in key moments, as shown in the costly home defeats to the Panthers and Titans.
Friday was a chance to turn the ship around and they were oh-so-close. Leading 18-16 with just over a minute to play, the Warriors had to make one more tackle to seal a famous victory – but instead the Dolphins conjured a miracle, with their desperate fifth tackle play ending with a try to Jamayne Issako in the right-hand corner and an improbable 20-18 win.
Given the circumstances, with eight frontline players out and a completely new spine, it was a remarkable effort by the Warriors to get so close. There was a lot to like about the performance – a much superior effort than the Titans’ contest last weekend – as they fought back from a 16-6 deficit late in the first half.
But having worked so hard, they had to hang on, especially as the Dolphins had been reduced to 12 men in the 74th minute, after Felise Kaufisi’s awful tackle on Jacob Laban. But they couldn’t and were strangely passive in the final set and especially the last play. Instead of pressuring the Dolphins, they hung off – perhaps wary of shooting out of the line – and paid the ultimate price, as the Dolphins shifted from one sideline to another before making the space for Issako.
“It’s hard to take, obviously because it’s such a dramatic finish,” said coach Andrew Webster. “No one’s going to lie here – you get your hopes up, don’t you? You think, jeez, we’re close here and then it gets taken away from you. That’s hard but we have to move on.”
While proud of the team’s effort, he was frustrated with the concession, saying the Warriors could have done more to shut down the play.
“I felt like our body language could have been better and we could’ve had [12] guys standing in a straight line and it would have made it harder for them but we’ll learn from that.”
He was even more disappointed with the game management, as the Warriors had things under control, with the Dolphins pinned on their line with less than four minutes to play.
“The game was in our hands at the end,” said Webster. “We let them out. That’s the frustrating bit,” referring to a penalty gifted from a high tackle.
Webster defended the decision not to kick for goal with six minutes remaining, after the penalty from the Kaufisi sinbinning.
“That was my call,” said Webster. “If they go short [from the kickoff], get the ball back and score, you never forgive yourself. You want to put them [down] there for the rest of the game, keep them there and don’t let them out.”
Overall Webster found plenty of positives, with a tireless forward effort, spirited defence and some remarkable try-saving efforts and the spark and energy on attack, prompted by more than 300 running metres from Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
“I was really proud that we bounced back a couple of times against some bad momentum,” said Webster. “We were really dominant in that second half, winning the arm wrestles and we put ourselves in a great position. We’ll learn lots from it; we’re not going to kick stones this week. We’ll go after the next challenge, learn and learn quickly.”
Webster didn’t have an update on Laban but the prognosis didn’t look good.
“He felt something pop in his leg,” said Webster, with the player later on crutches as he left the dressing room.
Friday’s team was reshaped, with Taine Tuaupiki at fullback, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad at centre and Kurt Capewell returning to the second row – and Webster indicated that was likely to continue.
“We had to just get the best players on the field,” said Webster. “Most of the decisions this week were pretty [simple].”
For his part, Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf was understandably thrilled with the manner of the win, especially after they lost gun centre Herbie Farnworth to injury early in the first half.
“We were so brave,” said Woolf. “We did so much defence in our own half, on our own line. I just thought we needed an opportunity. We left some tries out there so I knew we had points in us. We probably just needed a little bit of luck, which we got with the penalty and as soon as we got that we were a chance.”
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.