NZ Herald league writer Michael Burgess dissects the Warriors' round one defeat, along with looking back on the occasion at Allegiant Stadium. Video / Michael Burgess
Opinion by Alex Powell
Alex Powell is a Sports Journalist for the NZ Herald.
Despite comfortably boasting the best travelling support, Andrew Webster’s men couldn’t convert it intoa performance for the estimated 9000 punters to savour on the 16-hour flight home from the United States.
But, as evidenced by the Penrith Panthers’ victory over the Cronulla Sharks, the trip to Vegas was no holiday - the NRL is back in full swing.
Webster and the Warriors will at least have a short break before welcoming the Manly Sea Eagles to Go Media Stadium in round two, but there is still plenty that needs fixing.
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The biggest question of 2025 was always going to be how the Warriors would cope without Shaun Johnson.
Of the four available replacements, Luke Metcalf was backed as the man to wear No 7 to start the new season. On some levels, it was the most surprising.
The Warriors’ gameplan under Webster relies on a game-managing half, who runs a backline that splits into a 3-1-3 shape on attack, and dictates whether the play goes right or left.
So far in his time at Mt Smart, Metcalf has been on the left-sided three as the five-eighth. Now, having moved into halfback, his role is significantly different.
At five-eighth, his natural instincts were allowed to take over, and he had opportunities to showcase his running game - by far his strongest attribute. Now, he has to sit back and manage the game.
Luke Metcalf of the Warriors runs the ball during the NRL Pre-Season Challenge Round 1 match between the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks and the New Zealand Warriors at Shark Park in Sydney on February 7. Photo / Photosport
Metcalf is only 25, and changing everything he’s known his role to be at the Warriors will take time. A 25-year-old Shaun Johnson would have been in a similar position, given his natural instincts to create through his running game, rather than passing or kicking.
In pre-season, Webster outlined that halves “don’t really learn their craft until they’re between the 75 to 100 [game] mark” in reference to new signing Tanah Boyd. Metcalf has played just 27.
Yes, there might be teething issues to start with, but Metcalf has the ability to make this work - if he’s given the time and support to learn his craft at the highest level.
Co-captaincy conundrum
With Tohu Harris and Johnson retired, to go with Addin Fonua-Blake and Marcelo Montoya leaving the club, the Warriors have lost a very significant chunk of their leadership group.
In their place, James Fisher-Harris and Mitch Barnett were named as co-captains, which on the surface does feel like the right decision.
However, at Allegiant Stadium, we saw why it might not exactly be the best option. Both players are starting front rowers, arguably the most physically demanding position on the team.
In Las Vegas, Barnett was on the field for 51 of the 80 minutes. Fisher-Harris played just 46. From the 24th minute to the 50th minute, neither was on the field. In that time, the Warriors conceded three tries.
In his post-match press-conference, Webster indicated that Fisher-Harris’ lighter workload won’t be the case every week. What’s more, the Warriors do boast leaders outside of those two.
However, given that Barnett and Fisher-Harris are two of the best players in the squad as well as co-captains, the Warriors are going to have to be smart in how they get the absolute most out of both, at the same time and separately.
Erin Clark is a steal
When Erin Clark was re-signed, it was almost certainly as a like-for-like replacement for Manly-bound Jazz Tevaga.
But if his appearance off the interchange bench at Allegiant Stadium is anything to go by, the Warriors have made a clear upgrade.
Only Roger Tuivasa-Sheck made more run metres than Clark with ball-in-hand, to go with 24 tackles at a success rate over 90.
Admittedly, he was initially slated to start at lock, but was shifted to the bench at the last minute, and provided the one-two punch off the bench with Dylan Walker that the Warriors have utilised so well under Webster.
Tohu Harris is without question one of the best to ever lace up for the Warriors. But given his last years were so hit by injury, it’s not out of the question that Clark is also an upgrade on the former captain.
And at just 27, here’s hoping Clark’s best years are to come at Mt Smart.
It’s no coincidence that his best displays in 2024 came at fullback when Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was unavailable.
But Montoya’s return to the Bulldogs has given Webster the opportunity he needed to get Tuivasa-Sheck back to a more familiar position, and that move was immediately rewarded.
Aside from run metres, Tuivasa-Sheck also had the second-most tackle breaks of any Warriors player - only bettered by Fisher-Harris.
At his best, Tuivasa-Sheck has won the Dally M awards for fullback of the year twice, and winger of the year as well.
Yes, there was an ill-fated stint in rugby between those awards and now, but you don’t stop being a great player that easily.
The fans are still on board
By far, the Warriors were the most well-represented club in Las Vegas - including English Super League sides Wigan and Warrington.
After the success of 2023, every Warriors home game last season was sold out, as an NRL first. That came even as Webster’s side limped to just nine wins from 24 matches.
Since 1995, Warriors fans have been forced to be patient in their wait for a maiden premiership.
A young Warriors fan during the NR season opener against the Cronulla Sharks at Go Media Stadium, Mt Smart. Photosport
Admittedly, a new wave of supporters has been forged through the impact of the last two seasons. But the Warriors will need to reward that in some way, on the field, if it’s to be maintained in 2025.
However, given there were still thousands of Warriors fans in Allegiant Stadium as it became clearer that it was Canberra’s night, the club can at least hope to see that replicated once they return to Mt Smart in round two.
Whether or not fans will continue to back a team not at the top end of the table, though, remains to be seen.
Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
