NRL: Luke Metcalf continues to grow in halfback jersey as Warriors pick up third straight win

Luke Metcalf's actions were pivotal in the Warriors' 26-24 victory against the Wests Tigers. Photo / Photosport

• Luke Metcalf’s late 40-metre penalty goal secured the Warriors’ third consecutive win, prevailing 26-24 over the Wests Tigers.
• The halfback said the Auckland-based side would take confidence in the win, but had plenty to work on during their first bye week.
• Metcalf praised teenager Leka Halasima’s impressive solo try, sparking a come-from-behind gutsy win.

A month can be a long time in the NRL.

But following suggestions Luke Metcalf wasn’t the right man to replace Shaun Johnson in the Warriors’ No 7 jersey after the season-opening defeat in Las Vegas, the 26-year-old halfback’s actions were pivotal in Sunday’s 26-24 victory over the Wests Tigers.

A 40-metre Metcalf penalty goal was the difference last night, as the Warriors came back from a six-point deficit in the final 11 minutes to record their third straight win, heading into their first bye round of the season.

“In those moments I feel like I want the ball in my hands. The more I get in those moments, the more confident I’ll get and I just want to keep grabbing them with both hands,” Metcalf told the Herald.

The 26-year-old said there was “nothing crazy” going through his mind before slotting the go-ahead penalty in terrible conditions, instead treating it as any other kick.

“I just do my normal thing, just go through my process and then just try and nail it to put us ahead. I was confident, I knew that I trusted myself to be able to get it over, it was a little bit windy, but I knew that I’d be fine.”

The 73rd-minute penalty goal came after a freakish 70m solo try from teenager Leka Halasima, in which he surged down the right touchline and beat three defenders, but left Metcalf with a testing conversion attempt instead of running it under the posts.

Asked about the try, Metcalf joked that his first thought was: “Can he go closer to the post?” But it proved to present little difficulty for the halfback, who sent it straight down the middle.

“To score his first try in the NRL like that, that’s one of the best first tries of all time. He’s a freak and he’s just going to keep getting better,” Metcalf said of the 19-year-old Halasima.

Adam Pompey celebrates with teammates after scoring against Wests Tigers. Photo / Photosport

Another standout in the back-and-forth contest was dummy half Wayde Egan. In 80 minutes – a rarity for a hooker in the NRL – Egan made 30 tackles, to go with seven runs, and sent teammate Marata Niukore over for a crucial try.

“It’s really easy to play when you’ve got someone like Wayde, who just creates so much space for everyone around him. It’s just real easy to get the ball when he creates that for you,” Metcalf added.

“It’s been awesome to be playing with him and Chanel [Harris-Tavita] and I can’t wait to keep growing our combination and getting more games together.”

As the Warriors head into their first bye of the season, Metcalf said they can take a lot of confidence in knowing the side aren’t yet the finished product, but are “still getting the job done”.

“We’ve still got a lot that we can improve on so it’s exciting for the future games,” he said.

“We go into the bye now and [will] use that time to sort of fix a few things up [ahead of] a real big game coming up against the Broncos next week.”

Asked what his plans were for the bye week, Metcalf said his partner was 38 weeks pregnant and planned to give birth “in the next week or so”.

“So nothing too crazy for me, just staying home and relaxing.”

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news and sport. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.