NRL: Marshall law in ascendancy

Benji Marshall. Photo / Getty Images

The Warriors succumbed to a combination of a quick turnaround, weak defence and a host of injuries in their thrashing by Wests Tigers in Campbelltown.

The Auckland-based franchise has still been unable to put together three straight wins since their run into the finals in 2008.

The Warriors had the better of the first 37 minutes of the first half. It seemed too good to be true and that proved the case.

Despite being up 6-4, they conceded two tries just before halftime and four more in the first 18 minutes after the break as part of the Tigers' nine-try haul. That included an 11-minute back-to-back hat-trick to centre Geoff Daniela.

Perhaps more surprising is the Tigers' turnaround. They won last week against Newcastle but had been hammered 50-10 by Souths in round 10.

The Rabbitohs were defeated by the Warriors last week. Once again it proves the tough nature of the NRL and the tougher proposition of trying to predict results.

However, it was possible to predict coach Ivan Cleary's reaction: glum.

"It's not a good feeling, it wasn't much fun. We had the decent running of the match for much of the first half and I could accept being down two tries but not three [when Robbie Farah crossed on the stroke of halftime]. That was difficult to swallow. Then [Brett] Seymour was in a lot of trouble."

Seymour went off early in the second half with a calf injury but is expected to be right for next Sunday's brute of a clash against the top-of-the-table Dragons - who beat the Eels 30-0.

Micheal Luck [hand], James Maloney [back] and Manu Vatuvei [lower left leg] are also expected to return but that could be wishful thinking, given the Warriors lousy fortune on that front this season. Steve Price remains out indefinitely and Sam Rapira is expected to be out for five more weeks.

Backing up on a Friday from a Sunday match is one of the tougher NRL propositions but the Warriors can take some heart that they now get a nine-day break.

The Warriors will be seething about their defence, where they gave away 36 points in a 20-minute period, starting in the 38th minute. Cleary is not blaming the forwards as much, although the Warriors longed for the defensive resilience of Luck and Rapira.

"Every time the Tigers threw the ball wide, they cut us up. Mentally we couldn't cope as a young team without enough senior guys. The backs let down our defence.We were hesitant on the edges and got punished," Cleary said.

That was highlighted by the farce which gifted English import Mark Flanagan his try. Winger Bill Tupou lined up for a forehand winner to put it over the deadball line and completely missed.

Bombs were not defused and there were repeat handling errors in Warriors' territory to go with 45 missed tackles, 32 in the second half. The Warriors also suffered in the tackle break (28 to 45) and line break (1 to 10) counts.

Five times in the match the Warriors faced three or more consecutive sets of Tigers possession.

Tigers coach Tim Sheens said his side's defence was more heartening than their attacking form.

"We have now let in six points in each of our last two games and we have really focused on that this week."

In contrast, the Tigers continue to be the most potent long-range attacking side in the competition, having scored the most tries from within their own half.

That was again highlighted by Kiwis skipper Benji Marshall excelling at five-eighth, putting his skills as a former touch rugby representative into play. He made four tackle breaks and, as the points mounted, so did Marshall's confidence.

"Benji had a spring in his step and we let him go," Warriors centre Jerome Ropati said.

Understandably it was a subdued Warriors post match but there was room for a smidgeon of fleeting optimism.

"We've now got over a week to turn things around and have some confidence that we've won our last two games at home," Ropati said.