Warriors Adam Pompey dives over for his 2nd try during Round 24 of the NRL Premiership rugby league match - NZ Warriors v Dragons at Go Media Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand. Friday 15 August 2025 Photo: Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz
Warriors Adam Pompey dives over for his 2nd try during Round 24 of the NRL Premiership rugby league match - NZ Warriors v Dragons at Go Media Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand. Friday 15 August 2025 Photo: Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz
At this rate Warriors’ coach Andrew Webster will need a pacemaker by the end of the season.
The Warriors have got the result they desperately needed – to get their campaign back on track – but they did it the hard way. They have hung on for a 14-10 victoryover the Dragons on Friday night – a match which was the absolute definition of winning ugly.
In another nerve racking affair, the Warriors didn’t take the lead until the 72nd minute, then had to endure another tense finish. They almost blew it again – with the entire 23,276 crowd holding their breath, as the Dragons made a late break and looked set to score with barely 90 seconds left – for another heartbreaker, before centre Hayden Buchanan fumbled the ball 10 metres out, with numbers outside him.
It was the kind of moment that might turn a season around. Overall, it was a gutsy effort from the Warriors – given they were off their game – with a mountain of errors across the match. They fought back through sheer will, with two late tries to Adam Pompey getting them home.
It was also a courageous display from the Dragons, who lost three forwards to concussion in a disastrous first 30 minutes and had to play the rest of the match with only 15 men and one forward on the bench.
Warriors Adam Pompey dives over for his 2nd try during Round 24 of the NRL Premiership rugby league match - NZ Warriors v Dragons at Go Media Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand. Friday 15 August 2025 Photo: Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz
For the Warriors, this stopped a run of three defeats and gives some much needed impetus ahead of the last three games of the season. Five eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita came up with some key plays on both sides of the ball, while the forwards worked themselves to a standstill and halfback Tanah Boyd acquitted himself well after the difficult events of last week.
After a stirring pre-match ceremony, the first half was a strange affair. The Dragon dominated much of it – with two well taken tries – but also lost their trio to concussions. The Warriors struggled for momentum and didn’t have a touch inside the opposition 20 metre zone until the 25th minute.
The opening Dragons score summed up the recent Warriors’ issues. After working hard to defend their line – including a tough try saving tackle from Harris-Tavita on the left edge, they gave up a simple try on the other edge, with Mat Feagai getting through Pompey. Feagai had gone close earlier – with a long range break but was cleverly held up by Taine Tuaupiki, before he fumbled the ball.
Calamity followed for the visitors in the 15th minute, as they lost both Hamish Stewart and Jack de Belin after a brutal head clash. The Warriors tried to get things going – but couldn’t get any territory before Feagai crossed for his second, again getting through Pompey. It was unfortunate, coming from a dubious penalty, which looked more like a dominant tackle and gave the Dragons the initiative. The Warriors had been hamstrung by mistakes, penalties and set restarts.
A big tackle by Harris-Tavita – which lifted the crowd and his team – helped to turn things around. They finally got down the right end, with Jackson Ford going close before the Warriors were eventually rewarded with an impressive team try. Leka Halasima shrugged off several defenders – like a sumo master wrestling kids – before finding Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who did well to stay in, then hurl the ball back inside for Harris-Tavita. Demetric Vaumauga was then held up by the posts, as the home side finished the half strongly.
But in the second half the Warriors continued to be their own worst enemies, whether it was Halasima losing the ball on the first tackle after an attacking penalty, Jackson Ford messing up in the ruck after the Warriors finally got some clear air, Fisher-Harris dropping it cold 10 metres from the Dragons line, or Ford – who was obviously fatigued – repeating the dose.
They added up to a whole lot of pressure, which they did well to defuse, before they could build some momentum of their own, which culminated with Pompey’s first try, after smart work from Tuaupiki, following a Boyd break earlier in the set. That set up the grandstand finish. Dragons fullback Clint Gutherson was at his abrasive best and got away with a couple of late looking hits on Boyd, as the stakes increased.
But the Warriors managed to build again, before a clever blindside option caught the Dragons napping, with Tuaupiki setting up Pompey to bust through. Then followed seven minutes of nail shredding tension, before the Warriors team song could finally be heard again at Go Media Stadium.
Warriors 14 (Chanel Harris-Tavita, Adam Pompey 2 tries; Tanah Boyd goal)
