Warriors 36
Parramatta Eels 14
The Warriors continue to find a way.
Over the next five weeks, Andrew Webster’s side will have every opportunity to prove their credentials as bona fide contenders with only away games in that stretch, plus a bye, as well as highlight meetings with the Brisbane Broncos and Penrith Panthers.
But kicking that run off in Saturday night’s 36-14 win over the Parramatta Eels, the Warriors were tested more than the hosts’ modest 3-5 record coming in might have suggested.
Granted, the scoreline ultimately didn’t reflect that; the Warriors were merciless in the final 20 minutes against a tiring Parramatta side, scoring three unanswered tries in that period.
There was plenty on display to like from the visitors. Alofiana Khan-Pereira showed the beauty of acceleration with his two-try performance, consistently beating defenders with his pace off the mark. Jackson Ford again put in a tireless performance, scoring a try late as well, while Tanah Boyd continued his strong campaign in the No 7 jersey. While they lost Wayde Egan to a head injury assessment for the second half, Sam Healey was reliable in cover and tested the Eels with his running game.
The Eels were well and truly in the contest through 60 minutes, with physical defence and enterprising attack, but when the game opened up in the final quarter, the Warriors were simply too much for their hosts.
The Warriors were under pressure early as the Eels put together some solid sets and made ground with ball in hand. It took the visitors a few sets to click into gear, and the Eels made the most of that.
Conceding set restarts did the Warriors no favours and it was a familiar face who made them pay, with former Warriors and Eels five-eighth Ronald Volkman getting the first try of the contest.
When the Warriors did get their attacking engine ticking over, they looked a formidable unit.
As he has done throughout the season, halfback Boyd was strong in both his kicking and passing options, and beautifully summed up what the defence was giving him with the tryline in sight to send second rower Leka Halasima storming over.
Khan-Pereira soon added to the count on the left wing on one of many occasions where he showed his acceleration off the mark to glide on the outside of the Eels defence and to the try line.
A Dallin Watene-Zelezniak try soon before halftime, well assisted by a flick pass from fullback Taine Tuaupiki – channelling Benji Marshall in the 2005 NRL Grand Final – gave the visitors a decent lead at the break.
But just as they did in the first half, the hosts were the better of the two sides after the restart. While he had a quality performance for the most part, Warriors left centre Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was guilty of switching off after losing a contest in the air against Brian Kelly on his own tryline. Parramatta centre Will Penisini, on the other hand, made his way around his Warriors counterpart and stayed in the play to be on hand as Kelly got an unlikely offload away. Penisini had plenty of work to do, but was brave with his diving finish under heavy pressure.
Missed opportunities – and the Warriors opting to kick a couple of penalties – kept things tense through the middle stages of the game, and it was set up for a big finish when Volkman hustled through in the 59th minute for his second try.
But in the end, the Warriors found another gear to put the match to bed, Ford, Khan-Pereira and Tuivasa-Sheck all scoring in the final 20 minutes to lift the Warriors to their fourth win in a row.
NZ Warriors 36 (Alofiana Khan-Pereira 2, Leka Halasima, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Jackson Ford, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck tries; Tanah Boyd 4 cons, 2 pens)
Parramatta Eels 14 (Ronald Volkman 2, Will Penisini tries; Mitchell Moses con)
HT: 16-6