Chanel Harris-Tavita celebrates his try against the Sydney Roosters. Photo / Photosport
Warriors 42
Roosters 18
By Ben Francis at Mt Smart Stadium
For a team that often struggles in season openers, the Warriors flipped the script with a convincing display against the Sydney Roosters in Auckland.
There was optimism among the 24,112 fans at Go Media Mt Smart before the match that 2026 is finally the Warriors’ year, and there was a standing ovation as James Fisher-Harris led the team onto the field.
The Warriors rode their luck on a few occasions but walked away with a 42-18 win, the most points they’ve ever scored in their first match of the season.
Playmakers Chanel Harris-Tavita and Tanah Boyd had their hands in three tries each. Harris-Tavita scored two and set up one, while Boyd crossed for the opener and assisted two.
Jackson Ford was also immense gaining 219m with the ball off 22 carries to go along with a team-high 28 tackles.
Some early-season wobbles from the Roosters were expected as Daly Cherry-Evans settles in and builds combinations with his new teammates.
While the Roosters improved as the match progressed, they only have themselves to blame with poor discipline and execution letting them down.
The Warriors’ victory shows Andrew Webster’s men can build on their impressive campaign last season and fight for their maiden premiership.
An early penalty gave the Warriors great field possession in the opening exchanges, but they didn’t make the most of their chances despite overturning a knock-on ruling through a captain’s challenge and benefiting from a six again call.
The Warriors continued to pepper the Roosters’ line and eventually capitalised when Boyd threw a brilliant dummy pass to break the line and score their opening try.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck should have added a second minutes later but was tackled into touch. The Roosters made them pay when Billy Smith made a break down the left edge and found his captain James Tedesco to level the game.
The Warriors had the chance to retake the lead thanks to a penalty goal, but Boyd’s attempt went wide.
The Roosters thought they’d snuck ahead when Benaiah Ioelu pounced on a ball that bounced off Tuivasa-Sheck’s head, but it was ruled out for interference.
Tuivasa-Sheck made up for his blunder in the next set, catching a bomb and helping Adam Pompey dive over in the corner.
The Warriors added two more before the break - the first after a well-executed block play led to Kurt Capewell diving over under the posts. Then a misthrown pass bounced perfectly for Tuivasa-Sheck, who found Chanel Harris-Tavita on his inside.
This pushed the hosts to a 22-6 lead at halftime.
The Roosters needed to score first to start the second half and Cherry-Evans thought he had after pouncing on a Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad error, but upon further inspection it was deemed he had grounded the ball before losing control.
Webster waited until the second half to inject Leka Halasima, which proved to be a masterstroke as he scored with his first touch of the game, leaping high into the air to catch a Boyd kick.
The Roosters did strike with back-to-back tries through Billy Smith and Angus Crichton, however their momentum was halted when the Warriors kicked a penalty goal.
But the Roosters kept fighting and it took some big defensive efforts from the hosts, including an intercept from Fisher-Harris on the goal line, to keep them at bay.
Harris-Tavita sealed the win when his high kick skewed off direction but was gathered by Tuivasa-Sheck, who threw it back to his five-eighth to claim his second of the night and secure the two competition points.
Belief will be high among the Warriors, and all eyes will turn to next Friday to see whether they can back it up against the Canberra Raiders, also in Auckland.
Warriors 42 (Tanah Boyd, Adam Pompey, Kurt Capewell, Chanell Harris-Tavita 2, Leka Halasima, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad tries; Boyd 5 cons, pen)
Roosters 18 (James Tedesco, Billy Smith, Angus Crichton tries; Sam Walker 3 cons)
HT: 22-6
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.