Ali Leiataua celebrates his try against the Storm. Photo / Photosport
If you are going to break a hoodoo, this is the way to do it.
The Warriors haven’t just ended their streak against the Melbourne Storm – they have smashed it out of the park.
This was enough to make hardened Warriors fans cry, as it ended years of pain at the hands of the Victorian team.
It felt like a watershed moment, even if the Storm are in a hole, ending a run of 11 long years and 17 games without a win against the men in purple.
The final scoreline was 38-14 but the margin could have been even greater, had the Warriors been more clinical in the last 30 minutes.
They led 18-14 at halftime, then exploded in the third quarter, with three tries in eight minutes and 20 unanswered points.
While they managed some brilliant attack, the key was their defence, which was brutal, ferocious and intense.
The Warriors kept the Storm scoreless in the second half and didn’t concede a point after the 25th minute.
The Storm pack was completely overpowered – sent backwards repeatedly – which left their famed spine with no time and space.
The Warriors interchange – led by Demetric Vaimauga were brilliant, as were all the young tyros. Jackson Ford was immense, Wayde Egan took great options all game, while Chanel Harris-Tavita made a strong return.
It was a debut to remember for wing Alofiana Khan-Pereira and Ali Leiataua justified his recall.
It was the kind of performance – especially without the ball – that sets a benchmark for the rest of the season and will reinvigorate the campaign, after consecutive defeats. The desire was summed up in the final 15 minutes, as they made repeated last stands on their goal line.
The Warriors made a dazzling start. After conceding an early penalty goal to Nick Meaney, Leiataua crashed through three defenders to score after solid pressure.
It was just reward, from neat work by Boyd and Marata Niukore. Five minutes later there was more, after impetus created by Erin Clark, with a perfect face ball from Egan putting Niukore over.
After that hot start, what came next was disappointing, with two Storm tries in seven minutes. Momentum swung off an unfortunate Ford error from the kick-off, before Cooper Clarke bowled through four defenders.
Clarke helped the create the next – which came from multiple offloads – before Jack Howarth was across near the right flank.
There was another swing soon afterwards, as the Warriors muscled up, with a Harris-Tavita bellringer on Will Warbrick, though they got fortunate with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s try, following a misdirected Boyd pass that skidded past two defenders.
Leka Halasima should have been over soon afterwards but Boyd’s pass was too heavy.
The Warriors made an ideal start to the second half. They got more territory - as Melbourne struggled to maintain their discipline – before delightful deception from Harris-Tavita put Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in space, with the veteran twisting brilliantly to put down.
A flashpoint came with Ford’s try – from another wonderful Egan pass – though the Storm were arguing for a double movement as the ball slid over the line.
One of the best moments of the night followed as Leiataua soared to take a Harris-Tavita bomb, before quick hands saw Watene-Zelezniak across in the corner.
The Storm were stunned, with seemingly no answers, and Watene-Zelezniak should have had a hat trick, but Tuaupiki elected not to pass.
But on this night – unlike many others – it didn’t matter. The Warriors remained on top – even as the Storm threw everything at them. Harris-Tavita smashed Josh King with one of the hits of the year, before Tuivasa-Sheck rolled back the years to force Will Warbrick over the sideline.
Melbourne kept searching for something – even a consolation – but there was no way through, on a famous night for the Auckland club.
Melbourne Storm 14 (Cooper Clarke, Jack Howarth try, Nick Meaney 2 cons, pen)
Warriors 38 (Ali Leiataua, Marata Niukore, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 2, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Jackson Ford tries; Tanah Boyd 5 cons, 2 pens)
Halftime 18-14
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.