The Warriors beat the Storm 38-14 in Melbourne, ending a streak of 17 consecutive losses.
Jackson Ford was one of only two players to receive the maximum six Dally M points in round six of the NRL, putting him first overall.
The Warriors were the only winning NRL side not to have any players named in Fox Sport’s team of the week.
OPINION
Warriors supporters have never been known for being even-tempered fans.
In fact, they are widely renowned for being bitter. Little Brother Syndrome is real. There is almost a pleading, desperate call to be recognised on this side of the Tasman, because no matter what the Warriors accomplish,they are rarely taken seriously.
Any questionable decision by the Bunker is pounced upon, and social media comment sections are routinely lit up with gripes about NRL 360 omitting a Warriors win.
The fans’ hot-headedness is in part due to an underlying feeling the Warriors aren’t taken seriously by our Australian brethren.
Ali Leiataua celebrates scoring a try for the Warriors against the Storm. Photo / Photosport
While many will roll their eyes, it is a belief that holds weight.
The performance featured numerous eye-catching individual displays. Jackson Ford was one of only two players in the NRL this round to acquire the maximum six Dally M points, awarded for his one try, 36 tackles, 175 run metres and 66 post-contact metres among other contributions.
Chanel Harris-Tavita shone with several dazzling defensive efforts and a slick try assist, while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Demetric Vaimauga, Wayde Egan and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak were instrumental in the win.
And yet in Fox Sports’ NRL team of the week, the Warriors were entirely omitted. The Tigers, Raiders, Titans, Sharks, Sea Eagles, Roosters, Bulldogs and Cowboys all featured. That list includes every team to win in round six except the Warriors.
While it would be overreaching to suggest more than a couple of Warriors players should have been included, it is equally crazy to suggest none were good enough.
I can only assume the people who came up with the list either wanted to rage-bait Warriors fans to boost their engagement (in which case, it worked superbly – well done) or they simply didn’t watch the game.
Being disregarded by international media isn’t unique to the Warriors, though. The Black Caps routinely reach Cricket World Cup finals and semi-finals, and yet are never talked up as one of the favourites going in.
Black Caps captain Kane Williamson reflects on the strange circumstances of their defeat in the 2019 World Cup final. Photo / Photosport
The All Blacks and Black Ferns are two of the only New Zealand teams consistently regarded as a heavyweight across all competitions, but there is a distinction.
Our rugby teams win titles. That’s it. The key psychological difference comes down to performance at the highest echelon, with the most pressure.
The reality for the likes of the Warriors and the Black Caps – barring New Zealand’s traumatic 2019 Cricket World Cup final boundary-countback defeat – is that when the pressure has intensified, they’ve crumbled.
When you are a small country, the little brother, you have to go above and beyond to get noticed, in a way lesser teams of Australia don’t.
The Wests Tigers haven’t won the NRL in 21 years, but they produced a dominant showing against the Knights and had four players in Fox’s team of the week.
The Warriors – and New Zealand – simply aren’t on the radar of Australians. They are a footnote, a sideshow that’s a nice storyline now and again, but never the main event.
While titles in years gone by should logically have little to do with an early-season team of the week, the lack of silverware will always put the Warriors on the back foot in the court of international public opinion.
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.
