Dallin Watene-Zelezniak during the round 26 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the St George Illawarra Dragons. Photo / Getty Images
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak during the round 26 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the St George Illawarra Dragons. Photo / Getty Images
The Warriors are likely to start their NRL playoff assignment next Saturday night, with the match against minor premiers Penrith.
The NRL won’t confirm the schedule until the end of round 27, when the final order of the top eight is decided.
But previous history - and respective turnaround times- suggests that will be the case. The clash between the Brisbane Broncos (second) and the Melbourne Storm (third) is a logical fit for Friday night, given both teams played last Thursday and the fact the Broncos draw big audiences to that weekday slot coveted by Channel Nine.
The Sunday afternoon finals fixture is often given to an elimination final, which means fifth versus eighth or sixth against seventh.
That leaves Saturday night, which also means that both the Panthers and the Warriors have equivalent seven-day rest periods. That’s certainly the preference of the club.
“The seven-day turnaround would be better but the six-day would be fine,” said coach Andrew Webster. “We are ready to go. We are excited. I’d rather a seven-day turnaround but we don’t complain.”
After a week of debate over possible permutations, the Panthers were confirmed as the Warriors’ first opponents in the playoffs on Saturday night. Penrith sealed the minor premiership - their third in four years - with a 44-12 win over the Cowboys, while the Warriors had earlier slipped to fourth place after their defeat to the Dolphins.
After that 34-10 reverse in Brisbane, the Warriors flew straight home, bolting from the stadium to catch a 7pm flight. They’ll have team meetings and a recovery session on Sunday, before the coaching staff plan out the rest of the week.
Saturday’s ugly performance by a vastly changed team was a sting in the tail, though Webster is confident it won’t have any lasting effects, ahead of their biggest game in years.
“No, not at all,” said Webster post match. “We know what our game looks like, we know what we have got to do. We’ll be fine.”
Warriors second rower Marata Niukore. Photo / Getty Images
It was always going to be a risk to rest eight players - including most of their biggest names - and the young Warriors team, which included two debutants, ran into a red-hot Dolphins side, who reprised some of their early-season form, when they won five of their first eight games.
But the benefits should outweigh any costs, as the Warriors will have a rested, near full-strength team for next weekend, which is ultimately what matters.
However, Saturday was still a humbling experience, especially in the first half, as the Warriors were completely overwhelmed, living off scraps of possession and conceding 10 linebreaks to zero, with the 22-0 score line flattering the visitors. They responded for a period in the second half - fighting back to 22-10 - but couldn’t maintain it, as the Dolphins confirmed the win.
“We should have been way better,” admitted Webster. “We have high standards as a club. There were lot of individuals with strong performances but as a team we didn’t do it. We didn’t build any pressure, the possession rate in the first half was just unbelievable, our kicking game wasn’t good enough [and] we saw a lot of tired boys as a result of tackling all the time. [They] were trying hard but we weren’t putting our energy into the right things.”
Webster was satisfied with the output of Te Maire Martin, who played his first NRL game since early April after a long stint sidelined with a broken leg. The 27-year-old will partner Shaun Johnson next week, in the absence of Luke Metcalf (hamstring). Martin had a mixed match - on a difficult afternoon for the halves - but Saturday was more about game time than precision.
“The way he competed and how hard he tried was the most important thing,” said Webster. “He was always going to be a bit rusty. A couple of things he would like to have back but when you don’t get that much possession, you start trying to make things happen and force things, that’s fine. It was the perfect hit-out for him.”
Wing Edward Kosi and interchange forward Tom Ale caught the eye with strong performances, putting their case for involvement next week, while Josh Curran, Mitch Barnett, Marata Niukore and Adam Pompey were the best of the regulars among the second-string line-up.
Fullback Taine Tuaupiki was again impressive but remains the firm back-up to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
