Warriors v Raiders - NRL: Andrew Webster salutes his men’s composure

Warriors players celebrate with Shaun Johnson after he kicked the winning field goal in Friday night's thriller against the Raiders. Photo / Andrew Cornaga, Photosport

If anyone needed a reminder of the Warriors’ special spirit in 2023, it came in Friday’s 21-20 golden point victory over the Canberra Raiders.

The team had to deal with significant adversity during the week, accentuated by one of their shortest turnarounds of the season. Fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad battled flu symptoms throughout the buildup and in other circumstances may not have played.

The Herald can also reveal that three other members of the 17 were also sick during the week, which compromised preparations.

Furthermore they faced a Raiders team desperate for revenge, after the Auckland side ruined Jarrod Croker’s 300th game celebrations in early June.

Canberra arrived in town early – on Tuesday – and targeted this match, aware they were fresh, coming off the bye.

It was a highly physical contest, where the Raiders threw plenty. And just when the game looked over, with a 20-10 lead with three minutes to play, the visitors crossed twice in the last two minutes, with Croker missing a sideline conversion that would have won the game.

The Raiders seemed to have all the momentum, while the stunned Warriors could have been wondering how it happened.

But they reset mentally, then came up with a drive from their own 20 metre line, before Shaun Johnson nailed the 18th field goal of his NRL career.

“There was so much good stuff,” said Webster. “These are big games, against good sides. And when you get yourself in trouble, you’ve got to know how to get yourself out. Our composure in golden point was excellent. The first set of defence was unbelievable.”

Nicoll-Klokstad then fielded a yardage kick in goal – to give a seven tackle set – and the Warriors marched up field. There was a series of strong carries – with Tohu Harris offering momentum as he bent the line – before Johnson guided the kick home, from 35 metres.

“We showed the composure, if you communicate on the field at the time, you know what you’re doing and how to do it,” said Webster.

It had been an uncomfortable finale, sparked by Elliott Whitehead’s 79th-minute try off a blindside kick.

“It was a big play by them,” said Webster. “The heart started to flutter after that. I was nervous, like everyone in the stadium with 30 odd seconds to go.”

The Raiders then produced their magnificent coast-to-coast attack, finished by Jack Wighton, before Webster joined the team’s huddle on the field.

“I said boys, honestly, this is all about putting pressure on the opposition and you’ll find the right kick, said Webster. “And they did; they did it themselves. They were saying to me, ‘Webby, we’ve got this’. They were confident and they gave me confidence.”

The result puts the Warriors in a great position, with five games to play, all against teams currently outside the top eight. But Webster said standards will need to keep improving, if they want to make an impression in September.

“Where we’re at now – it’s not going to get it done,” said Webster. “But I am confident that we can get to where we need to be. Every good team improves each week from now on. So we need to be one of those teams. Really happy with where we are at, but we have to improve each week.”