NZ Warriors Round 3 Review: Warriors Impressive in Second Half Shutout

After last week's defeat to the Roosters, the Warriors stayed across the Tasman moving to North Queensland to face the Cowboys.

With a few players out and another week in hot conditions, I wasnt that confident in the Warriors getting the job done, but they proved me wrong with one of their best performances in some time, walking away with a 26-12 victory.

What Went Down

The Cowboys started the better of the two sides, and it was one of the new fullbacks that got the scoring off to a start with Tom Chester getting on the end of a ricocheting in goal kick from Chad Townsend after the home side marched up the field off the back of Wayde Egan giving away six again.

With Robson finding joy through in and around the markers, the Cowboys continued to dominate on the front foot, but it was the Warriors who got over the try line next, with Egan gathering an Addin Fonua-Blake offload to crawl over and score despite being tackled before the line.

The Cowboys tested the Warriors’ debutant fullback, Taine Tuaupiki, with high bombs – which he handled well – but a small chip to the middle of the pitch saw Tom Chester get the better of Tuaupiki for the ball to drop to Reece Robson to run in under the sticks unchallenged. The ensuing Valentine Holmes conversion made the scores 12-6 with just 15 minutes played.

The Cowboys broke down their left edge soon after, but a desperate Warriors defence managed to hold the home side out and avoid back-to-back scores. The game continued in an end-to-end fashion on the ensuing set for the Warriors, with Marcelo Montoya held up down the Cowboys’ end, having started the set on their own try line.

Sustained pressure wrestled the game back in the Warriors’ favour, and unforced errors from the Cowboys continued to invite The New Zealand side to attack. They attacked with ease and pierced the Cowboys’ defence twice in quick succession, first through Montoya and then through Jazz Tevaga – who crossed with ease through the frail Cowboys’ middle to take the lead 12-16 and go into half-time in control of the game.

The Cowboys’ frail defence continued in the second half, and just under 10 minutes in, they allowed the Warriors to march up the field with ease and score in the corner off the back of an impressive carry and offload by Adam Pompey. Shortly after the try, Reece Robson invited more pressure on his side by letting go of the ball when trying to milk a penalty from the referee; the Cowboys even challenged the knock-on decision and consequently wasted their challenge for the game.

The Warriors easily attacked the ensuing set and forced a set restart – which the Cowboys desperately defended while looking much the worse side of the two. The home side struggled to bring the ball out from their own end, clearly out-enthused by the travelling Warriors, which they eventually converted into a penalty 40 metres out. The Warriors turned down the opportunity of two points to extend their lead to 12 and instead opted to run the penalty.

They easily broke down the Cowboy's defence and earned another penalty, this time more kickable. However, the visitors again decided to run, given the Cowboys’ defence resembling a turnstile. The decision paid off, and Montoya crossed again on the left wing to make the score 26-12 in favour of the Warriors.

The Cowboys managed to get some good ball possession, and Shibasaki knocked on in the act of trying to score, only to be saved his blushes by the referee, who gave a penalty for offside. The Cowboys couldn’t make use of the penalty, with Tom Chester looking the most likely to cross before Jeremiah Nanai got on the end of an overpowered Townsend kick-in goal, only for it to be too deep to ground in the field of play.

More errors stunted a comeback from the home side, and the Warriors continued to attack to great effect, moving the Cowboy's defence around at will though to no impact on the scoreboard. Given their extensive lead, the Warriors began to switch off and make unforced errors, inviting the Cowboys for a comeback. They couldn’t make use of the gifted possessions, however, and the Warriors took an impressive 26-12 victory away from Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

My Thoughts

Finally, the 13-match losing streak on Australian soil is over, and it was the best game I have seen from the club since 2018. As I said last week, I wouldn't be surprised if the Warriors got the win here (despite wrongly predicting the Cowboys to win), but it was how the Warriors played that caught me off-guard. They looked clinical and ticked most of the boxes for a performance of a top-four side. The forwards dominated the middle, and the backs all looked threatening; Taine Tuaupiki looked solid out the back on debut, and this was the first time we saw SJ and TMM start to work together well this season. They had a shaky start which has become the 2023 norm (more on that later), but for the final 60 minutes of the match, the Warriors barely put a foot wrong and would have made a few clubs take notice. It's still early in the season, so we can't afford to get ahead of ourselves. Still, after a few years of struggling to look forward to game day and worrying about what we would have to watch the team serve up weekly, it's just fantastic to see this side play positive football. I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch, but 2023 could be a better season than I predicted in my preseason preview. 

Were the Warriors perfect? No, but I see building improvements each week, and this side could be a dangerous unit once everything clicks, which excites me for the future.

It was the best performance I have seen from the Warriors in some time, which leads me to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

The forwards did well here; six ran for over 100 metres (Dylan Walker - 157m, Addin Fonua-Blake - 144m, Tohu Harris - 142m, Mitch Barnett and Jazz Tevaga - 140m), which is the Brad PassMark. When the big boys do their job up front, it makes life easier for the backline, allowing Shaun Johnson and Te Maire Martin more time and freedom to get things in motion. If the pack can deliver along these lines every week, the Warriors will be hard to face.

Man, the defence has been fantastic this season; such a 180 from the garbage I complained about weekly last year. The Cowboys fired plenty of shots, but the Warriors kept pushing them back, keeping them from scoring a point for the final 67 minutes of the match. To keep the Cowboys out for that long with the number of weapons they have at their disposal is a massive achievement, especially in an away game in sweltering conditions. I love using the cliche of defence being all about attitude, but this was on full display in this performance, with every Warrior refusing to let their teammates down. Love seeing this so much, and makes me more confident of a win each and every week.

The way the Warriors closed this game out was on point and the thing that impressed me the most. Despite a few silly errors, the Warriors played smart football, kicking to the corners and forcing the Cowboys to start each set deep in their own half, forcing them to take risks to try and get back into the contest; its refreshing as these tactics usually are never in the Warriors playbook, and it just shows that they are a more complete side and if they are in a close game, they have the tools to ensure they can cement a narrow hard-fought win.

However, there were a handful of things that concerned me, bringing me to my negatives from the game.

Match Negatives

For the third week in a row, the Warriors allowed their opponents to score inside the first five minutes. I'm starting to fear that this isn't a fluke and is, in fact, an issue. It has yet to make the games unwinnable by any stretch however giving any NRL side an easy start is a dangerous gamble. Now the two tries the Cowboys scored could be described as lucky but handing them those opportunities is something the Warriors can control. I am still determining how they fix the starts, but I'm sure Andrew Webster and co discuss it weekly.

The Warrior's attack looked clunky and disorganized the closer they got to the Cowboy's try line. With a bit more room, the Warriors looked dangerous, but reducing the space saw the Warriors go into their shell a bit and rely on one outrunning. Not ideal when they find themselves in a tight tussle with the game on the line, but I think this will improve in time; the link plays between Johnson, TMM, and Dylan Walker were starting to work, and I expect to not have to discuss this in my negatives in a few rounds.

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the match goes to Jazz Tevaga.

What a return for Tevaga; playing 64 minutes, he ran for 140 metres, made 32 tackles and scored a nice try. I know many people were trying to figure out where and how he would be used in the gameday 17 with the signing of Dylan Walker, but I always saw Jazz being used in the middle, which is what happened here. His smaller stature does not prevent him from going toe to toe with some of the big boppers in the NRL, and he is tough and plays with heart and passion. Great to see him hit the ground running after his injury, and I expect a big year for him. Congratulations on the return, Jazz, and big props to you for what you are doing for your mate Roman Tuhimata with the money you are raising.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve goes to Bunty Afoa.

Now I don't know if Afoa got a knock. However, he only played the first 17 minutes and didn't have much of an impact running for 37 metres; this was from 3 carries, so he was at least running just over 10 metres a carry which is putting him on the right track for a 100+ running metre game, but he just didn't find 2nd gear. 16 minutes isn't a lot of time, but Tom Ale got only an extra 5 minutes compared to Afoa (22 minutes) and ran for 120 metres. I'm a fan of Afoa, but if he doesn't lift his effort, he will lose his spot to one of the many Warriors forwards waiting to return.

Next round thoughts and prediction

Round four sees the Warriors return to Mt Smart for the first time in the 2023 campaign to face the Bulldogs, who survived a Tigers second-half comeback to win 26-22.

Regarding the team, I would pick, much like I have said in the previous two rounds, I would stick with the same side. 

This will be a tough match; the Bulldogs have a great roster and have shown glimpses of how dangerous they can be but have struggled with their handling errors. If the Warrior's forward pack delivers for the second week in a row, and that defensive line contains Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr and not to forget, this will be the first match played at Mount Smart, and it should have a decent crowd so this all points towards a Warriors win so I am picking them to win by 12.

So that was a fantastic Round 3, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Would you make any changes to the gameday 17?

Three rounds in, do you think the Warriors are a finals side?

How would you fix the slow starts if you were in charge?

What is your score prediction against the Bulldogs?