NZ Warriors 2023 Round 15 Review: Warriors Spoil Crokers Celebration with Highlight-Filled Performance

After their big win over the Dolphins, the Warriors headed to GIO Stadium to face the Canberra Raiders, who were celebrating Jarrod Croker's 300th match.

It was a tight tussle in the first half, with the Warriors spending plenty of time under pressure; however, the tables turned in the second half as the Warriors sauntered to an emphatic 36-14 victory.

What Went Down

After a week of wonderful Croker tributes, over 21,000 packed Bruce Stadium to watch his milestone game. An emotional Jarrod Croker ran out as Jason Croker blew the horn to start a special Viking Clap, followed by a minute of applause for Jarrod in the third minute.

But the Warriors – who are enjoying their best season since 2018 – did well to absorb the emotion of the opening exchanges, though Matthew Timoko went close to scoring.

After plenty of possession, the Raiders finally opened the scoring in the 21st minute, Jack Wighton regathering his kick, with Croker converting for a 6-0 lead.

The Raiders got a further advantage when Mitchell Barnett was sin-binned in the 23rd minute.

However, the Warriors held on for the sin-bin period and levelled the scores through a fantastic Dallin Watene-Zelezniak try. DWZ leapt high to take a Shaun Johnson bomb and somehow planted the footy in the right-hand corner.

But Canberra took an 8-6 lead at half-time after a Croker penalty goal.

It took only seven minutes for the Warriors to hit the front when former Raider Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad strolled through. CNK continued the tradition of ex-Raiders excelling against the Milk with 194 All-Run Metres.

That opened the floodgates: Tom Ale, Luke Metcalf, and Wayde Egan scored simple tries in the space of 12 minutes as the Raiders’ defence crumbled to lead 30-8.

But there was a scare for the Warriors when Johnson went off for an HIA, but he would soon pass his HIA and return.

Canberra finally scored through Josh Papalii, but it was way too late.

The Warriors capped a wonderful night when Johnson intercepted a desperate Sebastian Kris pass to score one of the easiest tries of the night. Not even a second sin bin (Marata Niukore) could dampen the New Zealanders’ spirits as they cruised to a 36-14 victory.

My Thoughts

Well, what a performance we got to watch here. I had predicted a Warriors win, but I thought it would be close. Facing the Raiders on a massive occasion with an enormous crowd would always be a challenging environment. Still, the Warriors didn't let the spectacle get the best of them, and when the Raiders started to fade, the Warriors found another gear and left them behind.

As I said last week, the 2023 Warriors outfit is a back-end team; against any team, if they are still in the hunt around the 50-minute mark, you know they have points stored away for that final 30 minutes, which is exactly what happened here.

The first half was brutal; the Raiders had the lion's share of possession and spent most of the half camped on the Warrior's try line, and the Warriors defended fantastically, with the only points conceded being a try of a lucky deflection and a penalty goal. That was a massive physiological win for the Warriors, and it would have frustrated the Raiders to not only have scored only one try but to allow the Warriors to score with only 12 men; it was an impressive try to their defence, but still, you can guarantee that doubt was starting to trickle into their minds as they went into the sheds.

The second half was essentially a Warriors highlight reel; they started to benefit from all their hard work in the first half, with the Raider's defence starting to open up. Including Shaun Johnson's fantastic intercept try from a kickoff which I struggle to remember ever seeing in the NRL before (you are welcome to fact-check that for me).

No player let anyone down, the stars shone, the workers got in the grind and rookie Ali Leiataua had a decent debut, he did nothing over the top, but he showed plenty of potential and looks sure to be a name we talk about for years to come.

I said last week that this season feels special, and this game just intensified those feelings for me; this team has so much self-belief and confidence that I believe they have a great shot at going deep into finals which I haven't said for so long.

 

There were aspects of the game to smile about, leading to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

Once again, that defence was impressive; to hold the Raiders to only one try-a-half is a massive achievement. I saw a stat from Sam Hewat regarding the defensive stats, and this time last year, the Warriors were dead last with 433 points conceded, and this year they are second only to Penrith with 258 points conceded. Their turnaround in only one year is outstanding, and this is without playing teams like the Dragons and Tigers yet. They are fit, trust each other and communicate so well, you see the defensive line moving together, and when things break down, they just clean it up without throwing blame. Defence wins championships, as the cliche goes, but if they can keep this up, I have high hopes for where this season will end.

The forwards had a big battle in the middle against the likes of Joseph Tapine and Josh Papalii, and they dominated. Four of the pack ran for over 100m, led once again by Addin Fonua-Blake (207m), followed by Mitchell Barnett (176m), Tohu Harris (130m) and Jackson Ford (100m). With their heavy lifting upfront, the game opened up, and we saw the backs reap the benefits with some big runs and not to forget the back three's rampaging kick returns, which set the forwards up for success. If the forwards keep this up and the likes of Dylan Walker and Jazz Tevaga return to the fold, it makes the Warriors pack very intimidating.

The attacking shape looked better this week; they were consistently probing the Raider's line and putting their strike weapons into scoring opportunities. We didn't see much of it in the first half, but you just knew that once they got their hands on the ball, the points would come. Shaun Johnson's attacking kicks were pinpoint, and I know the coaching staff mentioned that Johnson, Stacey Jones and DWZ have been working on that crosskick move for some time. It was an amazing display of kick accuracy and spacial awareness from DWZ. The short passing game creates plenty of holes in the defensive line, and it was good to see the Warriors not panic when breaking out into open space; many times in the past, we would watch them break out and then ruin it with a 50/50 pass instead of taking the tackle. A composed Warriors outfit with the ball in hand is a dangerous Warriors team.

However, two things did concern me, bringing me to my negative from the game.

Match Negative

The errors increased, unfortunately, this week, with the Warriors making 12 but the final whistle. Some were unfortunate, but others were from the Warriors trying to force things to happen with quick play the balls. I just don't like seeing the Warriors gift their opposition extra sets, and while their defence saves them in most cases, it would be good to see the error rate return to the single digits sooner rather than later.

Lastly, the officiating, Grant Atkins had a night to forget. I'm not sure if he was getting easily swayed by the boisterous Raiders fans, but he was just getting so many calls wrong, and it felt at halftime that there was no way the Warriors would get an honest attempt at winning the match. However, they took him out of the game by blowing the Raiders off the park. There has been so much talk about the officiating this year, and this was just another performance that wasnt good enough, and it will be interesting to hear Graham Annesley defend his referee this time.

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the Match goes to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

Yet another week where I was flipping a coin between CNK and SJ, but I went with the former Raider in his first clash against his former side. He led the Warriors in running metres with 211m, made 6 tackle breaks (second only to Luke Metcalf's 7) and was consistently busy. With the Warriors down to 12 men in the first half, he had his job cut out for him, ensuring that the Warrior's defensive line was lined up correctly. He plays with heart and is always willing to roll his sleeves up and do extra work; it's no surprise to see him run two times in a set. He has made every post a winner in 2023 and is a key figure in the Warrior's success, and will play a massive part in their playoff aspirations.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve was Bunty Afoa.

I've gone with Bunty again, I was tempted to pick no one this week, but I am still perplexed with how Afoa is being used. He only got the first 14 minutes in this match and did not return. I think with Mitch Barnett back in the squad, players like Afoa and Ale will get limited minutes now, and while Ale's stats look good for his 12 minutes, Afoa was unfortunately given all his time when the Raiders refused to let go of the ball so his 1 run for 13 metres isn't that flash. However, he had to defend and did a decent job with 13 tackles with no misses. I like Bunty, but with Dylan Walker and Jazz Tevaga returning from injury soon, he sticks out as the player who will drop out. A return to his usual bench spot could see him return to previous years, hopefully. 

I would love to hear the coaching staff's thought process on using him.

Bye Round Thoughts

Round 16 sees the Warriors enjoy their second bye of the season and add another two points to their competition total. A week off after the past two games may not be ideal with the roll they have got on, but it is a chance for the squad to rest up some niggling injuries and give the casualty ward a chance to deplete with most players currently scheduled to be available by Round 17, in time for the Warriors clash with the Dragons.

With no game to review next week, I will write up a mid-season review where I will go over the good, the bad and the ugly of the 2023 season to date and give my thoughts on the Round 17 match against the Dragons. It's a little past the middle of the season, but it fits best here with the bye.

It should be fun compared to the past few seasons, and I am looking forward to it, so look out for it next Monday.

So that was a fantastic Round 15, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Do you have a theory on what is going on with Afoa?

TMM is slated to return in Round 17. Would you bring him straight back or keep Metcalf?

What rating would you give the Warriors at this point of the season? 

What is your score prediction against the Dragons?