NZ Warriors 2023 Round 20 Review: Warriors Ramp-Up Top 4 Aspirations with Dominant Win over Sharks

After Round 19's decisive win over the Eels, the Warriors returned home to host the Sharks in another must-win match if the Warriors want to have a chance at making the top four.

After a tense start, which saw the Sharks draw first blood, the Warriors took control of the match and showed how dangerous they can be with the ball in hand and how composed they can be when defending as they cruised to a 44-12 victory.

What Went Down

Wearing their Indigenous jerseys to celebrate Matariki (Māori new year), a four-try blitz in the middle of the first half laid the foundation for a crushing 44-12 win for the Warriors over the Sharks.

There was a late scare for the Warriors when Shaun Johnson went down with an ankle complaint; however, he appeared to be alright before receiving an early mark shortly after.

The Sharks had dominated the opening minutes, scoring in the tenth minute via a Nicho Hynes show-and-go before Johnson turned the game in the Warrior's favour.

It began in the 20th minute with a shift to the right, where Dallin Watene-Zelezniak crossed for his 14th try in just 12 appearances for the year.

A perfect line run by Rocco Berry off a Johnson short ball put the Warriors in front in the 27th minute, with the halfback converting to make the score 10-6.

Johnson followed that up with a pinpoint 40/20 in the following set before setting up Addin Fonua-Blake to crash over near the posts.

The Warriors went the distance again in the following set, with Wayde Egan breaking through from dummy half and sending Luke Metcalf away to score under the posts.

Metcalf thought he had a second four minutes later when he raced onto a Johnson grubber; however, he was found to be offside.

A desperate effort by Marcelo Montoya on Sione Katoa down the other end allowed the Warriors to head to halftime leading 22-6.

With the Sharks starting the second half strongly, Johnson proved himself as good at saving tries as setting them up in the 52nd minute when he matched Montoya’s effort by forcing Ronaldo Mulitalo into touch.

That swung momentum back to the Warriors, with Berry breaking through to send Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad away to score under the posts in the 57th minute.

They again piled on the tries in a hurry, with Johnson setting up Josh Curran on the hour mark before Watene-Zelezniak scored his second try with an acrobatic leap in the corner. Johnson’s sideline conversion pushed the lead out to 38-6.

The Sharks pegged one back when Briton Nikora overpowered Nicoll-Klokstad to score under the posts.  

A Will Kennedy knock-on, followed by Hynes being sin-binned for a professional foul, gave the Warriors one final chance to score. They did just that when Fonua-Blake drew defenders in before offloading to Ford, who linked with Adam Pompey to score the try that put them ahead of the Sharks on points differential. Metcalf converted to complete the 44-12 thrashing.

My Thoughts

Before I start, as I mentioned briefly last week, there was a loss in my family last Monday, which meant there was no review for the 46-10 victory over the Eels; thank you for all the kind words of support, it was a tough week, but this victory over the Sharks did end my week a lot better than it started. However, the review may be jumbled after the stressful week, so I apologise in advance.

Onto to this match, I feel like this was a great statement performance; after the disappointment of that Rabbitohs clash, and the Eels win having the stigma of missing origin players, this match was always going to be the one where the Warrior's credentials would be judged. For me, it showed that this side has something special and will have all teams worried once the finals begin.

The Sharks started both halves strong and made it look like the match was going to be a tighter tussle than we ended up getting, but the Warriors were able to weather the storm with some great defence, and they built pressure which then allowed them to unleash some strong attacking plays, which resulted in tries in quick succession. This may have been the best performance not only this season but for the past few years.

The team is clicking together nicely, and this is all without Te Maire Martin, Marata Niukore, Jazz Tevaga and Bunty Afoa on the pitch, which just shows that Webster's next-man-up approach is working so well. 

Of course, There is room for improvement, but Andrew Webster and the team seem to relish that, and this side continues to look like a genuine playoff threat. 

It feels weird speaking so positively about the Warriors since I have become so used to writing about poor performances since I started doing this in 2016, which does take a toll; however, the Warriors have turned a massive corner and hopefully have built the foundations for a promising future, and I'm loving it.

 

There was plenty to smile about, which leads to my positive from the match.

Match Positives

The attack is starting to hum, I've mentioned in the past that I had concerns about the Warrior's attack being clunky, but this has been addressed and fixed for the most part. The forwards led by Addin Fonua-Blake were dominating the middle. The spine is combing well, Wayde Egan is stringing games together without getting hurt and is linking nicely with Shaun Johnson, and Luke Metcalf has continued to make the number 6 jersey his own, and I can't see him being dropped for Te Maire Martin anytime soon. There are just attacking threats all over the park, the forwards can bust over in the middle, the edges can create opportunities regardless of how little space you give them, and the second phase footy is starting to become a staple in the Warrior's play. And once they build a bit of momentum, they are proving hard to stop, so hopefully, we will continue to see the points flow this season.

As great as it was to see the Warriors score 44 points, I was more impressed with the 12 points they conceded. Allowing one of the NRL's most dangerous attacking sides to score only two tries is a massive statement. The Sharks did have a few chances to get more points, but monster defensive efforts from Marcelo Montoya and SJ prevented them. It's great to see the side all communicated well and kept their defensive line relatively intact, and as the cliche goes, defence wins championships, so if they can keep this up, the skies are the limit.

Lastly, Rocco Berry. I started the season as a Berry fan, expecting to see him develop into the centre we have been promised, and I can admit I had given up hope on the youngster. However, due to limited options, he has kept his spot and had his best performance to date, and almost got my Warrior of the Match. His line running kept improving as the match developed, and he scored a nice try and created a few opportunities for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak. He looked dangerous with the ball in hand, leading the Warriors with 7 tackle breaks and had a great night defensively, keeping Siosifa Talakai quiet. Fantastic showing for one of the more divisive players in the squad, and I hope this is the launching point for him and he goes to another level this week instead of this being a one-off performance.

However, one thing did concern me, bringing me to my negative from the game.

Match Negative

Honestly, I struggled to find anything negative as I thought this was one of their more complete performances. However, there were brief patches where the Warriors appeared to go away from the game plan and looked a little disjointed. Andrew Webster said in the post-match interview that he thought it was more about the team getting a bit too cute at times. The positive out of this was that they were able to get back on track quickly. Nothing much to be concerned with, but I had to find something.

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the Match goes to Shaun Johnson.

What a week for SJ; he signed a one-year extension, welcomed his second child and ended the week with a stellar performance on the pitch. He had an extra pep in his step, and it showed with a near-flawless performance. He got an excellent 40/20, had three try assists and just had the ball on a string, orchestrating many of the Warrior's scoring opportunities. His kicking game was on point, and he was defensively sound, including his try-saver on Ronaldo Mulitalo. The only negative would be a few missed conversions, but they weren't easy, so he gets a pass. Just great to see his resurgence, and while my heart skipped a beat when he went down hurt, the positive is that it is minor, and he will be ready to go this week. Has to be right up there for the Dally M medal right now.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve is Adam Pompey. 

Although I did not publish a review last week, Pompey got the nod from me, and he has gone back to back this week. He did score a nice try at the end of the match, but besides that, there wasnt too much to praise. He missed 8 tackles and only ran 9 times for 66m. He just looked out of sorts and lost compared to the rest of the squad and will need a massive bounce back this week, but fluctuating performances are all part of Pompey's enigma.

Next Round Thoughts and Prediction

Round 21 sees the Warriors remain in NZ to host the Canberra Raiders, who had a bye in Round 20.

Regarding the team I would pick, I would keep Mitch Barnett in the front row and bring Marata Niukore back into the second row. This would see Josh Curran move back to the bench, and I would drop either Freddy Lussick or Bayley Sironen. Everyone else would stay the same.

Another must-win for the Warriors if they want to climb into the top four; the Raiders are currently fourth on the ladder, just two points ahead of the Warriors, so a win here would see the Warriors leapfrog them due to their Points Differential (Warriors have +110, and the Raiders have -55). 

The Warriors are on a roll, winning 4 of the last 5, and the Raiders have won their last 3 matches (in fact, that last defeat they had was against the Warriors in Round 15). 

It will be a tough match for the Warriors as the Raiders are now easy beats, but the elephant in the room is the Raider's struggle to perform in the second half. 

So to win here, the Warriors just need to be in contention at halftime and then take over in the second half. However, I expect a similar performance from the Warriors that we have seen the past fortnight, so I expect them to get a lead early and sleep it, so I will go with a Warriors win by 18 points.

So that was a fantastic Round 20, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Is a Top Four finish on the cards for the Warriors?

Was this a one-off performance from Berry, or do you see him staying at this level?

Has Luke Metcalf cemented his spot in the halves?

What is your score prediction against the Raiders?