NZ Warriors 2023 Round 21 Review: Warriors survive Raiders fightback as SJ proves clutch in Golden Point

After Round 20's outstanding win over the Sharks, the Warriors remained on home soil to host the Raiders in a battle for a spot in the Top Four.

The Warriors spent plenty of the match under pressure but looked sure to win comfortably until back-to-back tries from the Raiders forced the game into Golden Point. The Warriors held their nerve and secured a 21-20 victory with a Shaun Johnson Fieldgoal to send the fans home happy.

What Went Down

Six weeks after the Warriors spoiled Jarrod Croker’s 300th game celebrations, Canberra travelled to Auckland in a game with huge finals implications, and it turned into a surprise Golden Point thriller.

The Warriors opened the scoring with a try to Marata Niukore in the third minute, converted by Shaun Johnson for a 6-0 lead.

Canberra hit back in the 18th minute when Hudson Young picked up a Warrior's knock-on and ran 40 metres to score. Croker converted to tie the game at 6-6.

Johnson got the Warriors back in front with a 27th-minute penalty goal.

Then came a crucial call just before half-time: Sebastian Kris looked to have scored but was hit by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak before grounding the footy, forcing the fullback to lose possession.

The Warriors quickly punished the Raiders when Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad again scored against his former side.

Leading 14-6 at half-time, the Warriors pushed further ahead through Watene-Zelezniak, scoring in the right corner.

Another Johnson penalty goal in the 55th minute gave the Warriors a 20-6 lead, which seemed more than enough against a Canberra side lacking creativity in attack. 

While Jordan Rapana kept Canberra in the game with an Aussie Rules-style grab of a Jamal Fogarty bomb, the Warriors still looked comfortable with a 10-point lead.

Then, with two minutes left, the Raiders pulled the game out of the fire. First, Elliott Whitehead scored, then – in a rare moment of enterprising attack – the Raiders spread the footy to the left, with Albert Hopoate breaking down the sideline and then passing inside to Jack Wighton. At 20-20, Croker had a sideline conversion to win the game but missed. 

While the Raiders had the momentum, a poor first set in Golden Point resulted in a seven-tackle set for the Warriors. They marched downfield, giving Johnson enough time to slot a 30-metre field goal. And it’s not the first time he’s broken Raiders hearts.

Coincidentally, the Warriors’ NSW Cup side also beat Canberra 21-20, with the Raiders leading 18-0 after 15 minutes.

My Thoughts

Well, wasnt that a nerve-racking game, the Warriors looked safe with two minutes to go, and then the Raiders snapped into life and made me and all the other people there watching live from the stadium cling to the edge of our seats. I've been in this situation before watching Warriors games, where they just switch off and let victory slip out of their fingers, but this side is built differently and closed out that Golden Point Period as near perfect as you can hope for. 

Besides the final few minutes of regular time, this was another good outing for the Warriors; it was tough and gritty, which is what we usually expect when you face the Raiders. The forwards had their work cut out for them, and while it may not show on the stats, the forwards more than held their own. The attack was dangerous and asked many questions from the Raider's defence, and could have put this game away earlier if they had shown the ball a bit more respect.

To be clear, they should not have let it go to Golden Point, but at this point in the season, with a bunch of matches against bottom eight sides coming up, this was the kind of test the Warriors needed. Getting put under tense pressure and fighting through it will force the squad to not get complacent as they prepare for their first finals appearance since 2018.

As I've said so often this year, this team is something special; they know how to score, how to defend and when the going gets tough, they just don't give up, and if they stay focussed, then I see them going deep into the finals.

 

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

Match Positives

That attack continues to impress me; the Warriors have attacking threats all over the park, in the corners, up the middle, off kicks or off second-phase play. Shaun Johnsons' kicking game was top-notch here as he has fine-tuned his kicking game from outside the red zone to put the opposition under immense pressure, thanks partly to the edges showing 100% commitment to their kick chase. 

You name it; this team can do it, and this is integral to their finals chances as it makes them harder to prepare for. There is still work to be done, some of the plays were not as crisp as you would want, but with the team clicking for the most part, you can expect them to iron out the kinks in the final few rounds before getting into the sudden death of finals football.

The team's defence continues to shine through, the Raiders did score those two tries at the death, but for large portions of this game, the Warriors were stuck on their goalline facing set after set, and they dug deep and prevented most of what the Raiders threw at them. The players just refuse to give up on each or themselves, and there was no better example of that than Dallin Watene-Zeleaniak's try-saving attempt on Sebastian Kris. I know Ricky Stuart complained that it should have been a penalty try, and I may be biased, but I thought it was a fair call from the officials, especially when a high shot from Kris on Luke Metcalf was also let go. Defence will be key in where they end this season, and these final few rounds give them a great chance to shut some teams out and get everyone on the same page.

Lastly, the team's composure in Golden Point, after letting in those quick tries, you would have been safe to assume that the Warriors would be rattled and let it slip, but they had a good defensive set which forced a poor kick from Jamal Fogarty. Then with a 7 tackle set, the side surged up the field with what looked like relative ease on the back from big carries from Tohu Harris, Addin Fonua-Blake, Dylan Walker and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad before going to SJ, who has been in this situation so often that it looked a breeze for him to nail. Was a tense watch, but it just highlighted the confidence this side has. While I don't want to see this kind of finish again, I am more confident that the Warriors won't fall apart if they find themselves in another pressure cooker situation.

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

Match Negative

Unforced errors again; they made 11 here, and while they defended their way out of most of these, they just can't afford to be making double-digit errors in the finals. Each error is a free set for the opposition, and giving those away to the top-tier teams will only set them up for failure. Many were from passes being pushed, so if they take a breath and stick to the game plan, I can see the errors coming down. I have my fingers crossed for a single-digit error rate in Round 23 against the Titans.

That final few minutes of regular time, the Warriors were leading 20-10, and while I will give them that Elliot Whitehead try after holding the Raiders out for a while, the Warriors finally relented and let one through; however, that final try in the final 30 seconds should never have happened with a poor defensive read along the edge. I don't know if they thought the game was over and let off the gas or if they were just fatigued, but I hope that this moment has been a valuable lesson for them to learn, and it's better to learn this lesson and still win as opposed to learning it from a loss.

Lastly, the interchange use, the Warriors got a bit cute with their rotations in the second half, with the side having Tohu Harris, Addin Fonua-Blake and Mitch Barnett all on the sidelines simultaneously. This was a curious move for me as the Raiders have a big pack, and with Marata Niukore already ruled out of the match, having the other three big forwards off the pitch at the same time only allowed the Raiders a chance to get back into the game. Addin played the entire first half, and Bunty Afoa only got 13 minutes, so there was a weird mix of minutes; however, many of the games this year have had a strange use of the bench, and while I do trust Webster, I would love to be a fly on the wall to learn his thought process behind his choices.  

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the Match goes to Addin Fonua-Blake.

AFB continues his charge towards being the top front rower in the NRL with another outstanding performance; he played 70 odd minutes, ran for a team-high 205m from 21 runs and made 34 tackles. He always gives 100% and is willing to carry his team on his back to get them the win. With his massive tank and heart, there is no other Prop I would want leading this side, the true linchpin in the Warriors pack.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve is Luke Metcalf.

Was hard yet again to pick someone here, but I have gone with Metcalf; he has found his feet in first grade over the past few weeks, but this match was a slight step backwards; he had a team-high 3 errors and just lacked a bit of the spark we have come used to while also being a bit quiet in the kicking game. Started to get into the match in the second half with some good running and defended well, and I expect him to bounce back in the next match.

Next Round Thoughts and Prediction

Round 22 sees the Warriors enjoy their final bye of the season; the two points earned here will see them remain in the Top 4, a position I never would have imagined this side being in before the season kicked off.

With no game to preview, it's the perfect time for the squad to rest up those nagging injuries and refocus on every NRL team's goal, which is to win the premiership. It's a challenging task, but the Warriors have found themselves in a good position in that top 4. They have matches against the Titans, Wests Tigers, Sea Eagles, Dragons and Dolphins left. While they are all winnable matches, the Warriors cannot take any of these sides lightly as on their day, they could steal some valuable competition points; keeping their eye on the ball will be crucial, but they could win all 5 of these matches and depending on how the Panther and Broncos go could even move up to 1st or 2nd. It's a great time to be a Warriors fan who has spent so many years doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out who had to lose to get the Warriors into the top eight, so sitting here focussing on the top four is refreshing for me. I hope this continues not only this season but for years to come.

So that was a nerve-racking Round 21, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Where do you see the Warriors finishing on the Ladder?

With 5 matches left, how many of those will be Warrior Wins?

Do you have any concerns with the interchange rotation?

What is your score prediction for the Titans match in Round 23?