NZ Warriors 2024 Round 4 Review: Warriors grind to back-to-back wins against rudderless Knights

 

After achieving their first win of the year in Christchurch, the Warriors returned to a sold-out Go Media stadium to host a Knights side fresh off the high of also earning their first win in Round 3.

In a tight contest, the Warriors did enough in the first 44 minutes to secure the lead, and despite a Knights comeback attempt in the final 10 minutes, the Warriors held on for a 20-12 victory.

What Went Down

The Warriors started the match well, showing intent with the ball in hand, but in the tenth minute, they suffered a big blow when Luke Metcalf went down with a suspected leg fracture. This saw the early injection of Chanel Harris-Tavita, a fortuitous addition to the gameday 17 just hours before kickoff. The Warriors kept the pressure on, despite some sharp running from Kalyn Ponga causing a few headaches, and after a few Knights errors, they got themselves in good field position to strike first when Shaun Johnson got the ball to Jackson Ford, who hit and span his way over in the 16th minute. Moments later, they were over again when Wayde Egan sniped out of dummy half before getting the ball to Harris-Tavita for his first try since returning to the club. The game started to settle into a grind, with both sides trading errors until the 35th minute, when the Knights got themselves on the board after Tyson Frizell collected a Tyson Gamble grubber and bulldozed his way through CHT to score. This saw the Warriors enter the sheds with a 12-6 lead.

The Warriors wasted little time getting into the action in the second half. In the 43rd minute, Marcelo Montoya snatched a CHT cross-field kick to score in the corner, and Shaun Johnsons' conversion extended the Warriors' lead to 18-6. This was the last scoring play for about 20 minutes as both sides traded sets with a handful of exciting attacking plays from both sides, causing the fans to get out of their chairs. The Warriors extended their lead to 20-6 in the 71st minute after kicking a penalty due to Jayden Brailey being offside with the 10 metres. The Knights dug deep and tried to get back into the contest and got Warriors fans nervous when a Ponga grubber found its way to Bradman Best, who touched down; Ponga's conversion saw the Knights only 8 points behind with 6 minutes to go, but the Warriors defence held firm as the Knights crumbled under pressure with back-to-back errors to see the Warriors earn the much needed two points and improve their record to 2-2.

My Thoughts

Well, the Warriors have another win, which was an improvement from last week's performance. However, there is still plenty to work on, which is to be expected with some key players still out and only being a month into the season.

This game was a real grind fest, which I expected with the pack the Knights have, but the Warrior's forwards were strong once again, with four of them cracking the triple-digit mark that I want to see every week, and this was integral in getting this win, the Knights team have issues with their halves right now so by shutting down their pack like the Warriors did the Knights really struggled with direction on attack with them relying on individual brilliance and grubbers to keep them in the contest.

There were still a few missed opportunities from the Warriors, and with the amount of pressure they had the Knights under in this match, they should have had a few more tries to their tally, but perhaps im just being greedy.

I left the match generally happy. The pieces are coming together. The NRL season is a marathon, not a sprint, and when it all clicks, this will be an exciting team to watch. There are a few tests coming up in the next few weeks, so hopefully, they will click sooner rather than later.

There was more to smile about this week, which brings me to my positives.

Match Positives

I thought Wayde Egan's return improved the attack; he cleared the ruck quickly and made the most of some lacklustre Knights marker defence with a few big runs out of dummy-half. With the forwards rolling up the middle, we saw the Warriors' backs cause some havoc, but they just didn't have the polish to finish some of the sets off. As I have already said above, when the polish comes, this team is going to score plenty of points.

The defence was great here, apart from a few amazing runs. The Warriors kept Ponga contained, and conceding only two tries from kicks is a good day at the office. There were no easy tries given away from the poor defence in the middle or edges. Montoya and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak did cause me a few heart-in-mouth moments with some poor-timed rush-ins, but the Warriors scrambled well in those moments and shut those attacks down. They just need to keep this defensive consistency up.

Lastly, the inclusion of Chanel Harris-Tavita proved to be a masterstroke; I was already in my seat at the Stadium when the final team was announced and was surprised to see that CHT had taken Freddy Lussick's spot on the bench but was happy as I have said in previous weeks that I like the idea of CHT on the bench as he provides a bit more cover than Lussick does, mainly because if Egan doesn't get hurt he plays the entire game anyway. Then that injury to Metcalf happened, and CHT just slotted in and didn't miss a step, whereas if Lussick was there, we probably would have seen him move to hooker and Egan into the halves, which would have disrupted the attack. Sucks to see Metcalf go off, but it looks like CHT may have that halves spot for the foreseeable future.

However, I did have some concerns, which brings me to my negatives from the game.

Match Negatives

Just like in 2023, the Warriors go into a lull when Mitchell Barnett and Addin Fonua-Blake both exit the contest; they are the big dogs in this pack, so a drop-off is expected, but it is usually the time in a game where the opposition gets back into the contest, Bunty Afoa keeps the middle solid with his defence and Marata Niukore added some impact and I'm confident that with a few more games under his belt he will improve and make the passage of time the big bopper are off the pitch less impactful.

Once again, the Warrior's last ten minutes were on a knife edge. I can't pinpoint what it is, but they clock off just a smidge, leaving the door open for a Knight's comeback. The past two weeks, they have survived the blip with some stern defence, but I want to see them continue to pile on the pressure in that final stage instead of spending it stuck on their line, as it will save my nerves.

Luke Metcalf's injury was a cruel blow. CHT stepping in and performing well was great, but it hurts to see Metcalf injured once again. He has had more than his fair share of bad luck, but he had cemented his spot in the starting lineup and was improving every week. It can be mentally taxing on players when they suffer injury after injury, and while there has been no official word, it sounds like he has a fracture so similar to Te Maire Martin last season that we may not see Metcalf for some time. I have my fingers crossed that it isn't that bad, and he can return soon, but either way, hopefully, the people around him can keep his spirits up.

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the Match goes to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

A big game from RTS in his first start at Fullback this season; he ran for 283 metres and had 7 tackle breaks, including an impressive display where he stepped two players in quick succession before bumping over Adam Elliott. He also had some good defensive moments, including knocking the ball down and stopping an almost certain try in the final stages of the contest. The only downside was one dropped kick, but he has made one significant error every game so far this season and always makes up for it. Just an excellent performance and a great backup fullback to have on the roster; I know a lot of the media and social media pundits want to see him be the Warriors fullback for good, but I'm in the centre camp and look forward to seeing how he goes when CNK is out the back providing that link player in the sets plays.

Warrior to Improve

I have no player to improve for the second week in a row, as none of the 17 did enough to be classed as letting the team down in my eyes.

Next Round Thoughts and Prediction

Round 5 sees the Warriors back across the ditch to face the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium, who finally got their first win this round with a 20-16 victory over the Bulldogs.

Regarding the team I would pick, I would only change the 17 to bring back players or replace injured ones. Andrew Webster said in the press conference that CNK will be back this week, so I would have him at Fullback, with RTS replacing Adam Pompey in the centres. I would also have CHT stay in the halves with Freddy Lussick coming back to the bench. If Dylan Walker gets the all-clear, I would bring him in for Jaz Tevaga.

The Rabbitohs have been embarrassing this season, but as Warriors fans know, regardless of how well or poorly Souths are doing, they seem to love showing up and putting the Warriors to the sword. So, I am expecting another tough matchup here. The Warriors pack dominated the Knights this week, and they need to do that again here. If they do that and we see the return of CNK, then the backs should have plenty of chances to target the Rabbitohs' edges, and the points will come.

Souths have shown little respect for the ball this season, so if the Warriors continue kicking to the corners and applying the pressure with their kick chase, we should see the Rabbitohs fold. So I'm going with the Warriors to get their first win on Australian soil, winning by 10.

So, that was a better Round 4, but as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Do you have a player to improve?

Which camp are you in, RTS Fullback or Centre?

Who would you bring in for Metcalf, CHT or TMM?

What is your score prediction against the Rabbitohs?