NZ Warriors 2024 Round 15 Review: Warriors Derailed by Storm Surge

After enjoying their big Round 14 win over the Cowboys, the Warriors returned home to host the top-of-the-table Storm. After a dominant start, the Warriors could not keep the momentum on their side and were outrun by a determined Melbourne, losing 38-24.

What Went Down

The start couldn't have been any better for the Warriors as they dominated the first 20 minutes, holding the lion's share of possession. They only took six minutes to dot down the first points in the match when Adam Pompey dived over; a few minutes later, they extended their lead out when Pompey slotted a penalty goal after Eliesa Katoa collided with Te Maire Martins while he was kicking. The Warriors kept the pressure on, forcing the Storm into making more errors, which saw the Warriors increase their lead to 14-0 when Marcelo Montoya crossed over in the corner after a fantastic flick pass from Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. The Storm wrestled back the momentum with a dubious marker, not a square penalty and were rewarded when Adam Pompey appeared to have secured a Jahrome Hughes bomb, only for it to be ripped away from him by Katoa for the Storms's first try of the night in the 19th minute. The Storm were right back to it when Dallin Watene-Zelezniak lost possession, handing the ball back to the Storm in good field position. They wasted little time when Hughes kicked to the corner, where Xavier Coates tapped the ball back to Grant Anderson for their second try in the 25th minute. A few minutes later, a penalty against Jackson Ford for pressure on the kicker saw the Storm strike again when they swung the ball out wide for Dean Ieremia, who made it look easy to evade defenders for an equalling try in the 30th minute. Both sides traded errors in the next few sets before Katoa terrorised his former club again when he broke into open space before sending Nick Meaney away for the Storm's fourth try of the night and seeing them take the lead. The first half stuttered to an end, with both sides making errors to see the sides go into the sheds with the Storm holding onto a 20-14 lead.

The Warriors started the second half in a similar manner to how they started the first, capitalising on a Coates error by sending Mitchell Barnett over in the 45th minute to reduce Melbourne's lead to 2. Things began to fall apart for the Warriors after that. Jazz Tevaga looked to have scored but the bunker reviewed an early play and handed the Storm a penalty for a Te Maire Martin dangerous tackle; a few plays later, Montoya was penalised for illegally stripping the ball before getting sent to the bin for a professional foul when he tackled Hughes before going back ten. The Storm took advantage of the one-man advantage, shifting the ball out wide to Sua Fa'alogo to cross untouched in the corner, hurting himself in the process with a massive dive. Five minutes later, the Warrior's problems got worse when DWZ was sent to the bin for hitting Anderson high and off the ball now with a two-man advantage, the Storm struck again when they placed a grubber through for Coates to swoop on, extending Melbourne's lead to 32-18. The sides traded sets, but neither gained the upper hand until a Nelson Asofa-Solomona error handed the Warriors a good field position. They finally found some success when Pompey sent Montoya over for his second try of the night. The Warriors looked to have found their second wind, but with time against them, they were forced to take some risks. It went against them when Barnett made an error, handing the Storm the final chance to score points. It was their livewire fullback Fa'alogo who broke the line to cross for the final try of the evening in the 78th minute to see the Storm extending their winning streak over the Warriors to 16 with the 38-24 victory.

My Thoughts

Well, that was a disappointing performance. I came into this match confident that the Warriors would get the job done, and after a dominant starting 15 minutes, it looked almost sure that the Storm's losing streak would finally be at an end. However, when the rain began to drizzle, it was the liquid kryptonite that we have seen affect them in the past, and they just fell apart and let the Storm waltz back into the contest. It was a promising start, but the Warriors need to be stronger when it comes to adversity, as when they had some shocking calls go against them, they couldn't stop the Storm rolling, and it looked like the more they tried, the more they got wrong. This game broke me a bit; sitting there in my seat watching that lead just dwindle was terrible; they started so well and looked like a genuine premiership threat, but they couldn't keep it up. If they want to play finals football, then they need to play 80 minutes consistently, week in and week out. It's not all doom and gloom; I believe that the Warriors are good enough to be a finals side. It is just going to take a few tweaks, and they will be back on track.

There were a few things to smile about, which brings me to my positives.

Match Positives

That start was fantastic; the Warriors refused to let the Storm into the game with a crushing defence that forced errors, and they applied enough pressure to force mistakes and capitalised on the chances they earned. If I had one criticism, it would have been their decision to go for the two points instead of attempting to add another try and really turn the screws. As I mentioned above, if the Warriors could turn that 20 minutes into a full-game effort, then they would be a tough team to defeat.

It was another big day for the forwards, with five players cracking that 100-metre target I like them to hit. Instead of mentioning them all, I want to just focus on one: Jackson Ford hit another front rower stint out of the park, leading his pack with 156 metres and playing the first 65 minutes before coming off; that is a massive effort, and against a more formidable forward pack, he did not look out of place. He has truly found his calling in the middle, and I look forward to seeing his game continue to improve.

I know there has been a lot of conversation surrounding the half's performance in this match, with some calling for SJ's head; however, I liked the new attack structure with a more equal spread of control shared between SJ and TMM. It was a bit clunky, but this was the first time this new style was used, and it will take some time for things to click, but the positives outweigh the negatives. The Storm are a hard team to try this new version of attack out on, but if they stick with it, it will reward them in the long run.

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

Match Negatives

The Warriors let themselves down with their respect for the ball and discipline. They made 10 errors and conceded 8 penalties. Now, while some of those calls were dubious at best, they cannot afford to hand over 18 sets to any team, let alone a team like the Storm. It's just basic maths; the more turnovers they concede, the harder it will be for them to win. If they don't respect the ball more, their opposition will continue to punish them.

The Warrior's defence was pretty good for the most part; however, whenever they faced adversity due to an error or soft penalty, their defensive line lost all structure. They proved that they can defend well, as we saw in patches, but when pressured, they wilted, which shows that the issue is more of a mental and fatigue issue; the positive aspect of that is that it can be quickly addressed and fixed.

Lastly, the officiating, Gerard Sutton was well below the standards we expect in the NRL, which is already low. He made so many decisions wrong, and while I will not use that as an excuse for why the Warriors lost, it definitely aided the Storm in swinging the momentum in their favour. I think it's a fair request to have the game called fairly, and while the referees are only human and mistakes happen, we shouldn't be able to pinpoint multiple occasions where the calls were so wrong. I thought the two sinbins were fair in his defence, although I think the penalty conceded before Montoya's was incorrect.

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the Match goes to Mitchell Barnett.

Fresh from his new contract extension, Barnett had a great showing. He played the full 80 minutes, ran for 145 metres, and made 25 tackles with only one miss. He has been a critical figure in this Warriors pack in 2024 and shows no signs of slowing down. He adds plenty of attacking threat and defensive starch to the edge and has eliminated the discipline issues he had while at Newcastle. A great game, and I'm thrilled that he will continue to be a Warrior until at least 2027.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve goes to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

It was not the best night for DWZ. He ran for only 76 metres, made 2 errors, and had that sin-bin, which was just a brain explosion that should never have happened. He is a better player than this game suggests, and now, with a week off due to a ban, he has time to reset and hit the ground running in Round 17. 

Next Round Thoughts and Prediction

The Warriors return to Australia to face the Titans, who lost 18-10 to the Wests Tigers in Round 15.

Regarding the team I would pick, there is a fair share of outs this week, with DWZ banned, Kurt Capewell and Barnett out due to Origin selection, and injuries to Rocco Berry and Adam Pompey. However, Pompey may be cleared to play this week, so I will pencil him in for now.

In the backs, I would bring Roger Tuivasa-Sheck back into the centres to replace Berry and either Ed Kosi or Moala Graham-Taufa onto the wing (or move RTS to the wing and have Graham-Taufa to the centres).

In the forwards, I would either move Ford to the 2nd row or bring Jacob Laban in to replace Barnett and bring Tom Ale onto the bench to replace Capewell.

The Titans have been all over the place since they defeated the Warriors on ANZAC Day and have looked like a shell of what they could be, so my confidence is high for a Warriors bounceback. However, the Titans have David Fifita returning, and he will be looking for a big game as he attempts to try to get back into Queensland selection. The Warriors have a great chance of bouncing back here; they will have a few changes in the lineup but have shown that the young guns can step up, so if they can start fast and stay consistent, reducing the errors and improving the discipline, then they are in the driver's seat here so I am going for the Warriors to win by 18.

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

What is your take on the new halves game plan?

Who would you bring in to replace the outs?

Do you think the officiating was terrible, or am I overreacting?

What is your score prediction against the Titans?