Manu Vatuvei of the Warriors celebrates after scoring a try during the round two NRL match between the Canberra Raiders and the New Zealand Warriors at GIO Stadium. Photo / Getty Images.
Warriors 18
Raiders 6
The Warriors season is underway.
They snapped their tradition of early season struggles, with a 18-6 win over Canberra at GIO Stadium.
Their performance again lacked polish, but they showed great heart to repel a fast finishing Raiders side in the second half.
Two tries early in the second half took the Warriors into the ascedency, and they were good enough to hang on.
For a team that focussed on their composure all last week, in the first half they showed about as much as a 17-year-old on a first date. If there was a poor way to kill attacking momentum - or end a set - they found it.
There were forward passes from dummy half, offloads attempted when flat footed and inaccurate kicking. The nadir came when prop Sam Lisone died with possession on the fifth tackle, after the ball had passed through the hands of both Shaun Johnson and Sam Tomkins. Like last week, the option taking from Chad Townsend and Johnson was poor and too often ball runners were flat footed as they received the pass.
It was a shame, because aside from the lack of organisation and composure, a lot of their work was good. There was nothing wrong with the effort and the Warriors defended well, with Bodene Thompson coming up with a great try saving tackle. There was intensity and plenty of variety on attack, until they reached the end of sets.
Thankfully, their work improved in the second half. Young props Lisone and Albert Vete continue to impress and the forwards fronted up well against the monster Canberra pack. Tomkins made a marked difference on his return, adding an extra dimension on the edges.
The visitors were facing down an awful record in the Australian capital. They won there last year, but before that their last victory had come in 2001, when Ruben Wiki was with the Raiders and Shaun Johnson was a 10-year-old playing for the Hibiscus Coast Raiders. But they stopped that unwanted streak in 2014, and had won the last three encounters by comprehensive margins.
But just as we hope the Warriors are an improved side this year, so are Canberra. They recruited well over the off season, including Kiwi strong men
Iosia Soliola and Frank-Paul Nuuausala - with Nuuausala almost resembling an NRL version of William 'The Fridge' Perry at times in this match.
After the frenetic start to the game, the Warriors opened the scoring in the 28th minute through the most predictable route. After Sam Tomkins split the defence wide open from a kick return, the visitors executed a set play perfectly and Manu Vatuvei crossed for his 13th try in his last five games against the Raiders.
Their lead didn't last long, with Sisa Waqa out jumping Jonathan Wright - who had been brought in for his aerial prowess - to grab a pinpoint bomb in the 34th minute. The Warriors started brilliantly in the second half, scoring two tries in four minutes to break the game open. Solomone Kata (42nd minute) crossed for his first NRL try before Ryan Hoffman (45 minute) showed remarkable agility to out jump Jack Wighton.
Raiders: 6 (S. Waqa try; J. Croker)
Warriors: 18 (M. Vatuvei, S. Kata, R. Hoffman tries; S. Johnson 3 goals)
Halftime: 6-6
Sir Graham Lowe says the Orcas are determined to be a competitive force in the NRL.