Tom Ale of the Warriors celebrates his try in round 15. Photo / Gregg Porteous / NRL Photos
Tom Ale of the Warriors celebrates his try in round 15. Photo / Gregg Porteous / NRL Photos
OPINION
The Big League Podcast host Nathan Limm builds a case for the winless Warriors proving victorious in Friday’s NRL battle with the Canberra Raiders in Christchurch.
Crushing Canberra on big occasions
The Warriors beat the Raiders twice during the regular season last year, both at times when theirposition in the top eight and top four respectively were at stake. They crashed the party at Jarrod Crocker’s 300th NRL match at GIO Stadium, putting on one of their best defensive displays of the season in the first half and a lethal attacking display in the second. The backlash for that came in round 21 at Mt Smart, where two tries in the final three minutes saw the Raiders force the match to golden point with all the momentum. Cue a calm Shaun Johnson field goal from 30 metres out to save the day. Players have long memories, and while the Raiders will be desperate not to fall to the Warriors again, it’s undeniable the Kiwi side know how to get the job done.
Warriors players celebrate with Shaun Johnson after he kicked the winning field goal in round 21 last year. Photo / Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
The Warriors’ second half vs the Storm
No, I’m not over that outrageous loss in Melbourne either. The Warriors had a tired, sloppy first half but for 90 per cent of the second, they were near perfect. A missed conversion from Luke Metcalf and a bad pass from Dylan Walker were the only obvious mistakes across a 35-minute period away against the Storm. That just doesn’t happen. Their opening 20 minutes against the Sharks was similar. The Warriors are 0-2, but across those two games against quality sides, they have shown patches of just how powerful and accurate they can be. It’s dumb errors letting them down. No team is producing an 80-minute performance in the opening rounds, but if they can remain focused and stretch that accuracy out to 40 or 50 minutes, they will be very tough to beat.
The Christchurch factor
Christchurch doesn’t see much rugby league. The Warriors haven’t played there since 2019 and off the back of last season, it’s no surprise tickets were snapped up with weeks to spare before season start. Canterbury is an underrated league stronghold. With two South Island bids to be one of the NRL’s expansion teams - both of which want to be based at Christchurch’s new Te Kaha Stadium - league is on the rise in the Garden City. Even last month’s preseason trial against the Dolphins was sold out. It’s no secret the Warriors’ record in New Zealand away from Mt Smart is poor, but any worrisome Auckland-based fans should make an exception for Christchurch. A raucous crowd is no guarantee of victory, but it sure doesn’t hurt.
The return of Wayde Egan (hopefully)
Egan has been named to start at hooker again after being scrubbed from the team list late last week. The 110-cap veteran has been battling an old elbow injury which flared up in the opening loss to the Sharks. Coach Andrew Webster has confirmed Egan is much more likely to feature this week. Freddy Lussick - who’s just resigned for another two years - started against the Storm in his absence. Lussick has not played badly, but fails to impose himself in the same way as Egan. Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes found plenty of space up the middle around the ruck and Egan’s defensive nous would have come in handy. With Josh Papali’i and Joseph Tapine charging up the middle for the Raiders, Egan’s leadership off the ball will be just as critical as his attacking game.
Warriors hooker Wayde Egan has been named to start against the Raiders. Photo / Photosport
Raiders have a fresh halves combo
The loss of Jack Wighton to the Rabbitohs cannot be underestimated. 19-year-old Ethan Strange will start at five-eighth with only three career NRL appearances and is a potential target, like 21-year-old Storm half Jonah Pezet was last week. The Raiders backline has plenty of pace and has looked good so far, but have yet to be put under any serious pressure after comfortable wins over the Knights and Tigers. Centre Sebastian Kris is out with concussion but the Raiders welcome captain Elliott Whitehead back into the second row and will look to steer the game with their forward pack.
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. Limm covered the World Rally Championship in New Zealand, the Netball World Cup in South Africa, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates Super Rugby and NPC. Growing up, he was never far from the footy field or the cricket nets, and fostered a deep passion for sports media and broadcasting.
