The Warriors arrive in numbers to stop Dragons forward Leeson Ah Mau. Photo / Getty Images.
The Warriors arrive in numbers to stop Dragons forward Leeson Ah Mau. Photo / Getty Images.
Warriors coach Stephen Kearney was thrilled with the character his side showed to recover from a difficult past week and repel a second-half fight-back from St George Illawarra yesterday.
The Auckland outfit put the disappointment of last week's capitulation against the Gold Coast behind them to claim an 18-12 upset win over the Dragons at WIN Stadium.
The result was the Auckland outfit's first win over the Dragons at their seaside home ground in 11 attempts and the club's second win in Wollongong since the Warriors overcame the Illawarra Steelers in 1996.
Kearney was pleased with his side's resilience to hang on defensively to consolidate their place in the top eight and remain in contention for a top four spot with a month remaining until the playoffs.
"It was a gutsy effort. That was the really positive part of the performance," said Kearney.
"They spent plenty of time down on our try line and we found a way to get the win.
"We've done a pretty good job of [winning on the road] all year. We hadn't won in Perth in god knows how long, (and) Townsville.
"We're not focused on where we're playing. We just want to focus on our performance. That's why we're really pleased with today, because it was a tough, gritty performance and that's why we were disappointed last week because we let ourselves down."
The Warriors kept things simple with the outside backs helping the forwards to work the ball off their own line with captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck outstanding at fullback, along with left wing Ken Maumalo and right centre Gerard Beale.
"Ken was pretty good. The back five, with Roger obviously as skipper was wonderful," he said.
"[Gerard] is a 150-gamer with a lot of experience and he's played in big games and he came up with some really important reads today and also made a real contribution with the footy.
"When the team was trying to get out of the back field he'd like his nose through and find his front and get a quick play the ball for us which was really positive.
"But that sort of performance, everyone has to contribute and that's the real positive."
Right wing David Fusitu'a began the match strongly but after dropping a high ball late in the first half followed up with two clangers early in the second-half which led to two Dragons tries.
The first saw him put into touch on the second tackle before he lost the ball on tackle zero from a scrum, with the hosts capitalising to score through hooker Cameron McInnes and interchange forward Luciano Leilua.
Kearney was reluctant to criticise the 23-year-old who has had an outstanding season overall and was pleased he recovered to finish the game positively.
"It's a bit like our performance last week - he learned to shelve that because we need Dave to respond quickly for us," he said.
"And he's done that pretty well all year for us. Could he have done a couple of things better? Absolutely. He'd be the first to admit that but he's done some pretty good stuff for us this year also."
Warriors interchange front-rower Sam Lisone wore a raised forearm from Dragons second-rower Tyson Frizell. Photo / Getty Images.
Warriors interchange front-rower Sam Lisone may come under scrutiny from the match review committee after appearing to collect Dragons forward Tariq Sims with a raised forearm.
The combative 24-year-old was also on the receiving end of a similar incident however, when a collision with Dragons second-rower Tyson Frizell left him requiring attention from the trainer.
Lisone has already served a one match ban this season for raising his arm twice in the round three win over Canberra, but Kearney was philosophical about whether he'd face another charge.
"I'm sure there's a dozen or so incidents in a game. I do remember the incident, I don't recall the specifics or details. If he has something to answer for then he has something to answer for."
The eighth-ranked Warriors will look to continue to press for a top four spot when they host Newcastle at Mt Smart Stadium on Friday.
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