Knights 24
Warriors 16
It's hard to know where the Warriors go from here – but the signs aren't good.
Desperate for a victory to restart their season, they instead blew an early 12-0 lead to lose 24-16 to the Newcastle Knights on Saturday.
The gravity of this loss can't be underestimated.
The Knights had been on a wretched run, with only one win since round two, but edged the Warriors where it mattered, showing a bit more hunger and poise when it was really needed.
It's the Warriors' fourth straight defeat, on a run which has seen only one win in seven matches and ended a positive streak at their Redcliffe home base.
It will compound the pressure on the club, coming after Matt Lodge's bizarre exit and payout.
They were unlucky with the second half sinbinning of Marcelo Montoya – which was a strange call – but that wasn't the difference.
The crucial period came in the second quarter. The Warriors were flying at 12-0, before an all too familiar fade, as they completely lost their bundle.
They were killed by a series of unforced errors – to let the Knights back into the match – and Newcastle had the initiative from there.
The Warriors coped admirably with the absence of twin towers Addin Fonua-Blake and Lodge but were defensively brittle, while the playmaking axis rarely clicked.
New signing Dunamis Lui was a late inclusion, with the 169-game NRL veteran coming onto the interchange bench at the expense of Eliesa Katoa.
Against a wobbly Knights side, the Warriors made an excellent start, with two tries in the opening eight minutes.
Adam Pompey sliced through some porous defence to score out wide – after a Freddy Lussick break – before fellow centre Viliami Vailea finished off a swift coast-to-coast move a few minutes later.
Newcastle, who had missed 50 tackles the previous week, looked in disarray. It was a brilliant platform for the Warriors but instead they resuscitated the visitors, with a series of mistakes.
Shaun Johnson and Chanel Harris-Tavita both kicked out on the full, as they invited Knights pressure almost from nowhere. There was some impressive defence, with Jazz Tevaga cutting down Tyson Frizell to save a certain try but the match had shifted.
Frizell pounced on a Jake Clifford grubber in the 24th minute, before Walsh sent the ensuing kick-off over the dead-ball line, the kind of error that is becoming a semi-regular occurrence.
That eventually led to Edrick Lee's try, with the Warriors right edge bedazzled and out of shape.
From nowhere, the Knights had some confidence and belief, though both teams continued to suffer from needless errors, with an impatience and lack of decisiveness on attack.
The Warriors regained the lead briefly in the 51st minute, after Dallin Watene-Zelezniak collected a pinpoint Johnson kick to the corner, following a brilliant late offload from Euan Aitken.
The joy lasted less than 90 seconds, as the Knights replied almost immediately, after Harris-Tavita split the kick-off cold.
Aside from the error – which was a howler – it was another example of the Warriors' inability to respond to adversity, as a poor defensive read from a scrum move allowed Enari Tuala to cross untouched.
The Warriors were then reduced to 12 men, with Montoya harshly sinbinned, for a high shot on a falling Lee.
The home side defended stoutly through most of the shorthanded period, but Tuala scored his second – arriving first to an Anthony Milford grubber – just before Montoya returned.
The Warriors had 10 minutes to find a miracle but never really looked likely, though Vailea was held up over the line in the final minute.
Knights 24 (Enari Tuala 2, Tyson Frizell, Edrick Lee tries; Jake Clifford 4 cons)
Warriors 16 (Adam Pompey, Viliami Vailea, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak tries; Reece Walsh con, pen)
HT: 12-12
Kath Wharton died on Thursday, aged 41.