NRL: The rare feat the New Zealand Warriors can achieve against the Sydney Roosters

Warriors players celebrate during their win over the Knights. Photo / Photosport

Only one week into the NRL season and the Warriors are already eyeing rarified air.

Friday’s round one victory against the Knights opens the opportunity for Andrew Webster’s side to do something the club has only accomplished three times in their previous 28 years: start the year 2-0.

2007, 2009 and 2018, when they won their opening five games, are the only times the New Zealand side have been flawless through the opening fortnight. The Melbourne Storm by comparison, who entered the NRL three seasons after the Warriors, have started 2-0 on 15 occasions.

A 2-0 start doesn’t exactly mean a measure of success later in the season. When the Warriors made the 2011 Grand Final, they started 0-3 - although the last three NRL champions started the season with two victories.

The Warriors haven’t won back-to-back games since round four and five last season, which was part of a three-game streak.

They face one of the tougher prospects to keep their season perfect when they head to Sydney this week. The Warriors have lost their last three away games against the Roosters after wins in 2016 and 2017. The Roosters remain the TAB’s second-favourite to lift the NRL trophy, despite suffering a shock defeat to the Dolphins last Sunday.

Spare a thought for the Gold Coast Titans as well - they’ve gone 2-0 just once since the inception of the club in 2007, and that was 13 years ago. But a 22-10 victory over the West Tigers last weekend puts them in the same spot as the Warriors when they face the Dragons on Sunday.

The Warriors’ 2-0 starts

2018

Beat Rabbitons 32-20

Beat Titans 20-8

The wins: A road win to start the season, and certainly the definition of a road win, having to open the year in Perth. Despite the travel, they back up the impressive result with another strong outing at Mt Smart, almost leaving the Titans tryless until the final few minutes.

What happened next: Opened the season with five straight wins to sit in second on the table behind the Dragons. The Warriors then went 10-9 over the rest of the season to finish eighth, although just two points behind the minor premiers. Lost to the Panthers 27-12 in week one of the finals. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck became the first Warriors player to win the Dally M Medal.

2009

Beat Eels 26-18

Beat Sea Eagles 26-24

The wins: The death of Sonny Fai in January rocked the club and somehow the side managed to not let emotions get the better of them in the opener at Mt Smart, going out to a 26-6 lead just after halftime. The following week, club legend Stacey Jones made a perfect return, leading the Warriors to a win at Brookvale Oval.

What happened next: After the 2-0 start they only won five more games, while losing 15, to eventually finish 14th.

2007

Beat Eels 34-18

Beat Broncos 24-14

The wins: Up 24-0 at halftime of game one - a dream start for Ivan Cleary’s Warriors. They then faced a Broncos side without Darren Lockyer and Corey Parker, making the most of two home games to start the season.

What happened next: They then lost back-to-back games. It was a season of form slumps and amazing runs, bouncing back from a six-game losing streak mid-year to win nine of their last 12 and finish fourth. They earned a home playoff in week one but lost to the Eels, before being knocked out the next week after going down to the Cowboys in Townsville 49-12.