Despite a rough scoreline, Stacey Jones was happy with his players' attitudes in the loss to Penrith. Photo / Photosport
Despite a rough scoreline, Stacey Jones was happy with his players' attitudes in the loss to Penrith. Photo / Photosport
It might only be a small consolation, but Warriors coach Stacey Jones was satisfied with the overall effort from his team in Friday night's heavy defeat to Penrith.
It's probably a sign of how far the club has fallen, when there are positives to be found from a target="_blank">46-12 loss, but that is the harsh reality for the Warriors.
They are light years away from the top clubs, but at least created a contest for periods on Friday.
In terms of application, it was a marked difference to the two previous performances in Australia, where they were smashed by South Sydney and North Queensland.
Up against the defending champions, who sealed the minor premiership last week, the Warriors were further hampered by the midweek loss of several frontline players, including Euan Aitken, Wayde Egan and Marcelo Montoya, while halfback Shaun Johnson didn't take the field in the second half due to a calf injury.
In those circumstances, it could have got really ugly, but the makeshift team fronted with the right attitude, even if they were eventually overwhelmed and outclassed in the eight tries to two reverse.
"We had a tough week," said Jones. "Players pulled out at the last minute and we had others out early [which] made it tougher but I thought the boys dug deep at times. There was some boys that put their hand up, against a very good team."
Despite a rough scoreline, Stacey Jones was happy with his players' attitudes in the loss to Penrith. Photo / Photosport
The Warriors took an early lead and only trailed 12-6 in the 35th minute, before two quick Penrith tries broke the game open.
The Panthers had blown some earlier opportunities but the Warriors had also created chances in and around Penrith's suffocating defence that they couldn't convert.
Captain Tohu Harris was superb and it was no coincidence that the visitors conceded three tries in a nine minute spell either side of halftime when he was off the field.
"Tohu led the way," agreed Jones. "And unfortunately for us, when we take him off and take Addin [Fonua-Blake] off and bring guys on that haven't played a lot of footy it's probably where we struggled a bit."
However, in a well beaten team, some lesser lights showed the way.
Second rower Eliesa Katoa had probably his best performance of an inconsistent year, underlining his potential and showing why his early release to go to the Melbourne Storm could become another head scratcher for Warriors fans.
Prop Tom Ale, in just his sixth first grade appearance since 2020, also showed his mettle against the formidable Penrith pack, with 122 metres from 13 runs and 26 tackles.
It was an impressive 36-minute stint and made you wonder why he hasn't been given more NRL opportunities.
Tom Ale was impressive with ball-in-hand against the Panthers. Photo / Photosport
And wing Edward Kosi continued his recent progress with another solid effort and a willingness to carry into traffic.
Jones didn't have an immediate post-game update on Johnson – as the doctors will make their assessment in the coming days – but it seems unlikely he will be available for Saturday's finale (5pm) at Mt Smart against the Gold Coast Titans.
That match will be a chance for the team to finish on a high and continue their positive record (2-1) since the first Auckland game last month.
"We're really looking forward to playing that last game at home," said Harris. "We feel like we a different team when we get to go home and be with our families.
"That's not going to decide the game for us [and] it is still a tough challenge against the Titans, who have shown they can score points with the best of them in this competition. We have got a challenge ahead of us but it's an exciting one."
