Warriors 14
Tiger 0
It was fortunate the Warriors gave their fans a 14-0 win over the Tigers at Mt Smart last night because there was nothing in the 80 minutes that looked even close to the sort of entertainment that would drag them back otherwise.
The home team were marginally better in a
dour struggle punctuated by errors and penalties every time either side seemed to be gathering any momentum.
Drizzle started as the game did and cold, slippery conditions hampered the teams, both struggling to mount any sustained single plays let alone complete a scintillating set of six.
The Warriors last recorded a win six games ago, so at least some confidence will be restored. But their next opponents, the Sharks, will also have gathered some after their first win in nine games, grinding out a one-point late victory over the Eels in similar conditions in Sydney on Saturday night. Muscling gang-tackles were key to that.
The Warriors won because they executed three of the meagre number of chances each side had while the Tigers kept dropping the ball in the Aucklanders' 10m zone.
The star was new boy Kevin Locke, who scored first points at 31 minutes when he ran inside to collect a ball from Jerome Ropati and ended the game with exactly the same move when seconds were left on the clock.
It wasn't till then that coach Ivan Cleary and the 15,635 shivering in cold southerlies felt comfortable.
"I always thought he could play well," Cleary said. "He's got a lot of confidence - there's obviously a good future there."
Locke may get another run next week as right centre Patrick Ah Van injured a hamstring.
Cleary mixed up the positioning of the backs yesterday, with Manu Vatuvei sent to the right to combat the bulk of Taniela Tuiaki while Stacey Jones moved both right and left in defence.
Neither Jones, standing two wide of the ruck, nor his long-term Kiwis heir-apparent Benji Marshall, were able to put a stamp on the game yesterday. Jones played a role more like that of a traffic policeman, directing others and injecting himself when he saw chances, while Marshall got delivery from nearly every Tigers play-the-ball but wasn't able to produce threatening runs or passes, too many of his kicks running dead.
Cleary said it was satisfying to keep the Tigers to zero. The difference yesterday as opposed to the horrible loss in Canberra was not down to commitment, which had never been lacking.
"We're not always pushing in the same direction - tonight we were all going in the same direction and on the same page. I'm really proud of the way they just defended and defended."
He praised Wade McKinnon for contributing widely from fullback even though he was yet to attain the stunning attack by which he set himself a high benchmark in the 2007 season.
"He did so many good things tonight." And better performance from the engine-room up front helped, the props making good ground.