Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the Warriors celebrates after scoring a try against the Knights. Photo / Getty
Warriors 36
Knights 6
Here come the Warriors, and the NRL will be holding its breath, hoping an amazing story unfolds in the most unusual of seasons.
They crushed the Newcastle Knights 36-6 in Tamworth on a sunny afternoon which promises a bright long-term future for the Auckland club.
The immediate future isn't looking too bad either.
Whether the Warriors make the playoffs remains to be seen. Their hopes are still on a knife edge.
But they are playing like a top eight side, no doubt about it, and a very good top eight side at that.
Title contenders? Well, that's a bit too strange for now, but 2020 is taking on a very crazy feel.
They slowly dissected the Knights and then finished them off with killer blow after killer blow. One commentator reckoned they had turned the Knights into "road kill".
NRL great Cooper Cronk called it a "pure dominant performance".
The Warriors, in a cluster of teams four points outside the top eight going into the round, dominated injury-hit Newcastle, who had gone into the game in seventh place.
From their footwork to the moments of passing magic from centre Peta Hiku which created two tries, it was a comprehensive performance in line with the tremendous strides they have made under interim coach Todd Payten.
League in general will now be hoping that Payten's Warriors can make the finals. Having had to camp in Australia because of Covid-19 and endured all sorts of problems, from a sponsorship row to players quitting for home, they have found their mojo.
Their upcoming fixture list, which once looked so daunting, looks far more tempting given the drop in form suffered by some of their upcoming opponents. The Warriors, with four wins in five games, will have the Eels, Sharks, Raiders and Sea Eagles feeling very nervous.
When the points didn't come for the Warriors, they kept the pressure on the Knights who fell apart. It was impressive stuff - the execution, another superb completion rate, the patience, the tactics, the individual skills.
It was the pressure which created the gap which allowed captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to step Mitchell Pearce for the try which began to seal the Knights' fate in the 52nd minute.
It was all the Warriors except on the scoreboard in the first half, their 8-6 advantage a poor reflection of how the spell had played out.
The Knights were their own worst enemy in the first quarter, with errors aplenty and particularly from makeshift dummy half Kurt Mann.
It was a poor pass out from Mann which put Newcastle under pressure in the opening minutes, leading to the game's first try. A trademark Hiku slide and flick pass out the back of his hand set up Adam Pompey who flew into the corner.
Unlike Newcastle, the Warriors were a making few errors and were threatening, with the likes of Jazz Tevaga in particular causing plenty of problems keeping the ball alive.
But the big points break didn't come. And after a Chanel Harris-Tavita penalty, Newcastle scored on their first decent attack when Gehamat Shibasaki beat George Jennings to a Pearce bomb.
Newcastle started to make some inroads through the middle in the second quarter although without creating much or getting the dangerous Kalyn Ponga into good positions.
Each side had one other clear scoring chance in the half. Brilliant cover defence from Ponga prevented a second Pompey try, and Mann was dragged down just short of the line.
Warriors 36 (A. Pompey 2, R. Tuivasa-Sheck 2, G. Jennings, J. Tevaga tries; C. Harris-Tavita 6 goals)
Knights 6 (G. Shibasaki try, K. Ponga goal).
Halftime: 8 - 6
All the key NRL fixtures for the Warriors.