The Warriors win their home match beating the Broncos 32-16. Video / Sky Sport
For once with the Warriors in 2024, almost everything went to script on Saturday night.
It’s been a topsy-turvy season and it’s still hard to assess the real potential of this team. But back at home, on Matariki weekend, after one of the most embarrassing performances in club history andwith more than 45 ex-players in attendance on ‘Old Boys day’, there could only be one result.
It was always going to be a nervy night, off the back of last week’s 66-6 defeat to the Gold Coast Titans and the lingering questions raised from that, along with undeniable sense that the season was on the line. The team found some confidence early, then showed starch as the Broncos came back, before icing the match with two late tries.
It was only the third time in 11 games that the Warriors conceded less than 20 points, while they also finished with no new injuries or potential suspension threats. The post-match mood was a quiet sense of satisfaction, allied with an awareness that it was only one step back in the right direction.
“No one’s getting carried away,” said Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. “You can’t really look past the 66-6 against the Titans.
“It’s a good win and we’re really stoked that we bounced back but it’s just like that; one week you’re up and one week can be real low again. So it’s about staying in the process and focusing on recover, review and then next job.”
But it was a special night, with so many names from the past, who had attended captain’s run on Friday, before the game on Saturday. There were 12 of the 1995 originals, along with luminaries like Kevin Campion, Steve Price, Simon Mannering, Ruben Wiki and Awen Guttenbeil, while former prop Albert Vete, 31, looked like he could still play.
Tuivasa-Sheck said their presence had lifted the group during a difficult week.
Chanel Harris-Tavita celebrates his try with Marcelo Montoya. Photo / Photosport
“They came up on Friday and they were like ‘boys, we’ve got your backs’,” he added. “We’re here to support you and we’re looking forward to having this weekend with you. That helps just add to the confidence.”
Even though that tried to park the Titans embarrassment after a lengthy review last Sunday, it had been a tough period.
“It definitely hurt,” said prop Addin Fonua-Blake. “But the only right of reply that we have is to turn up and play a good game. Leading into this game the only way we could change the narrative about our team is turn up and be dominant in defence.”
Tuivasa-Sheck agreed that the Titans result still stung.
“We came back home and had to lean on our families a lot, just to try and gain back confidence,” he said.
“The coaching staff did well to narrow our focus down and keep it real simple.”
They were on from the start, bouncing to a 16-0 lead after 27 minutes. Brisbane then threatened a comeback either side of halftime – closing to 16-10 then 22-16 – before the Warriors finally sealed the result.
“That’s been a talking point of our season because there’s so much expectations of what happened last year that when we have an error, there’s so much frustration that builds up,” said Tuivasa-Sheck.
“[But] errors are going to happen; it’s about moving on and, and finding that relentless feeling within our groups to stay in the process.”
Fonua-Blake concurred: “We were expecting that the tide would turn in the second half but the boys dug deep and we were able to get through it. Our main focus has to be our defence. We have been guilty of clocking off at times.”
The Warriors also showed latent confidence, epitomised by Tuivasa-Sheck’s try just before the hour, as a fourth tackle play surprised the Broncos, with the centre sweeping through to grab Martin’s grubber.
“Yeah, we were both looking at each other,” said Tuivasa-Sheck. “We could feel that the right edge were jamming in. So we thought we’d try put them behind them. It’s something we practice in training and it paid off.”
Tuivasa-Sheck recently missed six matches with a hamstring injury, which will need to be closely monitored.
“It is going to be ongoing”, said Tuivasa-Sheck. “I’ve got to manage everything, the whole body.”
Concerns over Fonua-Blake are more around his application, with the knowledge that he is joining Cronulla at the end of the season. After a flat match last weekend he was back to his best, reeling off 163 metres from 15 runs and 23 tackles across 51 minutes of game time.
He admitted he is determined to go out on a high as a Warrior. “I feel like I owe it to the club and to the team to at least do the best I can,” said Fonua-Blake. “Put in the best performances I can each week, lead from the front. Whatever they ask me to do.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
