Dallin Watene-Zelezniak dives in for a try against the Eels. Photo / photosport.nz
Warriors 46
Eels 10
This was the perfect way to celebrate a milestone.
On a night when Shaun Johnson marked his 200th NRL match for the Warriors, the Auckland team turned on the style, demolishing Parramatta 46-10 in Sydney.
It was the perfect response after last week’s flat display against the Rabbitohs and will take the Warriors back towards the top six, with consecutive home games against Cronulla and Canberra to come.
It was a mix of smash and bash and razzle dazzle, as the Warriors recorded their biggest margin of victory since 2016 and their highest score against the Eels.
It also continued their impressive form on the road, with their sixth win in Australia this season.
While the Warriors were expected to win – as the Eels were missing their entire first-choice spine, including Clint Gutherson and Mitchell Moses on State of Origin duty – it was still a compelling performance.
The result was even sweeter given Wayde Egan, Addin Fonua-Blake and Dylan Walker also had individual landmarks and showed their increasing maturity as a team, as they were ruthless after a disjointed start.
The contest was over after 40 minutes, as the Warriors crossed five times for a 30-4 halftime advantage.
Luke Metcalf had his best Warriors match, crossing for two solo tries and heavily involved in a couple more, while Egan, Tohu Harris, Mitch Barnett and Walker destroyed Parramatta through the ruck.
It was far from the perfect performance, as the Warriors were full of mistakes in the first half and were profligate with several opportunities, especially on the right edge.
But the victory was built on defence, with the Warriors offering nothing to the Eels after the first quarter.
They had the luxury of giving Egan a spell for the final 20 minutes, while a potentially serious forearm injury to Walker was the only sour note.
After an uncertain start, the Warriors scored from their second completed set. Metcalf started the move – putting Jackson Ford through the line – then finished it, with a dummy and a step. It was an early sign of his confidence, as he overcalled Johnson at first receiver.
But for a while the Warriors couldn’t settle. They made six errors in the first quarter alone, with one leading to Bailey Simonsson’s try, who then stood up Johnson and Barnett from the scrum.
The machine was rolling – as they made ground without a problem – but were the gears out of sync. Passes went over the sideline or to the wrong player, while Ford’s ill-judged offload in traffic symbolised the poor decision making.
That invited pressure but they held on, before three tries in seven minutes changed the complexion of the match.
The first was a swift east to west backline move, with Marcelo Montoya finishing in the corner, before a brilliant Metcalf cut-out pass sent Montoya across again. Metcalf helped himself next, beating three defenders from close range, after Egan had split the Eels on near halfway.
Walker completed the carnage on halftime, with a soft Harris pass putting him in space, to seal the result.
The second half was an understandable dip in intensity.
The visitors eschewed a couple of chances just after the break, before Barnett crashed over near the posts for his first Warriors try.
A trademark Dallin Watene-Zelezniak dive ticked over 40 points, before Shaun Lane got a consolation for the Eels.
Barnett rounded out the scoring with another powerful effort, as the Warriors went close to a half century for the second time this year.
Warriors 46 (Luke Metcalf 2, Marcelo Montoya 2, Mitch Barnett 2, Dylan Walker, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak tries; Shaun Johnson 7 cons)
Eels 10 (Bailey Simonsson, Shaun Lane tries; Sean Russell con)
HT: 30-4
All the key NRL fixtures for the Warriors.