Smiles returned to the faces of the NZ Warriors as they finally got their season on track with a grinding, come-from-behind, 18-10 win over the Canberra Raiders in Christchurch on Friday night, after back-to-back opening losses.
“They dug in at the end there, found a way to get it done and, yeah, I think it’s going to be a huge amount of relief for the boys,” Warriors coach Andrew Webster told reporters.
Captain Tohu Harris said it was a hugely physical game.
“That first half in particular, where it was really long arm wrestles and going back and forward, that was a grind. They came to play, they were physical, they completed a lot sets, and they wanted to go toe-to-toe with us.”
The Raiders, who trailed 6-4 at the break, looked to be getting on top of the Warriors in the second half after the visitors went ahead 10-6 with 25 minutes to go in the game.
“They were definitely on top. I think someone was going to have to come up with a momentum play, or we were going to have to do it together,” Webster said.
It was Dallin Watene-Zelezniak that sparked the comeback, after a long cut-out pass from Shaun Johnson saw the winger chop back inside from out wide and dart across field to put Luke Metcalf in for a converted try to see the Warriors nudge in front, 12-10.
“We spoke last week about when Dallin comes fishing across there, someone’s going to have to push on that play,” said Webster.
“They’re great tries when they’re off the cuff and people react.”
Minutes later, some Roger Tuivasa-Sheck magic saw him ghost past three defenders to cross for the try and a game-winning 18-10 lead. But the Warriors still had to dig in for the win.
“We’ve had two weeks where we’ve sort of played ‘pretty’, as in it looked really good at times. And tonight probably didn’t look as good, and we got the win. And sometimes you got to win ugly,” the Warriors coach said.
“Still made it hard for ourselves, but I was just really rapt for the boys.”
Tough games like this are exactly what the Warriors need, Webster said.
“This is the challenge you want. You want to play in these tough games against a really good opposition. I thought the Raiders brought a great, tough style of footie tonight. It’s what we want to be a part of.
“I didn’t say it to them but you’re 0 and 2. It’s a hard game, the opposition come to play. We’re gonna have to stand up here.
“We did a great job to turn the table,” said Webster.
Warriors 18 (Addin Fonua-Blake, Luke Metcalf, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck tries; Luke Metcalf 3 goals)
Raiders 10 (Matt Timoko, Nick Cotric tries; Jamal Fogarty goal)
Halftime: 6-4