RTS shines as Warriors tame Tigers

By Christopher Reive

With plenty of talk about the state of the Warriors’ season over the past few weeks, Andrew Webster’s message heading into Friday night’s clash with the Wests Tigers was a simple one.

Win and have a strong performance.

With a 28-16 scoreline, it was a case of job done.

While strong might not be the best way to describe their performance, particularly when the Tigers fought back to almost cancel out the Warriors’ first-half dominance where they controlled the ball, field position and stood strong when their try line came under attack.

That was a rarity in the first half, however became a much more frequent event as the match unfolded, with the Tigers clawing their way back into the match with 20 minutes to go.

But the Warriors weren’t to be denied their first win since round 17′s triumph over the Brisbane Broncos.

There were strong performances across the park from the hosts. Addin Fonua-Blake, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck caused problems for the Tigers all evening. The latter two getting good metres on kick returns – something the Warriors struggled for in last week’s loss to Canberra. Returning to fullback due to injuries across the club, Tuivasa-Sheck also saved two tries with his scrambling defence, beating Tigers backs to attacking kicks, and made plenty of defenders miss with his footwork.

The halves also had plenty of good touches - Te Maire Martin’s hesitation ball at the line to send Ali Leiataua over late in the first half the pick of them – though most of them came in the first 40 minutes as the Warriors struggled to find attacking field position as regularly.

At the half hour mark, it was starting to feel like the Warriors might rue some missed opportunities as they only had four points from a Kurt Capewell try to show for their work.

That changed when Ed Kosi went over out wide, before a bad error from the Tigers welcomed the Warriors back onto the attack and Martin worked some magic for Leiataua. Harris-Tavita slotted the ensuing conversion – getting a big cheer from the 23,976-strong crowd as he grinned his way back into the line.

Leading the game 14-0 at the break, there seemed no reason the Warriors couldn’t go on with the job. However, it was the Tigers who got the most enjoyment out of the 20-minute period following the break as they found metres much easier to come by and that saw them cross first through former Warriors forward Isaiah Papali’i, then wing Charlie Staines as they closed the gap to just four points with plenty of time to play.

But the tide turned again. The Warriors regained their footing as Fonua-Blake, Dylan Walker and Marata Niukore returned to the field for their second stint.

A Harris-Tavita penalty pushed the lead back to six, before Fonua-Blake and Watene-Zelezniak scored to push the result beyond doubt, though Apisai Koroisau scored a late consolation try for the Tigers.

It was a win the Warriors needed as they look to try and break their way into the top eight in the coming weeks.

Next Friday’s clash against the Parramatta Eels (16th) the only other fixture they’ll have against a side outside the top eight for the remainder of the season – with the Redcliffe Dolphins, Manly Sea Eagles, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks awaiting on the home stretch.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission