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Warriors' triumphant New Zealand homecoming

Jesse Arthars of the Warriors celebrates after scoring a try during the round 16 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the Wests Tigers at Mt Smart Stadium, on July 03, 2022, in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The Warriors have played their first NRL game in New Zealand in almost three years, beating Wests Tigers 22-2 in Auckland.

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Stand-in Warriors coach Stacey Jones admitted his side “weren’t flash” in their 22-2 NRL win over the Wests Tigers, but after almost three years playing away from home it’s unlikely supporters or the team itself will be too concerned.

The win in front of 26,000 fans at a sold out Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Warriors. 

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More importantly, it re-established the club on home soil after over 1000 days without a home game due to COVID restrictions.

“I’m very happy, compared to the previous month or so,” said Jones.

“It’s been a great week coming home and the excitement around the game … to put in a gritty performance I thought, it capped off a great week.”

Given that the Tigers and Warriors were 14th and 15th on the ladder and averaging less than 17 points a game, it wasn’t a surprise that fixture quickly became an arm wrestle. 

It took almost half an hour mark for the first try, when Warriors captain Tohu Harris crashed over from a good pass by Wayde Egan. 

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Shortly after, a good Warriors set saw Shaun Johnson send a bomb out wide for Dallin Watene-Zelezniak to contest, with the end result seeing the ball come loose and dived on by Chanel Harris-Tavita for their second converted try.

The only scoring the Tigers could muster in the first half was an Adam Doueihi penalty goal just before the break.

If the first half was a grind, then the second half was even more so. 

While both sides had few problems completing their sets, line breaks were rare, with the Tigers’ best chance coming off a Luke Garner run that ended with a knock on.

Given the defensive nature of the game, a second Johnson penalty goal in the 65th minute pushed the lead out to 16-2 before the halfback had one last piece of magic.

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A perfect kick enabled Dallin Watene-Zelezniak to bat back the ball for Jesse Arthars to score in the corner.

Johnson’s sideline conversion sealed a solid, if unspectacular win.

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Try scorer Harris pointed out the importance of the home crowd.

“We’ve had a lot of good support away, but there’s nothing like the support we get here,” he said. 

“Every single person was following and supporting us; it meant a lot and gave us a lot of energy.”

The Warriors will need every bit of that for their next game at Mt Smart in three weeks’ time, when they face a powerful Melbourne Storm side that beat them by a record 70-10 back on Anzac Day.

By: Jamie Wall, AAP

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B
BeamMeUp 34 minutes ago
The Springboks have something you don't have

A few comments. Firstly, I am a Bok fan and it's been a golden period for us. I hope my fellow Bok fans appreciate this time and know that it cannot last forever, so soak it all in!


The other thing to mention (and this is targeted at Welsh, English and even Aussie supporters who might be feeling somewhat dejected) is that it's easy to forget that just before Rassie Erasmus took over in 2018, the Boks were ranked 7th in the world and I had given up hope we'd ever be world beaters again.


Sport is a fickle thing and Rassie and his team have managed to get right whatever little things it takes to make a mediocre team great. I initially worried his methods might be short-lived (how many times can you raise a person's commitment by talking about his family and his love of his country as a motivator), but he seems to have found a way. After winning in 2019 on what was a very simple game plan, he has taken things up ever year - amazing work which has to be applauded! (Dankie Rassie! Ons wardeer wat jy vir die ondersteuners en die land doen!) (Google translate if you don't understand Afrikaans! 😁)


I don't think people outside South Africa fully comprehend the enormity of the impact seeing black and white, English, Afrikaans and Xhosa and all the other hues playing together does for the country's sense of unity. It's pure joy and happiness.


This autumn tour has been a bit frustrating in that the Boks have won, but never all that convincingly. On the one hand, I'd like to have seen more decisive victories, BUT what Rassie has done is expose a huge number of players to test rugby, whilst also diversifying the way the Boks play (Tony Brown's influence).


This change of both style and personnel has resulted in a lack of cohesion at times and we've lost some of the control, whereas had we been playing our more traditional style, that wouldn't happen. This is partially attributable to the fact that you cannot play Tony Brown's expansive game whilst also having 3 players available at every contact point to clear the defence off the ball. I have enjoyed seeing the Boks play a more exciting, less attritional game, which is a boring, albeit effective spectacle. So, I am happy to be patient, because the end justifies the means (and I trust Rassie!). Hopefully all these players we are blooding will give us incredible options for substitutions come next year's Rugby Championship and of course, the big prize in 2027.


Last point! The game of rugby has never been as exciting as it is now. Any of Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Argentina, Scotland, England & Australia can beat one another. South Africa may be ranked #1, but I wouldn't bet my house in them beating France or New Zealand, and we saw Argentina beating both South Africa and New Zealand this year! That's wonderful for the game and makes the victories we do get all the sweeter. Each win is 100% earned. Long may it last!


Sorry for the long post! 🏉🌍

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