The Warriors may have started their usual mid-season charge after they beat a weakened Broncos line-up 28-10 at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland.
The loss breaks the Broncos’ six match winning streak, but they did have six State of Origin players out plus injured hooker Andrew McCulloch.
The Warriors capitalised on a glut of possession and good field position in the first half to head into the sheds leading 16-0. They opened the scoring in the 11th minute, after a good double pump ball from Shaun Johnson close to the line put a hard- running Blake Ayshford over.
Johnson scored himself under the posts seven minutes later, capitalising on a broken defensive line created by Nicoll-Klokstad who ran 50 metres upfield after taking a Broncos bomb near his own line.
Three minutes before halftime, a deft Shaun Johnson grubber and a great Roger Tuivasa-Scheck chase saw the Warriors cross for their third try.
The Warriors then had a dream start to the second half when Issac Luke made a break from dummy half and put Ken Maumalo over in the 43rd minute. That took the Warriors out to 22-0.
The Broncos finally hit back with a try ten minutes later to James Roberts after Benji Marshall ran the ball on the last. Marshall was involved twice in the movement, first putting Tautau Moga away out wide before backing up to keep the ball alive and throwing the final pass to Roberts.
Roberts scored again in the 62nd minute after Ben Hunt chip kicked for winger David Mead from inside his own 20. The ball bounced perfectly for Mead, who ran 30 metres upfield before drawing Warriors’ fullback Roger Tuivasa-Scheck to put Roberts over under the posts.
But James Gavet extinguished any hope of a Broncos’ comeback when he barged over from close range off a clever Nathaniel Roache pass from dummy half in the 66th minute.
The Broncos understandably lacked combination with the changes in their team. It was a game the Warriors had to win to keep in touch with the top 8, and they did the job.
Final score
New Zealand Warriors 28
Brisbane Broncos 10
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The NRL's match officials announcement on Tuesday lunchtime is usually cause for little fanfare, but sparked debate this week with top ref Ashley Klein…
It had all been going so well. Canberra were by far the better side for ten minutes, with Jamal Fogarty giving the Brisbane back…
Like most clubs, the Brisbane Broncos have had their fair share of big boppers over the years, many of them legends of the game.…
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
My American mate wants a Canberra Raiders jersey. If someone had told me a couple of months ago that I’d have friends in the…
Derbies are often rated on intensity rather than quality, and that was very much to the fore at Suncorp for the third Battle of…
