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Manu Vatuvei celebrates the try of Lewis Brown (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Renee McKay)
So, who picked that one then? If you’ve strutted into work this morning telling everyone within earshot that you always knew the Warriors were specials against Melbourne then I don’t believe you.
Even the biggest optimist wouldn’t have thought the NRL grand final would be contested between the Warriors and Manly.
The Kiwis have always been like the kid nobody had a problem with, but you wouldn’t notice if they weren’t there.
Mount Smart Stadium has always been the toughest road trip in the game, but the only thing the Warriors used to return from Australia with was a tan.
Not anymore. They’ve stuffed the large scalps of the Wests Tigers and the Melbourne Storm into their carry-on luggage over the past fortnight and scurried off back to Auckland before anyone could realise what had happened. Cheeky devils.
Come Sunday they could hold the NRL premiership, defend the Toyota Cup, claim the NSW Cup and add it to the rather impressive figure of the World Cup sitting somewhere on New Zealand soil.
That’s right. Not only will the Warriors compete for the biggest rugby league prize in the southern hemisphere on Sunday, but the junior Warriors will play North Queensland in the Toyota Cup and the Auckland Vulcans will meet Canterbury-Bankstown in the NSW Cup.
It shows that all must be in order in New Zealand rugby league to have the seniors, fringe players and young talent slaying all before them.
You hope those in the land of the long white cloud are paying attention.
Yes, I know the Rugby World Cup is on, but if Georgia and Romania aren’t playing on Sunday maybe you can spare a couple of hours.
The Warriors were once the Harlem Globetrotters of rugby league. They cared more about off-loads than completed sets and concentration in defence for 80-minutes was unheard of. But not anymore.
The last three halves of football the Warriors have completed have been near perfect.
They stunned the Wests Tigers with their composure in the second half just over a week ago to sneak home in stunning circumstances. Then on Saturday night, when nobody gave them a chance, reduced the Melbourne Storm to a rudderless mess.
Watching the Warriors in attack was like witnessing a convoy of semi-trailers steaming down a freeway.
They’ve always had the big bodies to do damage to opposition teams, but getting them to curb their natural flair has always been easier said than done.
Once they were inside Melbourne’s 20 metre line, the likes of young halfback Shaun Johnson took over and inflicted plenty of damage.
The 21-year-old Auckland born product has certainly impressed in his debut season. The halves battle between Johnson, James Maloney, Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran will be intriguing.
The Warriors defence has also improved incredibly over the last fortnight. The lazy reads have disappeared and been replaced by commitment and desperate tackles. Once on the ground, they made sure they out-wrestled the Storm to slow down the ruck.
Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk have never looked so blunt. It was like all the pieces on the chess board were moving exactly where Cleary wanted them to. It couldn’t be this easy could it?
One Manly fan I spoke to yesterday said he’d rather his side face the Warriors instead of the Storm. Right now, I’m not so sure.
The Sea Eagles pack, often criticised for having a soft underbelly, will need to find a way to stop the convoy in its tracks.
The Warriors are as dangerous as they’ve ever been. Now isn’t the right time to think of them as a softer alternate to Melbourne.
So far, it has come back to bite the Tigers and the Storm. Could the Sea Eagles be next?
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