The New Zealand Warriors have beaten the Melbourne Storm 12-6 at Kardinia Park in a clunky affair that blew away many of the cobwebs from both squads.
It was a two-tries-to-one win for the Warriors in the end, and they were by far the better side throughout the match.
Defensively they were solid and the Storm attack struggled to find ways to break down their defence; whether it was through the centre or on the fringes.
Bunty Afoa was superb for the Warriors, taking the ball forward relentlessly and Lachlan Burr, Patrick Herbert and Chanel Harris-Tavita all played strongly in what looks to be a deep Warriors squad with plenty of personnel to cover injuries or suspension.
Melbourne were clunky to say the least. With no Cameron Smith to guide the team to the right spots on the field, the home side did look a little lost.
Marion Seve was excellent in the centres, Sandor Earl had a few good moments at the back and Christian Welch was impressive up front.
Sadly, the Storm were mostly awful in attack, particularly when it came to ball control in the red zone. Time after time the men in purple put the ball down in good attacking positions and despite levelling the match at 6-6, they never looked dangerous enough to consistently threaten the Warriors defence.
The shining light for the Storm was the performance of fullback Scott Drinkwater. It was a stellar game from the 21 year-old from Penrith, as he sniffed around the edges of the ruck and was the most influential player on the field across both sides.
Drinkwater’s speed and support play are impressive yet his ability to read the game and pop up in the right spot at the right time appears to be his greatest asset.
Many questions have already been asked of a Melbourne Storm side without Billy Slater at the back. Realistically, he will never be replaced, however Drinkwater showed enough tonight to suggest that with some development the Storm may have another superstar number one on their hands.
While the trial may have been a little underwhelming in terms of a contest, there was much to learn for both teams.
Stephen Kearney will be well and truly convinced that he has the depth in his squad to make a real charge towards a premiership in 2019.
Craig Bellamy will have, once again, seen the importance of his captain and talisman to the fortunes of the Storm. Brodie Croft, Brandon Smith and Harry Grant were less than impressive in directing the Storm’s attacking plays.
The one man who did stand out was Drinkwater, a man with potentially the biggest shoes in the NRL to fill.
If tonight’s effort was a precursor to what is to come for the Storm custodian, the fans in purple might have a new hero in the very near future.
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