Warriors fans, and interim coach Stacey Jones, can only wonder what might have been the past three seasons if they were able to stay at home after their team crushed Canterbury 42-18 at Mt Smart Stadium.
After being relocated due to the pandemic since the start of 2020, Jones said the Warriors were relishing finishing the season with a few games back at Mt Smart Stadium and they have won two of their three matches back at Auckland since returning last month.
After two more matches in Australia, they will finish their campaign in the final round at Mt Smart Stadium in Round 25 against the Titans.
“Coming home really boosts this group,” Jones said.
“Today’s performance was off the back of the players bringing energy but also off playing in front of your crowd and what that brings.”
Tohu Harris was proud of the effort the Warriors showed for the entire match, saying “that was our most complete performance in a while”.
(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Bulldogs interim coach Mick Potter was disappointed in his side’s defensive efforts. “We made a few too many yardage errors in the first half which put us on the back foot.
“The game just got away from us. I wasn’t happy with a lot of things we did defensively, we’re not building enough pressure.”
It was an impressive seven tries to three win for the underperforming Warriors, who put on one of their best performances of the season to reclaim 13th spot from Newcastle and all but ensure they can’t finish with the wooden spoon.
The hosts were solid in defence and creative in attack. Harris and Addin Fonua-Blake were instrumental in the forward exchanges, with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Shaun Johnson and Reece Walsh impressive out the back.
The Warriors dominated possession and constantly applied pressure to record their fourth straight win in clashes with Canterbury.
The Bulldogs on the other hand were a far cry from the exciting high-flyers we have grown accustomed to seeing in the back end of the season.
Seven errors in the first half and three more in the second half kept the visitors on the back foot for most of the night.
Having to make 113 more tackles than their opponents gassed the Canterbury forwards, and their usual entertaining attack was well restricted.
The Warriors opened the scoring on the back of a penalty after Canterbury’s Braidon Burns was put on report for a shoulder charge. A beautiful cut-out pass from Harris onto Johnson, followed by a double pump and Viliami Vailea crossed over to score.
The home side got their fans back on their feet only minutes later when Watene-Zelezniak intercepted a Matt Burton pass to and bolted downfield for a four-pointer. Walsh added the extras for a 12-0 lead.
Bulldogs fullback Jake Averillo got his side back in the match, barging over the line in the 18th minute. But his side produced a coach-killer moment, knocking on shortly after the restart.
The Warriors took advantage, and off the back of the scrum, Johnson combined with Walsh to send Edward Kosi in for their third try.
Returning from the half-time break trailing 18-6, the Dogs were first to strike after Kyle Flanagan scooped up a dropped ball from Walsh near the line to score. They levelled the score when Josh Addo-Carr intercepted a lollypop pass from Johnson and sprinted the length of the field.
A try in the 56th minute after a short ball from Johnson to a storming Eliesa Katoa got the Warriors back in front by six.
The rest of the second half became a real grind, before the floodgates opened. With six minutes left on the clock, Johnson pushed the lead out further, throwing two dummies to get through the defence and scoring under the sticks.
Two quick tries in the dying minutes to Kosi and Fonua-Blake put the icing on the cake to secure the 24-point win for the Warriors.
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