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The Warriors’ superb start to the season has continued with a Shaun Johnson-inspired turnaround 16-14 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs, though with more than a little help from the Bunker.
Johnson scored with 15 minutes to play, but many thought there had been a clear obstruction on Dogs hooker Reed Mahoney, who was taken out by Addin Fonua-Blake when he might have otherwise made a tackle.
Prior to that, the Warriors had also been stripped of a try by the Bunker after Adam Pompey was ruled to have spilled the footy with Viliame Kikau’s hand in the tackle.
Regardless of the controversy, this was another excellent game in what is fast becoming the best start to a season of the NRL era, and was deservedly won by a reborn, resilient Warriors side under Andrew Webster, who got one over on fellow former Panthers assistant Cameron Ciraldo.
The Kiwis trailed midway through the second half thanks to a superb Josh Addo-Carr breakaway – coming mere seconds after the Pompey no try incident – but showed all their newfound belief to come back and then cling on amid a Bulldogs onslaught.
“I thought he owned the moments today, he took the moments and won us the game,” said Webster of his halfback.
“Shaun’s toughness is what’s most important thing to us. The way he’s tackling, the way he handled (Viliame) Kikau I thought was unbelievable. His kicking game was the difference and that try.”
Johnson had his best game in years, and when asked what the difference between the sides was post-match, Ciraldo simply declared “Shaun Johnson”.
Ciraldo wasn’t overly concerned by the defeat, praising his side’s commitment given an extensive front row injury list that saw Jayden Okunbor play in the middle rotation and Nu Brown depart with a suspected broken arm.
“The grit they showed that whole day was outstanding,” he said. “That’s what the club’s built on and I thought it was the grittiest performance we’ve had.
“Everyone that’s come into our team has done a job. I thought Jayden Okunbor today was outstanding, he’s spent a lot of time in the backs over the last few years.
“For him to come in and play in the middle… I thought he was one of our best players.”
This was billed as the battle of the former Panthers assistants, but instead, it might have been better to see it as attack v defence.
Andrew Webster highly prioritised the defensive resolve of his side when he returned to New Zealand to take the top job, and has been more than successful in the first three rounds of 2023.
Cameron Ciraldo was seen as being responsible for Penrith’s linespeed in the last few years, but had a different approach with the Dogs, who have historically struggled to score points in recent years.
Ciraldo admitted last weekend that he has endeavoured to keep some of Mick Potter’s attacking philosophy on board, and that makes sense: Potter revitalised the Dogs’ offence after taking interim control following the sacking of Trent Barrett last year, and Ciro has retained him on staff as an assistant.
The hallmarks of the best Canterbury performances last year were a willingness to go wide early, and that was in full effect today with the first Dogs try a quick shift to Jacob Kiraz and the second an expansive movement from inside their own half from a scrum that saw Addo-Carr streak clear.
The Warriors defence had no answer on either occasion, but their game plan kicked in as the game wore on.
Possession mounted, they completed high and while it was hardly scintillating footy, it was enough to grab one extra try – admittedly with the help of some generous refereeing on an obstruction call – and then defend for their lives.
With eight to play, they faced multiple repeat sets on their line and repelled them all, with Jackson Ford denying Ryan Sutton with a superb tackle.
Every team likes to say that they’ve been training the house down, they’re the fittest they’ve ever been, teh staff have whipped them into excellent shape and all that stuff.
But the proof is in the performances and, for Canterbury, that doesn’t seem to be the case. This Bulldogs team are far from an 80-minute side at the moment and, indeed, are the only team in the comp yet to score in the last 20 minutes of a match.
Against Manly, they never got a sniff but could point to a sin bin and could point out that it was Round 1. The next week in Melbourne, they were defending for their lives to seal the win, with defence the focus over attack.
But Round 3 saw a near-total collapse against the Tigers that almost allowed an unthinkable defeat and today, with the game on the line, the Dogs couldn’t conjure anything late.
It’s hard to say if this is fitness issue or a function of the game state, where the Dogs have been forced to alter their play style to force points. Whatever it is, four weeks in a row is certainly a trend now, and not a good one for Ciraldo.
It’s a frustrating game at times. Adam Pompey had a try took off for a borderline loose carry, and within seconds, with the crowd still booing loudly, the Foxx raced away to score from range. It was a huge swing.
With all that going on, it was easy to miss that Tohu Harris had left the field. It was later revealed that the inspirational Warriors skipper had a knee complaint and would not return.
Prior to his departure, Harris had been running the Warriors’ attack. His touches were right up there with anyone in a New Zealand jersey, performing a dual role as both a playmaker and a traditional battering ram.
Lucky for the Warriors, then, that Shaun Johnson decided to imprint himself on the match after the captain’s departure.
They needed it, and will need it going forward if Harris is to miss significant amounts of football as he might well given the nature of his injury.