The Warriors have underlined their case for a place in the top eight – and maybe even in the top four – with a crushing 46-10 win over a depleted Parramatta at Commbank Stadium.
The Kiwis came in off the back of a poor defeat to Souths, but were far too good for an Eels side shorn of Mitchell Moses, Clint Gutherson and Reagan Campbell-Gillard to Origin plus Dylan Brown’s suspension.
The scoreline shows how good the Warriors’ attack was, with five eighth Luke Metcalf the standout. The Aussie import was worth two tries and an assist.
“The best part about Luke’s game tonight was how reliable it was,” said Warriors coach Andrew Webster. “It wasn’t flashy, it was within the way we wanted to play and Luke shines when he does that.”
Beyond him, Mitch Barnett and Marcelo Montoya both scored twice and, of course, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak crossed the stripe.
Webster will have known how important this game would be for his side’s trajectory: with their opponents missing key men and a relatively benign run-in, this was the perfect chance to kick start their run to the finals. Now, the sights must be set higher than simply qualifying.
It was as if the message had been sent around Sydney, too. With over 20,000 in attendance, it seemed like more than half were there to see the Kiwis.
Brad Arthur, on the other hand, should not worry too much. He won’t admit it, but against a good side with plenty of men out, there wasn’t much more that his team could have done.
They struggled defensively to contain a rampant opposition, and created little of significance of their own, but without their three best players, that was always likely to happen.
The coach, however, was less than impressive.
“We can’t take anything away from the Warriors just because we had a few missing,” he said.
“I’m disappointed in that performance, we had a good enough team out there to be better than that. That performance needs to be a one-off, because I don’t think our attitude, mentality or intent was enough.”
This was an exercise in all that is good about Webster’s Warriors. They defended first and foremost, then put on their attack when available, with plenty of men in motion and the ball always destined for the wingers.
At their best with the ball, they’re a mini-Cronulla, with the same style but a year earlier in its development. They face the Sharks next week, incidentally, and that should be a good barometer of where both sides are.
Top of that pile was someone who knows the Craig Fitzgibbon style better than most, the former Cronulla five eighth Luke Metcalf.
‘Former Cronulla’ might be generous: Metcalf managed just one game under the new coach in 2022, with the bulk of his footy being played in the retro confines of Henson Park. Anyone who saw him for Newtown knew he was a player, with 14 tries in 13 games for the Jets.
He’s the perfect player for this system, because he balances both sides of the field and works superbly as an outside receiver.
That allows Shaun Johnson to take the reins and Metcalf to improvise off the back, usually through feeding the outside backs but, crucially, also having licence to support through the middle and go himself when the mood takes him.
He’s a mini-Matt Moylan or Nicho Hynes, but was blocked in progression by both of them in the Shire, plus another outstanding back-up in Brayden Trindall.
This was something of a breakout night for Metcalf in the top grade, but it comes as no surprise to anyone who saw him play in reggies for Newtown. At the Jets, he was usually the most exciting player on the team, and that was in a side that scored a lot of points.
There’s something to be said for Webster and the Warriors’ recruitment: they clearly know how they want to attack and got the best player outside of the NRL at playing that system.
At times, the major gripe with the Warriors has been their ability to enact that attacking set-up against the best opposition, as was seen in defeat to the Broncos and Souths.
Playing it in adverse conditions, too, is an issue, as they aim for the corners of the field, which is naturally more risky in the wet.
Neither of those were an issue tonight in Parramatta, on a perfect track against weakened opposition, and we saw the best of what the Warriors can be as a result.
Parra actually started the game well, and dominated the early running in terms of possession and position.
Yet it was already clear where they were going to struggle: they accumulated a decent amount of good ball in the opening stages, but never looked like scoring and, on the last, seemed not to know who the designated kicker was. Will Penisini had a stab and missed the ball completely.
On the next set, the Warriors went the length of the field and scored through Metcalf. The five eighth put Jackson Ford through a hole and, from the broken play, darted over himself. It underlined the differences in playmaking capabilities fairly succinctly.
Parra are a good attacking side, but without their fullback, halfback and five eighth, what were they meant to do?
The Warriors defend well against good teams and didn’t break sweat defending this edition of the Eels.
The only try was a simple run off a scrum play, and you suspect Webster would be furious that they conceded even that.
Really, there’s not much more to it than that. The only analysis into this game worth doing is why it was played at all, with one of the most vital games of the year in terms of determining who makes the eight was played with such a deficit in talent.
This was a great argument for a three-week Origin period. It’s not that Parra would necessarily have won if their biggest stars had played, but we’ll never know now.
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