An 18-point haul from Shaun Johnson has seen the Warriors claim a physical win over the Dolphins on Saturday evening in Auckland
Result
New Zealand Warriors 30
Tries: Shaun Johnson 2 (5, 53), Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 2 (68, 71), Luke Metcalf (55)
Goals: Shaun Johnson 5 (6, 55, 57, 69, 73)
The Dolphins 8
Tries: Tesi Niu (34), Jamayne Isaako (76)
Report
A dominant second half has seen the Warriors blow the Dolphins away 30-8 in a physical contest at Go Media Stadium in front of over 23,000 fans.
Wearing the heritage jersey, Shaun Johnson wasted no time in turning back the clock for the Warriors with a show-and-go to open the scoring in the sixth minute. He converted his try to make the score 6-0.
They went close to scoring again six minutes later, with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad stopped just short of the line.
Rocco Berry was forced from the field in the 14th minute after a head clash due to a shoulder charge from Jarrod Wallace.
The Dolphins had chances of their own, however errors prevented them from scoring.
They finally broke through five minutes before half time when Kodi Nikorima managed to get a pass over to Tesi Niu to score in the left-hand corner, despite a touch by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
A double movement from Luke Metcalf in the dying seconds of the half denied the Warriors their second, leaving the half time score at 6-4.
A late tackle by Anthony Milford saw him sin binned early in the second half, with Marcelo Montoya forced off for a HIA.
The Warriors continue to build pressure, being denied when Mitch Barnett was held up over the line. From the next play, Watene-Zelezniak crossed in the right-hand corner, only for the bunker to overturn the try due to an obstruction.
An error by Mark Nicholls in the following set immediately put the Warriors back on the attack and it was left for Johnson to again wind back the clock with some fancy footwork to score near the posts.
They made it two tries in as many minutes when Marata Niukore broke through and sent Luke Metcalf away to score under the posts, pushing the score to 18-4 in the 58th minute.
Watene-Zelezniak finally got his try in the 69th minute when a quick shift found the winger. Johnson converted from out wide to push the margin out to 20.
An intercept shortly after saw Watene-Zelezniak run 50m to score his second try under the posts, before Jamayne Isaako added a late consolation try for the Dolphins, cutting the final margin to 30-8.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Shaun Johnson (Warriors)
2 – Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (Warriors)
1 – Josh Curran (Warriors)
