The Warriors put the rest of the NRL on notice last Saturday with an emphatic 36-point win over the Eels at CommBank Stadium. Jack Harbidge reviews.
Result
New Zealand Warriors 46
Tries: (8) Luke Metcalf 6th, 33rd; Marcelo Montoya 26th, 30th; Mitchell Barnett 48th, 70th; Dylan Walker 39th; Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 58th
Goals: (7) Shaun Johnson 8th, 27th, 32nd, 34th, 40th, 49th, 72nd
Parramatta Eels 10
Tries: (2) Bailey Simonsson 15th; Shaun Lane 66th
Goals: (1) Sean Russell 67th
Report
The Warriors travelled to CommBank Stadium to face an Eels side missing four key players in Mitch Moses, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Clint Gutherson, and Josh Hodgson, while Shaun Johnson was a late inclusion for the visitors.
The missing quality took its toll from the off, with the Warriors opening the scoring through Luke Metcalfe off the back of a damaging break from Jackson Ford. Not long after, Bailey Simonsson put his team on his back and powered over from a close-range scrum.
That was the last the Eels would see success on the Warriors’ tryline for the next 50 minutes, as the visitors mounted an impressive attacking display, kicked off by a Marcelo Montoya four-minute double towards the backend of the half.
Luke Metcalf joined Montoya in the double club with a solo run close to the line after a long-range break from Tohu Harris. The Warriors continued to play champagne footy and scored off the back of a number of incisive lines in block plays – the first of which coming from Dylan Walker just shy of the half-time hooter.
Mitch Barnett continued the barrage of tries with another hard line under the sticks, and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak got involved with an impressive finish of his own down the Warriors’ right edge, before Shaun Lane stopped the string of consecutive tries with a consolation of his own for the hapless Eels.
Barnett had the last say for the Warriors, and powered over from short range for the second time to push the final scoreline out to 46-10, with Johnson kicking seven of his eight goals.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Mitch Barnett (Warriors)
2 – Luke Metcalf (Warriors)
1 – Jackson Ford (Warriors)
