The One New Zealand Warriors have continued their late-season charge, overpowering the South Sydney Rabbitohs 45–26 at Accor Stadium in a seven-try attacking display that strengthens their position heading towards the NRL finals.
The Warriors exploded out of the blocks, racing to a 26–8 halftime advantage before withstanding a South Sydney fightback and then pulling clear again late in the contest.
It was another significant result for Andrew Webster’s side, made more impressive by the absence of several key players and the reshuffling required across the backline and halves.
New Zealand wasted little time imposing themselves on the contest.
James Fisher-Harris crossed after just five minutes before Leka Halasima added another only two minutes later, immediately putting the Rabbitohs under pressure.
South Sydney responded through Jack Wighton, but the Warriors weren’t finished.
Mitchell Barnett powered across in the 20th minute before Chanel Harris-Tavita added the Warriors’ fourth try in the 32nd minute.
With Taine Tuaupiki converting all four first-half tries and adding a penalty goal, the Warriors headed into the sheds with a commanding 26–8 lead.
South Sydney had entered the match with their own finals ambitions and mounted a serious response after halftime.
But before they could establish momentum, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak extended the Warriors’ advantage with a try shortly after the restart.
The Rabbitohs then produced their strongest period of the match.
Tallis Duncan crossed in the 48th minute before prolific winger Alex Johnston grabbed his second try of the night five minutes later. Cody Walker followed with another in the 60th minute, dragging South Sydney back into the contest.
For a period, the Warriors were being asked whether they could absorb the pressure after having dominated the opening half.
Their response was emphatic.
With South Sydney threatening, Jacob Laban crossed in the 68th minute to give New Zealand breathing room.
Then Alofiana Khan-Pereira added the Warriors’ seventh try five minutes later, effectively shutting the door on the Rabbitohs.
Tuaupiki was outstanding from the kicking tee, landing seven conversions from seven attempts as well as the first-half penalty goal.
Young five-eighth Luke Hanson then supplied the finishing touch with a field goal in the final minute, pushing the Warriors to 45 points.
The performance of Tuaupiki was particularly important given the Warriors’ injury situation.
The fullback finished with 16 points, seven conversions and a penalty goal while also running for 155 metres.
The Warriors entered the match without Luke Metcalf, who has been ruled out for four to six weeks with a hamstring injury, while Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was also unavailable.
That forced Harris-Tavita into halfback, Hanson into five-eighth and Tuaupiki into the number one jersey.
Rather than allowing those disruptions to derail their attack, the Warriors produced 45 points.
Up front, Barnett produced another huge workload.
The prop finished with 182 running metres from 20 carries, the most metres of any Warriors player, while also getting across the line for a try.
Alongside Fisher-Harris, the Warriors again had the experienced forward leadership needed to establish the platform for their younger attacking players.
That combination of senior players and emerging talent is becoming increasingly important as the club moves towards the business end of the season.
Perhaps the most encouraging feature for the Warriors was the spread of their attack.
Their seven tries came through seven different players — Fisher-Harris, Halasima, Barnett, Harris-Tavita, Watene-Zelezniak, Laban and Khan-Pereira.
That makes the Warriors considerably harder to contain than a team dependent on one or two attacking weapons.
South Sydney actually scored five tries of their own, including a double to Johnston, but the damage inflicted by the Warriors in the opening half proved too substantial to overcome.
The 45–26 victory follows another impressive period for the Warriors, including their 40–6 victory over Brisbane in the previous round.
With finals football approaching, momentum matters.
So does depth.
And on a night when the Warriors were missing important members of their first-choice spine, they demonstrated they still possess enough attacking firepower to put a dangerous opponent away.
There will be areas Webster will want tightened after allowing South Sydney back into the contest during the second half.
But the larger message from Sydney was difficult to miss.
The Warriors are not limping towards the finals — they are charging towards them.
Seven tries, 45 points and another victory away from home.
The Wahs are building momentum at precisely the right time of the year.
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