What we learned from perplexing Warriors defeat to depleted Panthers
Hands on hips, as the Warriors try to figure out what went wrong.
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Analysis
: The Penrith Panthers arrived at Go Media Stadium with a losing record and five State of Origin stars missing, but walked away with an unlikely win over the NZ Warriors and a new spring in their step, as they chased a fifth consecutive NRL crown.
They took control of the contest in a 15-minute spell during the second half that produced three consecutive tries, as the
high-flying home side struggled to find an answer
.
The encounter may prove pivotal to the season for both teams - one showed they are ready to shrug off their early-season lethargy, while the other now face some soul-searching, as adversity mounts.
Here's what we can take away from the Warriors' 28-18 loss to the Panthers:
For the second time this season, the Warriors were unable to pick up the pieces after a bye week.
In April, they had resurrected their campaign with three straight wins, but after a week off, they produced their worst half of football this season to fall 36-0 behind Melbourne Storm before the break.
This time, they had put together back-to-back wins, including their best half of footy, outscoring Cronulla Sharks 28-0 in the second half, heading into the bye.
During the week, Warriors coach Andrew Webster played down the lost opportunity to build on that showing.
"We've got a chance to build on it now," he insisted. "It only seems like the other day we played, not like a month ago or six weeks ago."
Panthers celebrate Thomas Jenkins' opening try.
Photo:
Brett Phibbs/Photosport
As they conceded three straight tries to fall 16 points behind, that performance seemed like a long time ago indeed, and maybe we now need to start talking about the curse of the bye.
Last season, the Warriors had a bye in the final round, but split their other two post-bye encounters, thumping North Queensland Cowboys 42-12, but falling 20-18 to Canberra Raiders six weeks later.
In 2023, when they reached the preliminary finals in Webster's first season, they actually came out ahead of the 'curse', losing 26-22 to Brisbane Broncos, but beating St George Dragons 48-18 and Gold Coast Titans 28-18.
Perhaps it's too early for pessimism, and they have a grand opportunity to get one back when they host Wests Tigers in three weeks, after their next bye.
The Warriors' fate was not helped by a series of injuries that left them scrambling to regroup at half-time.
After just 12 minutes, front-rower Marata Niukore fell victim to a head clash in a tackle, and wasn't sighted again.
Afterwards, Webster couldn't report whether he had failed a head check or had a suspected broken nose that curtailed his further involvement.
In his absence, Jackson Ford logged 65 minutes off the bench, scoring a try, running for 111 metres and making 42 tackles.
Just before the break, winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak went down with an ankle injury, and while he was being treated Panthers second-rower Scott Sorensen exploited the hole in the defence to score their second try for the half-time lead.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak writhes in pain with an ankle injury.
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
In his 100th NRL game, Te Maire Martin came off the bench and into the centres, alongside promoted reserve-grader Moala Graham-Taufa, with Adam Pompey moving out a spot.
In his fourth game, Graham-Taufa would score his first NRL try, but also missed the tackle that let winger Thomas Jenkins in for the game's opening try.
Watene-Zelezniak looks likely to miss some time and Taine Tuaupiki was
knocked out in reserve grade last week
, so Ed Kosi - the last man dropped from the gameday squad against Penrith - may end up on the wing next week.
Kurt Capewell will be well clear of Origin duty by then, but Rocco Berry may also have recovered enough from his hamstring niggle to reclaim his midfield position.
The other injury concern is halfback Luke Metcalf, who played the second half with a heavy bandage on his left thigh and surrendered goalkicking duties to Pompey.
Metcalf has an extensive injury record, but Webster shrugged the complaint off as a 'cork' and played down any risk of him missing time.
Webster knew it was coming.
"I deadset knew the questions walking over here were going to be did we take them lightly?" he admitted. "Is it concerning they had their best players out and we couldn't beat them?
"At the end of the day, when you see complacency, it's when our players turn up and don't try. They tried, they tried so hard and got things so wrong.
"If anything, they were probably [trying] too hard."
Penrith were
missing arguably their five best players
, so they were vulnerable.
Those are games you must win, but sometimes, that's hard to play against - the replacements have nothing to lose and are often unknown quantities.
Only the Warriors players can look inside themselves to answer that dreaded question.
"I knew the line of questioning before I got here and the answer is they trained really well, they came here with real intent to work hard for each other and they got it wrong - just didn't execute it," Webster said.
Let's leave it at that.
The phrase has probably become overused in the context of a season that has seen the Warriors repeatedly pulling from their reserve team to cover key absences.
Against the Panthers, they were simply out-next-man-upped.
Scott Sorensen scores a try for the Panthers.
Photo:
Brett Phibbs/Photosport
Penrith have
had to deal with more than their share of Origin interruptions over the years
and while they have seen a plethora of talent scattered among other clubs - including the Warriors - they always seem to find a way to fill the void.
"They are experienced during this period of Origin and they know the next-man mentality," Webster observed. "They probably invented it, to be honest, so we knew what was coming."
That makes sense - it's something Webster probably brought with him from his time as Panthers assistant.
If there's any comfort for league fans on this side of the Tasman, it's that many of those that stood up for Penrith were Kiwis, starting with Sorensen.
"Funny how it works like that," Panthers coach Ivan Cleary mused. "It's cool and we needed them to."
Another was prop Moses Leota, who admitted to nerves during the week, as he lined up opposite great mate - and former teammate - James Fisher-Harris for the first time.
The Panthers have struggled so far this season, losing five games in a row to land at the bottom of the table.
They're now on a three-game winning streak and have entered the top-eight playoff picture, but this is a massive result that could - and should - give them immense self-belief.
The Warriors represent easily their biggest scalp since the Sharks in their season-opener, and it comes as they prepare to face top-of-the-table Canterbury Bulldogs next week.
The Bulldogs include two of Penrith's biggest-name defections in Matt Burton and Stephen Crichton, so that clash will show whether they have indeed turned a corner on the road to their fifth crown.
The Warriors travel across the ditch again next Saturday to face a Brisbane Broncos outfit with their backs to the wall.
Given the quality of their roster, the Broncos (6-7) have grossly underperformed this season, but steamrolled bottom-placed Gold Coast Titans in their last outing to give fans some hope, perhaps falsely.
We'll know more after they face Cronulla Sharks on Sunday.
Coach Michael Maguire has been criticised for being too hard on his players after predecessor Kevie Walters was accused of being too soft which makes you wonder when the players will take some responsibility for their own performance.
Maguire's appointment to the role continues to puzzle. Twelve months ago, he masterminded Queensland's Origin downfall - now he has the reins of the state's NRL flagship.
Awkward.
That said, the Warriors needed a Golden Point penalty to beat them at home in April, so let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, especially after this result.
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Those are games you must win, but sometimes, that's hard to play against - the replacements have nothing to lose and are often unknown quantities. Only the Warriors players can look inside themselves to answer that dreaded question. "I knew the line of questioning before I got here and the answer is they trained really well, they came here with real intent to work hard for each other and they got it wrong - just didn't execute it," Webster said. Let's leave it at that. The phrase has probably become overused in the context of a season that has seen the Warriors repeatedly pulling from their reserve team to cover key absences. Against the Panthers, they were simply out-next-man-upped. Scott Sorensen scores a try for the Panthers. Photo: Brett Phibbs/Photosport Penrith have had to deal with more than their share of Origin interruptions over the years and while they have seen a plethora of talent scattered among other clubs - including the Warriors - they always seem to find a way to fill the void. "They are experienced during this period of Origin and they know the next-man mentality," Webster observed. "They probably invented it, to be honest, so we knew what was coming." That makes sense - it's something Webster probably brought with him from his time as Panthers assistant. If there's any comfort for league fans on this side of the Tasman, it's that many of those that stood up for Penrith were Kiwis, starting with Sorensen. "Funny how it works like that," Panthers coach Ivan Cleary mused. "It's cool and we needed them to." Another was prop Moses Leota, who admitted to nerves during the week, as he lined up opposite great mate - and former teammate - James Fisher-Harris for the first time. The Panthers have struggled so far this season, losing five games in a row to land at the bottom of the table. They're now on a three-game winning streak and have entered the top-eight playoff picture, but this is a massive result that could - and should - give them immense self-belief. The Warriors represent easily their biggest scalp since the Sharks in their season-opener, and it comes as they prepare to face top-of-the-table Canterbury Bulldogs next week. The Bulldogs include two of Penrith's biggest-name defections in Matt Burton and Stephen Crichton, so that clash will show whether they have indeed turned a corner on the road to their fifth crown. The Warriors travel across the ditch again next Saturday to face a Brisbane Broncos outfit with their backs to the wall. Given the quality of their roster, the Broncos (6-7) have grossly underperformed this season, but steamrolled bottom-placed Gold Coast Titans in their last outing to give fans some hope, perhaps falsely. We'll know more after they face Cronulla Sharks on Sunday. Coach Michael Maguire has been criticised for being too hard on his players after predecessor Kevie Walters was accused of being too soft which makes you wonder when the players will take some responsibility for their own performance. Maguire's appointment to the role continues to puzzle. Twelve months ago, he masterminded Queensland's Origin downfall - now he has the reins of the state's NRL flagship. Awkward. That said, the Warriors needed a Golden Point penalty to beat them at home in April, so let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, especially after this result. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
