NRL: Warriors' loss to Titans leaves top four hopes on shaky ground
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Analysis:
The contrasts were stark.
Six nights earlier, after they let a much-needed win slip through their fingers in the final minute, Gold Coast Titans coach Des Hasler hauled his players out of the showers to give them a dressing down that peeled the paint off the locker-room walls.
"Every f***ing week, you keep going back to what doesn't work for you," he lamented. "That's why you're f***ing dumb!"
On this night though, the Gold Coast victory song echoed through the corridors of the Mt Smart grandstand, after their
shocking 24-16 win over NZ Warriors
.
"I don't think it had anything to do with the dressing down at all," Hasler cautioned. "They're very proud individuals and that's the kind of response we want to get, week in and week out."
On the other hand, six nights earlier, the Warriors leapt about in celebration, as second-rower Leka Halasima snapped up a loose ball and
rumbled 40 metres to grab a famous victory
over Newcastle Knights on the fulltime siren.
On this night though, they could only shake their heads, as they slumped to a third-straight defeat against a team ranked last in the NRL on all three occasions.
"I think the fans and everyone got a bit more excited than we did last week," coach Andrew Webster insisted. "When we were on the bus, I didn't see anyone celebrating or carrying on - I think everyone realised we weren't at our best."
If that narrow escape against Newcastle was a wake-up call, the Warriors had slept through the alarm.
Here's how they let a golden opportunity to consolidate an NRL playoff position slip through their fingers.
Webster pinpointed the moment when hooker Wayde Egan was left concussed on the ground, as the Titans broke upfield, with halfback Jayden Campbell putting winger Jojo Fifita into the corner.
The Warriors led 10-0 at the time and seemed well in control early, but conceded the next 24 points to hand over that advantage.
"I didn't feel like we dealt with that change in momentum well," he reflected. "We didn't get back into the arm-wrestle like we normally do," Webster said
"We're normally really good at those type of moments and it's something for us to work on this week."
The other critical juncture came, when they trailed 18-10 in the 55th minute, but winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was sin-binned for tackling centre Brian Kelly without the ball on the goal-line.
Kelly was chasing a kick through by fullback AJ Brimson and Watene-Zelezniak's reflex action could easily have yielded a penalty try.
Instead, he left his team shorthanded and the Titans immediately scored anyway, with Fifita taking the ball at speed to cross for his second amid four tacklers.
The Warriors performance exposed two glaring areas that needed improvement - the right-edge defence and the kicking game.
The
right-edge vulnerability was well known
and will continue to be exploited by opposition teams.
"We do our homework through the week, there's no doubt about that," Titans captain Kieran Foran admitted cagily. "We looked at areas we might be able to expose them."
Left winger Phillip Sami also had a try double - his first came when makeshift centre Kurt Capewell came out of his line and slipped, as halfback Jayden Campbell floated a long pass to Sami with acres of space outside Watene-Zelezniak.
Foran repeated that pass to Sami in the second half to leave the Warriors winger floundering again.
"I've got complete faith in every single one of our boys," Webster said. "It doesn't matter were they are, what position or what edge - I'm completely confident that we'll bounce back to where we want to be."
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is denied a try against Gold Coast.
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Watene-Zelezniak may have to defend his position in the team from back-up fullback Taine Tuaupiki, who deputised for him through injury at the start of the season.
Tuaupiki was vulnerable under the high ball at times, but has been in good form, whether he's played first-grade or NSW Cup. On Saturday, he scored two tries and kicked eight conversions, as the reserves stretched their unbeaten streak to 14 games with a 68-6 romp against South Sydney.
"Taine's an option every week," Webster said.
"He's a good player, but I'm certainly not going to pick teams an hour after the game's finished."
The options at centre are less bountiful, with Rocco Berry rehabbing a dislocated shoulder and Ali Leiataua suffering an calf injury in reserve grade. Webster would love to return Capewell to the second row, where he starred for Queensland at State of Origin, but right now he seems the best option in the midfield.
Nicoll-Klokstad has played centre for the Kiwis, but then Tuaupiki can only spread so far.
"Like I said, I'm not going to pick the team straight after the game," rebuffed Webster.
After a promising Warriors debut, when he bombed Wests Tigers into submission, halfback Tanah Boyd again dominated the kicking options, but too often, his kicks seemed too deep or the chasers too slow to make them contestable.
"I thought our kick chase was a pass mark," Webster said. "We actually score it and it scored OK tonight, but it wasn't dominant like it normally is or when we're good.
"I didn't think we surged well on it and backed the kicks up to turn them into great kicks tonight."
That might improve, as his teammates get used to Boyd's tendencies or maybe he needs to share the load more with five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita, or Webster could turn to Martin in the No.7 jersey.
Winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (278) and fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (214) both carried beyond 200 metres, while Halasima become the Warriors' top tryscorer for the season with his ninth, also breaking six tackles.
Leka Halasima scores another try for the Warriors.
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Captain James Fisher-Harris ran for 130 metres and made 46 tackles, while front-row partner Jackson Ford racked up 128 and 54 respectively.
Martin came off the bench to replace Egan and made 46 tackles, but he and centre Kurt Capewell were also credited with six missed tackles each.
Nicoll-Klokstad
returned from a knee injury
that sidelined him a month and was solid enough on his return, but the Warriors suffered another setback, when Egan failed his head check and couldn't return to the field.
That will also rule him out against the Dolphins on Friday, so expect to see understudy Sam Healey in the No.9 jersey for that fixture.
The Warriors may also lose front-rower Jackson Ford next week, after he was put on report for his second dangerous tackle offence this season.
While the defeat was worrying for the Warriors, it was hard to begrudge Hasler his moment, which allowed him to celebrate 500 coaching games in style. He seemed a man on the edge of extinction last week, but this result should see him survive at least a little longer, despite the rumours of his imminent demise.
Former Warrior Foran also marked his final NRL appearance at Mt Smart with victory. He has been a stalwart of Kiwis league since debuting for the national team in 2009, despite a body that was repeatedly let him down over the years.
Neither were overly forthcoming at the post-game presser, unprepared to tip their cards before they host the Warriors again in four weeks.
This result - and the Rabbitohs' later loss to Cronulla Sharks - lifts Gold Coast off the bottom of the table for now, but they have a surging Penrith Panthers next week.
Since 2021, the Titans have now won six of their last seven meetings with the Warriors and inflicted a 60-point defeat on their rivals last time they met at Cbus Stadium.
"It doesn't surprise me whenever I see the Titans win a game of football, because they're so talented," Webster said.
"It's just frustrating that it seems to be against us - I don't have my finger on it.
"I can't deny they've got the wood over us at the moment."
They were in a great position to consolidate their top-four spot, with nearest pursuers Brisbane Broncos losing to Parramatta Eels this weekend.
Instead, four-time defending champions Penrith have leapfrogged into fifth, just three points behind and now riding a seven-game winning streak.
The Warriors are also only six points clear of ninth with six games remaining, so there is a real danger they may miss out on the post-season altogether, if they can't rediscover their mojo.
The Warriors face the Dolphins, who are coming off the bye and currently sit on the playoff bubble.
Only Melbourne Storm have scored more points than the Dolphins this season and another loss could see the Warriors becalmed within sight of the finish-line.
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