It will certainly go down in the annals of Warriors history, as a severely depleted team produced a stirring 24-20 victory over the Dolphins, in front of another sellout crowd of 23,116.
The Warriors were missing many of their top liners – and lost two more on game day – but the patched up side managed a performance for the ages, coming back from a 16-6 down to bank a massive win.
In terms of against the odds, the only recent comparison was the 2016 win by the “Baby Warriors” over St George Illawarra at Mt Smart, when the team were without 10 front-line players, including six stood down during the sleeping pills and energy drinks saga.
It’s the kind of result that could revive their season and is perfectly timed, ahead of a bye next week.
There were heroes aplenty. Te Maire Martin and Chanel Harris-Tavita were superb in the halves, while Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was inspirational at fullback. Centre Moala Graham-Taufa was gutsy on debut. And the forwards never stopped working, while Marata Niukore made a big impact in his return.
Despite the early deficit on the scoreboard, as the Dolphins scored three tries in the first 25 minutes, there was a feeling that the Warriors were up for it, with a point to prove and an energy that hasn’t always been present this season.
Already missing the likes of Shaun Johnson, Tohu Harris, Wayde Egan, Addin Fonua-Blake and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, the Warriors lost Rocco Berry (hand) on Saturday, before Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (illness) and Taine Tuaupiki (wife awaiting birth of first child) were withdrawals on Sunday.
It meant a drastic rejig, including Watene-Zelezniak going to fullback. He had played almost a quarter of his NRL career at the back (42 games) but only once there since May 2021. Graham-Taufa (22) came into centre – for only his second first grade game, after one appearance for the Roosters back in 2021, while Ed Kosi was promoted to the wing.
