ANDREW CORNAGA/Photosport
The Warriors celebrate Tohu Harris’ first-half try against the Tigers.
At Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland: Warriors 22 (Tohu Harris 28’, Chanel Harris-Tavita 32’ Jesse Arthars 76’ tries; Shaun Johnson 5/5 goals) Tigers 2 (Adam Doueihi 1/1 goal). HT: 14-2
“Welcome home” indeed.
Dave Dobbyn sang his classic songs before kickoff and the Warriors delivered the result their “loyal” fans had been craving as they returned to Mt Smart Stadium for the first time in almost three years.
The Covid-19 pandemic has starved Kiwi league fans of the chance to watch their team in person, but they had plenty to cheer about as the Warriors beat the Wests Tigers 22-2 on Sunday afternoon to halt a seven-match losing streak.
A sell-out crowd of 26,009 turned out for the NRL round 16 clash, which was the Warriors’ first at home since August 30, 2019, when they were well-beaten by the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
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* Warriors have ‘a spring in their step’ ahead of homecoming clash with Wests Tigers
The Warriors had just three starters who were there on that night, 1038 days ago – prop Jazz Tevaga, centre Adam Pompey and fullback Chanel Harris-Tavita.
But there were plenty of others in their team with Mt Smart experience, including forward Bunty Afoa, who made his 100th appearance off the interchange bench, and halfback Shaun Johnson, playing at the ground for the first time since he left for the Cronulla Sharks at the end of 2018.
The Warriors made their entrance through the tunnel from the No 2 ground, as they did for their first-ever NRL match, back in 1995, and immediately felt the vocal support of their patient supporters.
They had to continue to be patient, as they twice thought their side had scored, only for replays in the NRL bunker to say otherwise.
Having come up with nothing after 24 minutes despite dominating territory and possession, the Warriors took the chance to get on the board with a Johnson penalty.
The try the raucous crowd had been waiting for soon followed, and it was fitting that captain Tohu Harris was the man to do the honours, scoring off the back of a dummy-half run by Wayde Egan to give the Warriors the reward their dominance deserved.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images
26,009 Warriors fans flocked to Mt Smart Stadium for the team’s first home NRL match since August 2019.
A second try was added just four minutes later, after a Johnson chip to the right corner hit Dallin Watene-Zelezniak on the back and sat up for Harris-Tavita to dot down.
Johnson continued his perfect start from the tee to make it 14-0, while the Tigers were able to get on the board thanks to an Adam Doueihi penalty as the hooter sounded.
The Tigers came into the contest more as the second half began, but some stout Warriors defence kept them at bay, and as the clock ticked past 60 minutes, it looked like a scoreless 40 minutes might be on the cards.
A second Johnson penalty in the 65th changed that and put the Warriors three tries clear, while Jesse Arthars put the icing on the cake late on, scoring off a kick to the right-hand corner.
The big moment
The fans that flocked to Mt Smart wanted a Warriors try to celebrate and when it came 28 minutes in they erupted. It was no surprise that the Warriors kicked on and added a second just four minutes later, feeding off the passion of the crowd.
Match rating
8/10: It’s not every day that a team goes 1038 days between home games. The only thing that was needed on top of that to make this a memorable match was a strong Warriors performance. It may have been the 15th team on the ladder beating the 14th, but in the circumstances, that didn’t matter.
MVP
Chanel Harris-Tavita only came into the Warriors’ starting lineup on Friday when Reece Walsh was ruled out with Covid-19, but had a influential outing at fullback while scoring his side’s second try.
The big picture
A much-needed win for the Warriors on an afternoon to remember – their largest since August 2020. They now have a bye weekend as they come down from the high of Sunday afternoon. It was an occasion that will never be repeated, but they will be hoping it serves as a reset button for their season, with eight games remaining.
