Dallin Watene-Zelezniak suffers a wrist injury against Cronulla Photo: AAP / www.photosport.nz
If NZ Warriors fans were hoping for a convincing tryfest victory in their opening pre-season fixture against Cronulla Sharks, they would have emerged disappointed with a scrappy draw against an understrength opponent.
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon elected to rest many of his biggest stars, including new arrival Addin Fonua-Blake, who was granted an early release from the Warriors to cross the Tasman this year.
By contrast, Warriors coach Andrew Webster had most of his frontline players available and would not have been impressed with their inability to impose themselves on less experienced counterparts.
Here's some key takeaways from the contest:
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
All eyes were on where the crosscode star would line up this season, but although he was initially named on the wing, he picked up a training niggle and withdrew from the team, replaced by Ed Kosi.
The Warriors don't seem too concerned, suggesting he will be available for next week's hitout against Melbourne Storm.
He may even get a run in the No.1 jersey in Hamilton, with the other preferred fullbacks - Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Taine Tuaupiki - both named in the Māori All Stars squad, also playing on Saturday.
Kosi made an early mistake that led to Cronulla's opening try and another midway through the second half, but ran for 178 metres and may yet be in for some extended run.
Early injury concerns
On the other flank, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak lasted less than 10 minutes, before he left the field, holding his wrist.
He had just set sail for the cornerflag and offloaded infield, but may have suffered the injury, as he tried to stop his momentum over the sideline.
With the loss of veteran Marcelo Montoya in the off-season and the absence of RTS, wing looms as a position lacking depth.
Moving Adam Pompey from centre offers one solution, but Tuaupiki showed he is another option, showing his skills in the unfamiliar role and combining well with CNK for his second-half try.
Skipper Mitch Barnett also left the field with a gash to his chin, but once the blood was cleaned up, he returned to the action.
Mitch Barnett heads to the blood bin against the Sharks Photo: AAP / www.photosport.nz
While no official announcement has been forthcoming from the club, he now seems to have the inside running on the captaincy vacated by Tohu Harris last month.
DWZ's departure also impacted Nicoll-Klokstad, who admitted afterwards he played longer than expected and began to cramp, with understudy Tuaupiki otherwise occupied.
Halves
After Shaun Johnson's retirement, Webster must now find a new 6/7 combination, and gave the first opportunity to Luke Metcalf and Te Maire Martin, two players who combined with Johnson at times last season.
In commentary, NRL halves legend Cooper Cronk seemed perplexed that Metcalf should wear the No.6 jersey, with Martin outside him, but Webster assured him they intended playing a different style to last season, when Johnson was the dominant playmaker.
This game showed they can be equally effective in those roles, with both Metcalf and Martin enjoying their moments, and Metcalf perhaps emerging as the Warriors' best on the night.
Chanel Harris-Tavita and new arrival Tannah Boyd were unavailable through injury, and they will want a chance to show their abilities against Melbourne next week.
Youngster Jett Cleary also had a 20-minute cameo, with dad Ivan looking on, but he was a mixed bag, highlighted by a sliced clearance kick that almost sparked a breakout down the right sideline on the last tackle.
Jett Cleary kicks against Cronulla Photo: AAP / www.photosport.nz
Too many basic errors
Overall, the Warriors performance smacked of a long off-season and lack of game sharpness, as you might expect.
Particularly galling was their infringing at both sides of the ruck, where they regularly suffered set restarts for offside and were repeatedly penalised for playing the ball incorrectly.
Game officials have obviously been told to clamp down on this area of the game and were particularly strict on players simply rolling the ball under their feet without making contact.
Surely, they could find something more dangerous to impose their will on, but if this is it, players have been warned and must adapt accordingly. The Warriors will need to emphasise this skill on the training ground.
They also completed just 25/39 sets (64%), compared to the Sharks' 36/45 (80%).
Māori All-Stars
Webster will be forced into naming a very different line-up against the Storm next Saturday, with Nicoll-Klokstad, Tuaupiki, Pompey, James Fisher-Harris and Jacob Laban selected for the All Stars Game.
All eyes will be on the recoveries of Tuivasa-Sheck, Watene-Zelezniak, Harris-Tavita and Boyd, while second-rower Jackson Ford and centre Rocco Berry face a late start to their campaigns with knee and shoulder injuries.
