Jamayne Isaako of the Dolphins and Marcelo Montoya of the Warriors contest for a high ball. One NZ Warriors v Dolphins, Indigenous round 12 of the Telstra NRL Premiership at Go Media Stadium, Mt Smart, Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday 26 May 2024. © Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
The injury ravaged Warriors claimed their second straight NRL win with a gutsy 24-20 victory over the Dolphins in Auckland in a game that went down to the wire.
Backing up last week's unbelievable outing against reigning premiers, the Panthers, the Warriors delivered another hard-fought performance, this time against Wayne Bennett's men.
With the Auckland side's four tries matched by the Dolphins, Adam Pompey's boot proved crucial for the Warriors in front of a crowd of 23,000.
Trailing 16-12 at half time, the Warriors second half blitz saw a superb try to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak with 22 minutes to go.
Then Marata Niukore brushed off one tackle and crashed through two more to score in the 67th minute.
Hitting back with five minutes on the clock, the Dolphins scored to set up a tense finish as Jamayne Isaako beat Marcelo Montoya to ground the ball.
The Warriors held strong at the death for their fifth win of the season ahead of next weekend's bye.
- See how the match unfolded with RNZ's blog
Stand-in captain Mitch Barnett led by example while Te Maire Martin pulled the strings at halfback.
Another feature was strong kicking from both Martin and Chanel Harris-Tavita. They forced three repeat sets that lead to Marata Niukore's crucial try late try.
Coach Andrew Webster pieced the team together on game day with Tohu Harris and Shaun Johnson out through injury.
Last week's fullback star Taine Tuaupiki sat out the game awaiting the birth of his first child, while Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was sidelined through illness.
And with Prop Addin Fonua-Blake sitting out due to a breach of club standards, the Warriors outfit had a makeshift look about it.
The visitors began with a try inside the opening three minutes through Jamayne Isaako before their second from Herbie Farnworth for the 10-0 lead.
Te Maire Martin broke through a couple of tackles using excellent footwork to score under the posts to close the gap.
Farnworth made a linebreak through the middle for the Dolphins with Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow going over for a 16-6 advantage.
The Warriors came back into the contest as Marcelo Montoya caught a high kick and handed the ball to Chanel Harris-Tavita to score ahead of half-time with the deficit reduced to four points.
With their fifth win of the season the Warriors head into the bye after another week of defying injuries to their key stars.
