With a much-needed 28-16 victory over the Wests Tigers in front of a sell-out crowd at Go Media Stadium, the Warriors’ hopes of making the playoffs remain alive.
The Warriors appeared to be winning easily as they dominated the mistake-plagued Tigers team in the first half, jumping out to a 14-0 lead.
However, the Tigers quickly tied the score with two tries, the first coming from milestone man Isaiah Papali’i, who made a comeback to play in his 150th game after suffering an ankle injury.
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Round 21 tab NRL
July 26, 6:00 p.m. *Odds are valid as of July 29, 2024, 12:58 a.m. AEST FT Warriors Warriors Warriors 28 Tigers 16 Match Center AEST VISION EVERY SCORE NRL
July 26, 8:00 p.m. *Odds are current as of July 29, 2024, 12:58 a.m. AEST FT Eels 14 Storm 32 Match Center AEST VISION ENTIRE SCORES NRL July 27 at 3 p.m. AEST FT Broncos 16 Bulldogs 41 MATCH CENTER *Changes in odds effective as of July 29, 2024, 12:58 a.m. AEST VISION EVERY SCORE NRL
July 27, 5:30 p.m. Cowboys 30 Sharks 22 MATCH CENTER AEST *Odds are accurate as of July 29, 2024, 12:58 a.m. AEST VISION EVERY SCORES NRL July 27, 7:35 p.m. *Odds are current as of July 29, 2024, 12:58 a.m. AEST FT: Roosters 34 Sea Eagles 30 MATCH CENTER AEST VISION EVERY SCORE NRL July 28 at 2:00 p.m. AEST FT Panthers 10 Dragons 46 MATCH CENTER *Odds are correct as of July 29, 2024, 12:58 a.m. AEST VISION EVERY SCORES NRL July 28 at 4:05 p.m. AEST FT Dolphins 14 Titans Dolphins
Titans 21 MATCH CENTER *Odds are correct as of 12:58 a.m. on July 29, 2024 AEST VIEW EVERY SCORE NRL July 28 at 6:15 p.m. AEST FT Raiders 32 Rabbitohs Raiders
Rabbitohs 12 MATCH CENTER *Odds are correct as of 12:58 am on July 29, 2024. AEST VIEW EVERY SCORE
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Before some deft play from 21-year-old center Ali Leiataua put up Edward Kosi, Kurt Capewell, the Queensland Origin representative, opened the scoring.
Five minutes later, Leiataua—who is expected to go far in the NRL—crossed over for his own score.
After having a difficult night on the court last week, Chanel Harris-Tavita missed the first two conversion attempts. However, he grinned broadly when he made his third effort, giving the Warriors a comfortable lead going into halftime.
Early in the second half, the Tigers caught the Warriors off guard and scored in two tries. Before Charlie Staines produced an outstanding finish in the corner, Papali’i crashed first.
However, the Warriors once again gained the upper hand in momentum. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck reversed the course of events by beating four players prior to a Dallin Watene-Zelezniak touchdown, capping off an incredible performance with a well-earned try.
The buzzer went off, and inspirational Tigers captain Api Koroisau scored, but it was too little, too late.
MATCH CENTER: SuperCoach scores, video, and Warriors vs. Tigers stats
Benji ducks questioning from John Bateman | 03:34 THE BIG STATEMENT FROM DEPARTING WARRIOR
As his time as a Warrior comes to an end, Addin Fonua-Blake was at his deadly best on Friday night.
Fonua:Blake stated to the reporters this week that he is “just trying to make every moment count from here on.” Blake will play for the Sharks the following season.
And the 28-year-old undoubtedly made the most of his 68 minutes on the pitch, especially throughout the opening half.
Fonua-Blake participated in the entire first half and finished with 150 running meters, a linebreak, five tackle busts, and twelve successful tackles without missing any.
Legendary forward James Graham said on Fox League, “Every time he carries the ball, it is with such destruction.”
With his deft footwork, talent, and ability to get behind the ruck, he is dominating terms in the center of the field on the back of some Wayde Egan craft.
“The Tigers players are unable to get him to the ground every time he carries the ball; instead, he spins to the ground, finds a quick route to play the ball, and they are off. He has excelled beyond measure. He completely dominated those forty minutes.
After running out to begin the second half, Fonua-Blake won a break in the 46th minute. Five minutes after his comeback in the 64th minute, he scored.
The standout prop finished with 21 tackles without a miss, 207 rushing metres, seven tackle busts, an offload, and two linebreaks.
ANCIENT RTS ILLUMINATES NEW ZEALAND
Fans of rugby league would have salivated upon seeing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck listed as this week’s No. 1 jersey.
Warriors head coach Andrew Webster resorted to the 2018 Dally M medallist, who did not let him down, with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Taine Tuaupiki out of the picture.
Before leaving to play rugby union, Tuivasa-Sheck made a name for himself as one of the top fullbacks in the game in mid-2021.
Prior to the current season, he went back home to the Warriors because he did not want to ruin the foundation that Nicoll-Klokstad and the team had established the previous year.
But he demonstrated that he still has what it takes to wear the No. 1 jersey.
With 24 runs, 8 tackle busts, a linebreak, and many big tackles, including one that might have been a trysaver on Jahream Bula in the last two minutes, Tuivasa-Sheck finished with a game-high 250 metres.
Late in the game, he made history at Go Media Stadium when he beat four players and over 50 meters after snatching up a Tigers grubber.
After the game, even opponent coach Benji Marshall had nothing but praise for Tuivasa-Sheck.
He claimed to have “made four or five huge plays that nobody does… he placed his body in danger and stopped maybe three tries.”
He played a significant role in their victory because “we produced opportunities and if it was anyone else they probably get scored.”
With Nicoll-Klokstad and Tuaupiki scheduled to return the following week, Webster will be in a lot of mental pain come the end of the season.
On both ends of the park, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck performed admirably.
On both ends of the park, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck performed admirably.
Getty Images is the source.
IDENTICAL HISTORY FOR TIGERS
For the third time this season, Benji Marshall’s complaints about mistakes and self-belief have come back to haunt the Tigers, as they are once again solely responsible for a defeat that brings them closer to their third consecutive wooden spoon.
When the Tigers entered the sheds at halftime trailing 14-0, everything was against them. They only had six tackles in the Warriors’ 20-meter zone and only 38% of the possession.
But that is what happens when you finish at 69%, as Balmain great Steve “Blocker” Roach noted in his commentary, adding that the Tigers were fortunate not to be behind by a larger margin.
“You do not give yourself a chance if you miss 20 tackles and commit seven mistakes. After the Tigers’ first-half performance, I believe the scoreboard currently favors them,” he stated at the interval.
Even though the Tigers made a valiant effort to get back into the game and evened the possession to match the Warriors at an 82% completion percentage, the damage had already been done.
Once again, the careless Tigers were their own worst enemy.
Once again, the careless Tigers were their own worst enemy.
Getty Images is the source.
“We overexerted ourselves during the first half,” Koroisau stated to Sky Sports following the game.
“I admired our resilience out there, but as a leader, I made a few of those mistakes and it is just not good enough.”
It was a difficult night for the Tigers’ right edge defense. In his third NRL game of the season, Starford To’a was a little off-kilter, while Charlie Staines made three tackles but missed six.
Despite having a rough season due to hamstring and ankle problems, To’a was substituted into the starting lineup for Adam Doueihi, who was given a rest. In all three of the Warriors’ first-half tries, To’a made a bad read. The 24-year-old’s night took an unfortunate turn as he sustained yet another hamstring injury, forcing him off the field in the second half.
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