Warriors baffled by big
Penrith capitulation the nadir as Kearney’s team desperately need to improve dire away form to have any
The Warriors are searching for answers, with coach Stephen Kearney admitting his side switched off mentally in Saturday’s dire 36-28 NRL defeat to Penrith.
Kearney was at a loss to explain his side’s stunning second-half collapse that saw the visitors concede five tries to blow a 22-point halftime lead as the Panthers claimed their first win in six starts.
The Warriors had no answer to the Panthers’ hard-running enthusiasm, with back-rower Isaah Yeo leading the way in exposing their brittle defence out wide. Yeo had a field day, repeatedly surging through the turnstile tackling of right edge forward Bodene Thompson and halfback Shaun Johnson to score two tries and create another for centre Waqa Blake.
Kiwis wing Dallin WateneZelezniak later embarrassed Thompson and Ryan Hoffman, as he burst downfield in the lead-up to Tyrone Peachey’s match-winning try four minutes from fulltime.
The result appeared inevitable as early as the 53rd minute, after WateneZelezniak scored off a Nathan Cleary crossfield kick, with the Warriors almost conceding defeat despite still clinging to a 28-18 lead.
Hesitation and indecision spread like a virus, leading to uncharacteristic defensive misses and handling errors from captain and fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who played perhaps the worst 40 minutes of his career in his 100th NRL game.
“Very disappointing,” Kearney said. “The Panthers really turned up the intensity in the second half and we just couldn’t match it. We just couldn’t go with them.”
After dominating territory and possession to run in five first-half tries, the Warriors let the foot off the throat and started the second half in cruise mode. They lacked urgency and spent most of the second half camped in their own red zone.
“We spoke about it at halftime, making sure we maintained the pressure and intensity that we played at in the first half,” said Kearney. “But we just didn’t deliver on the actions. So when you give a side like the Panthers a breath and space to grow like they did in the second half, you’re asking for trouble, and I just didn’t think we responded well enough.”
Tuivasa-Sheck could not explain their drop in effort and lack of belief, admitting they struggled mentally and failed to lift when it was needed.
“We were all out there saying the right things, we just couldn’t deliver on the actions,” said Tuivasa-Sheck.
The Warriors are yet to win on the road this season and will need to buck that trend to get their campaign back on track when they take on the Dragons in Hamilton next Friday.
“We didn’t help ourselves [on Saturday], particularly with the second half, so I don’t think that’s a matter of the process and our travel for away games,” said Kearney.