NRL: What we learnt from NZ Warriors' win over St George-Illawarra Dragons

Analysis - It's almost 1000km from Brisbane to Kogarah, but the distance is perhaps even further from the top of the NRL competition table to the bottom.

Six days after the euphoria of 'Magic Round' and victory over the reigning champions on their home ground, NZ Warriors were able to find enough motivation to handle the winless St George-Illawarra Dragons comfortably, but perhaps not convincingly, 30-12 on a drizzly night in suburban Sydney.

Without Origin stars Mitch Barnett and Kurt Capewell, and having lost halfback Tanah Boyd to a season-ending injury the week before, the visitors saw centre Roger Tuivasa-Sheck limp off early and seemed likely to lose co-captain James Fisher-Harris as well, but showed some resilience to rally after halftime.

"We talk about chasing out best game and we probably don't know what that looks like," coach Andrew Webster said. "We had glimpses of it this year and played some really good football.

"I'm not negative Nelly - I'm not saying we're not playing some good footy. Tonight, I thought we played some of our best stuff. But there were moments that cost us, so we have to tidy them up.

"The boys are ambitious, so they want the best. They keep challenging themselves and each other, and they challenge me."

This was far from a perfect performance - the Warriors lead the league in possession and set completion, but were below par on both counts - but still more than enough to bank two points and move on.

Here's what we learnt from the win over the Dragons:

Best player

When Boyd went down for the season with his knee injury, many were probably counting their lucky stars that Luke Metcalf had not demanded an immediate release from his Warriors contract and could still return to play the unlikely hero.

Not so fast.

Veteran utility Te Maire Martin came off the bench against the Broncos to guide his team to one of their best performances of the season and was even better against the Dragons, scoring two tries and steering the ship confidently.

He had one wobbly kick that skidded off the side of his boot and directly into touch on halfway, so it wasn't the perfect display, but he did more than enough to continue Webster's halfback dilemma, with Metcalf presumably available next week.

"[Martin] iced two good opportunities," Webster said. "He's learning, not the game, but coming back into the team, and he's doing a terrific job, while he's learning.

"He's making adjustments. He hasn't played much footy, so once he starts seeing the game, he'll be even better.

"I'm not going to make any selections tonight, but while the team is winning, people deserve their spots."

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has now scored 12 tries in the last seven games, including three doubles and a hattrick, and was centimetres away from another treble here.

"Dallin's in great form and he's putting his body on the line," Webster observed. "I think Dallin's so comfortable in his own skin, and has taken away all outside noise and just concentrates on his job."

Front-rower Jackson Ford, and second-rowers Leka Halasima and Jacob Laban all went the distance, with Laban producing probably his best showing of the season.

Ford had to move to edge, after Halasima moved to centre, but again led his team in tackles (47), while running 125 metres, second only to fullback Taine Tuaupiki (130).

Lock Erin Clark also topped 100 metres running, while making 45 tackles and missing none.

Key moment

The Warriors were still precariously placed at halftime, leading just 14-6, despite outscoring their opponents three tries to one.

If the Dragons had scored next, the whole complexion of the contest might have changed. They had a royal chance, when they went onto attack first after the break, but squandered the opportunity with a loose pass.

Instead, the Warriors broke upfield, forced another error and then a set restart, before Martin eluded Clint Gutherson shooting out of the defensive line and sauntered over for his second try.

That gave them some breathing room and when wing Alofiana Khan-Pereira was next to score, the outcome was secure.

Best try

Ahead 20-6, the Warriors were finally starting to play with some freedom.

As they shifted left, Sam Healey, Clark and Martin all contributed deft touches, before Chanel Harris-Tavita cleverly dummied, held up his pass and finally released to Khan-Pereira.

Best known for his blistering speed, 'Lofi' showed he had learnt a thing or two from his teammate, with a finishing dive at the corner that came straight from the Watene-Zelezniak instruction manual.

Khan-Pereira has now scored 61 tries in 60 career games, including 19 doubles. That was his fourth double for the Warriors in six outings.

Injuries etc

Webster bolstered his line-up by bringing Tuivasa-Sheck back from shoulder injury and into the starting line-up, displacing Adam Pompey 24 hours out from kickoff.

Instead, Pompey took the field for the reserves and, significantly, assumed goalkicking duties from Jett Cleary. He slotted 4/4 conversions in a rematch of last year's NSW Cup final and his accuracy proved the difference, as the Warriors won 24-20.

Strangely, second-rower Kayliss Fatialofa remained on the first-grade interchange, but also clocked a full 80 minutes for the reserves.

Tuivasa-Sheck didn't last long in his return, hobbling off after 11 minutes with a knee niggle.

Six days after losing Boyd to an anterior cruciate rupture, the Warriors will hope his one is not as serious, but he must be doubtful for next week, with Pompey an obvious replacement.

Moments later, they lost Fisher-Harris and substitute Eddie Ieremia-Toeava in quick succession to concussion checks. Fisher-Harris passed his and returned before halftime, but Ieremia-Toeava was ruled out and won't be available for the next round.

Dragons

While the Warriors stretched their winning run to six games, the home side extended their trail of woe to 15, dating back to last August.

Ironically, the Warriors began that losing run and have now lumped further dismay on the Dragons fanbase.

They weren't helped by injuries to centre Moses Suli, his replacement Jaydn Su'A, and then his replacement Hayden Buchanan, which saw Tyrell Sloan inserted at fullback and Clint Gutherson moved to the midfield.

The Dragons had their chances, scoring first and behind just 14-6 at halftime, but too often shot themselves in the foot with errors in the attacking redzone that killed any momentum they had built.

They enjoyed an edge in possession (53/47) against the team that leads the league in that respect. They broke more tackles and had twice as many offloads.

"I thought we lost the physical battle," coach Dean Young lamented. "The Warriors were really good at that and their back five ran really hard.

"We lost the collisions, we tried to slow the ruck down off the back of that and cooked ourselves with six-agains."

Veteran hooker Damien Cook was probably their best, before limping off late, while young forwards Toby and Ryan Couchman, Dylan Egan and Hamish Stewart form a solid core for the future.

Auckland-born wings Setu Tu and Christian Tuipulotu scored their team's tries, and will now count the days until they venture back across the Tasman for the return match on July 18.

The Dragons' next chance to end their torment comes against the Brisbane Broncos next Sunday.

What does the result mean

The Warriors have now won six straight and their 9-2 record through 11 games is the best in their history, bettering last year's showing.

They lead the league in points scored (350) this season and are second only to Penrith Panthers in points conceded (194).

The top eight are still bunched, with only two points covering fourth to tenth, so too early to celebrate, but halfway through their schedule, with two byes still up their sleeves, the Warriors can feel relatively secure in their position.

What's next

The Warriors now prepare for a fourth straight road trip, when they travel to Penrith for a top-of-the-table showdown with the Panthers.

They haven't won a game at Penrith since 2019 and can't take too much comfort from the fact that their rivals will have four players backing up from Origin I on Wednesday.

Last year, Panthers coach Ivan Cleary opted to rest his stars on three days' rest and travel from Perth, but his second-stringers still accounted for the Warriors 28-18 at Mt Smart.

This year, Cleary will have an extra day and no travel required, so he may yet name a near full-strength side against his old club.

Webster will presumably have Barnett and Capewell back, but will be mindful that he lost Barnett for the season, trying to back up last year.

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