Warriors fend off Dragons for hard-fought win

Warriors 20

Dragons 12

This was far from a happy homecoming.

In only the Warriors’ second match in Auckland in the last three months, they were far from convincing.

It was a win – 20-12 – but probably the ugliest of the season, against the bottom-placed Dragons.

It was nervy for long periods in the second half, as the Warriors clung to a 16-12 lead, before two late Chanel Harris-Tavita penalties put them out of reach.

The visitors were good, really good at times, in another reminder of the overall strength of the NRL.

But the Warriors weren’t themselves, certainly not by their high standards of 2026. Their tackling lacked conviction, their attack was too lateral and they were inaccurate.

They looked, for one of the first times this season, like a tired squad, after so much time on the road.

But they remain second on the ladder, though they will need to revert to type in the coming weeks.

It was the kind of match where they missed the leadership of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – to set standards – while the Dragons pack stood up to their much vaunted opposites.

The first half was a frustrating watch.

The Warriors needed to stamp their authority but couldn’t do so.

They had plenty of possession in good areas but weren’t decisive enough and tried to go around the Dragons instead of banging the door down.

The joint venture team, who arrived in Auckland on Thursday, were up for the contest and gained confidence and their defence held, while they grabbed a couple of cheap tries.

The Warriors were meant to snap out of their torpor in the second half but it was never really convincing.

Too many players had poor games and the harder they tried, the worse it got.

In front of a big crowd, the Warriors were off within two minutes, with Adam Pompey across, though the try took a long time to be confirmed by the bunker.

Jacob Laban and Mitch Barnett had provided early impetus, while Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was busy.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scores a try against the Dragons. Photo / Photosport

But they got a bit sloppy, with some low percentage plays, then a penalty, before the Dragons took advantage of weak defence on the right edge for Clint Gutherson to score, as tacklers fell off.

The Dragons provided better than expected resistance – with some brave stops near their line – before Alofiana Khan-Pereira got the Warriors’ second just before halftime.

The chance had come from a clever Martin break, running it on the last. Khan-Pereira then split the defensive line, to sprint away for his 12th try of the season. But there remained an uneasy feeling, with another poor error giving the Dragons possession.

The visitors took advantage, with second rower Hamish Stewart scoring one of the softest tries the Warriors will concede in 2026, a simple dummy taking three defenders out.

As the halftime whistle sounded, the Warriors stayed out on the field, with a chat between themselves before they headed to the dressing room.

They needed to show something after the interval and were sparked by a Taine Tuaupiki break , before Watene-Zelezniak crossed following a sharp blindside move, with Harris-Tavita nailing the sideline conversion.

The winger had another chance – after a cut out ball from Martin – but was thwarted by a brilliant defensive effort by Tyrell Sloan.

The Warriors had to muscle up, defending three consecutive sets on their line, but it looked like it wasn’t enough, as Setu Tu crossed for an opportunist try on the hour mark.

As Holmes lined up the handy conversion – to take the Dragons into the lead - there was then a major reprieve, as the bunker ruled (correctly) that Tu had been tackled, before he got up and kept running.

It continued to be far too scrappy – though Leka Halasima tried to provide some impact – and the Warriors travails were shown in the 69th minute, when they elected to kick for goal after a penalty, rather than attack the line.

The stumbles continue, but another Harris-Tavita goal closed out the game.

Warriors 20 (Adam Pompey, Alofiana Khan-Pereira, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak tries; Chanel Harris-Tavita con, 2 pens)

Dragons 12 (Clint Gutherson, Hamish Stewart tries; Valentine Holmes 2 cons)

Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.