D'Arcy Waldegrave: The Warriors do deserve to be in the title conversation

Author: D'Arcy Waldegrave ,
Publish Date: Sat, 8 Aug 2026, 9:25am

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Luke Metcalf (centre) is congratulated by teammates after scoring the late try, his second of the match, that clinched victory for the Warriors. Photo / Photosport

Scene set. Questions answered.

Last night the Warriors stood up to be counted. All week I'd been speaking my truth on-air: if the Warriors couldn't beat Penrith at Mt Smart, they didn't deserve to be in the NRL title conversation.

They do now.

They do so on the back of some outstanding contributions, that of the returning half Luke Metcalf and newfound centre staple Leka Halasima.

Luke’s return showed what this team had been missing, and with all due respect to Martin and Boyd, Metcalf brings to the halves attributes not consistently displayed by the former. This is not to throw shade at the other two 7's, who in their own right have provided a lot for the fans to celebrate.

But there was magic on display last night, from a player who had spent so long on the bench his backside was burning a hole in the pine.

He did enough to secure his role for the duration of the season whilst simultaneously giving coach Webster a guilt headache.

Halasima, Leka the Centre, continues to excite and surprise in the role he has surely made his own. As a 20 year old, his promise is immense. I shudder to think what this phenom is capable of.

Along with those two stars, the team's performance as a whole got me thinking that...

Y'know, it might actually be...