Analysis: While Luke Metcalf’s long-term NRL future apparently lies elsewhere, his short-term prospects with NZ Warriors also look dubious, after he left the field with a hamstring injury against Brisbane Broncos.
The drama surrounding his long-awaited return to first grade in last week’s stunning win over Penrith Panthers took another twist, when Metcalf converted Alofiana Khan-Pereira’s intercept try midway through the first half, but immediately grabbed his kicking leg and limped off the field.
“Obviously, he was very emotional at the start, but he’s come good in that sense,” coach Andrew Webster explained afterwards. “I’m sure he’s hurting, but he’s been a good teammate and joined the team at halftime.
“We don’t know any more. He’s never done a hamstring kicking goals and he hasn’t done that hamstring for a long time.”
Metcalf’s departure illustrated the biggest issue during his short, but colourful NRL career – keeping him on the field.
Over four seasons, the Warriors have generally been better with him (66 percent win record) than without him (53 percent), but he has played less than half their games, mainly due to injuries, which also makes him something of a liability.
After waiting all season for his number to be called, he may now not get another chance.
Without him – even through a period reduced to 12 men – his team were simply clinical, dismantling the reigning NRL champions 40-6 and finding form at the right end of the campaign, with playoffs now four weeks away.
“It kind of didn’t matter what happened tonight,” Webster said. “There was stuff going on everywhere, but we were really clear on what we wanted to do.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad celebrates a try against the Broncos with the ‘pūkana of doom’.
Jason O’Brien/Photosport
“We just kept putting them under pressure with our kickchase, which was awesome.”
Here’s what we learnt from the Warriors win over the Broncos.
Best players
Second-rower Jacob Laban continues to dominate opponents in his starting role, leading his team in tackles (42) and fantasy points (63), and narrowly missing out on a try double.
He even showed his versatility with a tactical kick at the end of a late set in the Broncos redzone and it’s hard to believe he was unused off the bench when these two teams met in ‘Magic Round’.
Brisbane-bound skipper Mitch Barnett gave his future teammates a taste of what to expect from him, running for 158 metres – 65 of them post contact – and making 32 tackles in an efficient performance.
Every starting back – except Metcalf – crossed for tries, with wings Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (19 from 20 games) and Khan-Pereira (14 from 14) adding to their impressive outputs.
While much of the focus has been on the young Warriors forwards, Ali Leiataua has made one of the centre positions his own and, with Leka Halasima seemingly holding down the other side, they now have genuine attacking threats in place there.
After Metcalf’s exit, five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita shouldered much of the playmaking responsibility and let no-one down with his tactical kicking game. He opened the scoring with a brilliant solo try and produced at least one scything tackle on opposite Tom Duffy.
“I loved how Chanel stood up tonight and really took control,” co-captain Mitch Barnett declared. “When you’ve got blokes doing that sort of thing, it makes the job a lot easier.”
While his goal-kicking remains a little hit and miss, his two conversion makes were from the right sideline.
Best try
Lots to choose from, but the Warriors may have burnt the Broncos with a trick play after halftime, when Laban and fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad competed with each other for a high kick from Harris-Tavita.
On the last tackle, Watene-Zelezniak hugged the sideline, convincing marker Josiah Karapani to stay wide and deep for the kick.
Instead, CHT landed his chip infield slightly, with no Broncos defenders positioned to even contest the catch.
After depriving Laban of a double, Nicoll-Klokstad celebrated his try with the ‘pūkana of doom’, while DWZ taunted Karapani with a “gotcha”.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak delivered another cornerflag special against the Broncos.
Jason O’Brien/Photosport
Key moment
Midway through the first half, the Warriors were down to 12 men, with Nicoll-Klokstad in the bin and the Broncos hot on attack, looking likely to score.
As they shifted the ball right, Reece Walsh, soldiering on injured, tried to float a ball to his unmarked wing, but the ball was picked off on his own goal-line by Khan-Pereira.
Rated among the fastest players in the NRL, the flying wing showed his pursuers a clean pair of heels, dashing 100 metres to score. Instead of 10-6, the Warriors led 16-0 and weren’t likely to surrender that advantage.
“Lofi came up with a really big play there and we won that period,” Webster reflected.
“We got together, held our nerve and were calm, and then just starved them of possession and field position, which is what you want, when you’ve got 12 men.”
Key stats
The Warriors are now 12/12 when leading at halftime this season.
They restricted the Broncos to just 27.7 metres per set (Warriors 42.4m), with a defensive line that often pinned their opponents deep in their half, forcing them into long uncontestable kicks.
The Warriors chalked up 272 kick-return metres, compared to just 86 by the Broncos.
Injuries etc
Metcalf’s hamstring injury was the last thing the Warriors needed from this game – even defeat might have been a more preferable outcome.
Seeing him hobble to the sideline brought back bad memories of his season-ending knee injury on the same ground last year and hopefully this won’t keep him down for too long.
Metcalf may now fall back behind Te Maire Martin in the halfback pecking order though and he may have to wait his turn to reclaim the No.7 jersey.
Martin seems likely to miss next week’s game against South Sydney Rabbitohs with his own tender hammy, so Webster faces a delicate short-term dilemma over who fills the position.
Luke Metcalf tweaked his hamstring attempting a conversion against the Broncos.
NRL Photos
That choice may be influenced by Nicoll-Klokstad’s fate, after the utility/fullback was placed on report for a hipdrop tackle that put counterpart Walsh out of the contest with an ankle sprain.
CNK slotted into the halves when he returned from the bin, but if he cops a suspension, the main beneficiaries may be Luke Hanson or Jett Cleary, with Taine Tuaupiki back at No.1.
Brisbane Broncos
Their impressive roster looked totally dispirited and even more so, after Walsh left the field. He tried gallantly to stay on, but could not.
Front-rowers Payne Haas and Xavier Willison emerged with reputations intact, but Broncos fans can only hope their suffering ends swiftly.
They have now lost their last four games and 12 of their last 13.
If St George-Illawarra Dragons can sweep their last three games, Brisbane may yet wind up holding the wooden spoon.
Reece Walsh’s departure sucked the energy out of Brisbane’s resistance.
Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images
What the result means
Victory keeps the Warriors in third on the table, two points behind new leaders Sydney Roosters and level with Penrith Panthers, who hold a 10-point edge in countback differential.
With a 15-6 record, they are now assured of post-season footy, eight points clear of ninth-placed Canterbury Bulldogs with three rounds remaining in the regular season.
The Warriors have now scored the most points in the competition this season (606), edging past Cronulla Sharks (604) and the Panthers (599), and are still the second-best defensive outfit (330), behind Penrith (313).
What’s next
The Warriors must return across the Tasman to face the competition’s most experienced coach, who has made the Rabbitohs one of the in-form teams over recent weeks.
Souths have back-to-back victories over Canterbury Bulldogs and Parramatta Eels, and have won five of their last seven outings, even without superstar Lattrell Mitchell.
Wayne Bennett has his outfit inside the playoff cut, with a formidable 8-2 home record, but these two teams have battled to a 21-21 deadlock over the history of this rivalry.