'Look themselves in the mirror': Warriors' captain's message after giving up 14-0 lead in latest loss
A composed second-half rally has saved Canberra’s NRL season as the Raiders rattled off four unanswered tries to beat the Warriors 26-14 at GIO Stadium.
Canberra trailed 12-0 before they’d even touched the ball and looked a shell of the team that rolled Melbourne last round.
But they snapped out of their slumber and avoided a hammer-blow in the race for finals.
They’re now level on wins with eight-ranked Sydney Roosters, only sitting outside the finals positions via a points differential with six games left in the home-and-way season.
Defying a dubious record of having won only two of their past 10 games when coming off a win, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said composure and a lack of complacency had allowed them to flip the script.
“They were a good footy team there for 40 minutes and then we had to handle a lot of pressure,” Stuart said.
“At halftime we’d been challenged … I said we just turn this into a long game and if you’re patient and you don’t get frustrated and we can still win this game.”
A double for bench forward Corey Harawira-Naera sealed Canberra the points after early second-half tries for Albert Hopoate and Seb Kris.
But Stuart pointed out his side scored off the back of two 40-20 kicks from half Jack Wighton.
“They’re game-changers and that’s what you want your big players doing,” he said.
“Just what it does to the whole team, you’ve only got to talk to the people in the crowd about what it does for them.
“It just turns momentum and that’s what you want your big players to do.”
It was just the third occasion this season they’ve won consecutive games and it couldn’t have come at a better time as they try to break into the top-eight with a favourable draw to close the regular season.
Five of their remaining six games are against bottom-eight teams and they are likely to start favourites in all outings except for a round 21 clash with Penrith.
Remarkably, the Raiders completed all 22 of their second-half sets after going at 63 per cent in the first stanza.
The Raiders can once again thank star prop Joe Tapine for taking control in the middle after he crunched out 191m, 80m post-contact, five tackle busts and three offloads.
The Warriors looked sharp early but were smashed in the second half with a mere 25 per cent of territory.
Winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak did what he could with a big 159m while captain Tohu Harris punched out 120m and made 42 tackles.
Sitting at 5-13 and staring down the barrel of their season completely sliding away, Harris called on his teammates to lift in the six remaining weeks.
“We’ve just got to keep our standards high and not accept defeat,” he told reporters.
‘We can’t just be a team that will turn up and just roll over for other teams.
“Everyone’s just got to look themselves in the mirror and ask if this is what they really want … and what they want to do for this club.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Jordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
4 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
2 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
3 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
115 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
2 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
3 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
3 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
115 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
4 Go to comments