The New Zealand Warriors have all but guaranteed themselves a finals berth in 2010 after a comfortable 36-4 win over a poor Brisbane Broncos side at Mt Smart Stadium.
The Broncos just never seemed to be in the game, and it was effectively over at the end of the first half, when the Warriors were leading 24-0 after scoring five unanswered tries.
The Broncos missed an incredible 19 tackles in a sloppy first-half performance, and this would be their downfall as the Warriors made them pay with some brilliant attacking football.
In the absence of injured workhorse Micheal Luck, back-rower Lewis Brown and utility Lance Hohaia who was playing fullback stepped up and scored two tries each.
“I didn’t really anticipate the score to be that big,” a delighted Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said.
“I certainly sensed during the week that the boys were up for a big one.
“Once we got into the game and could build a bit of pressure then the points came.
The loss means that the Broncos not only have to beat the Raiders next week, but they must rely on several other results to go their way. Leaving your fate in the hands of other teams never quite goes according to plans though.
Broncos coach admits that he side was overwhelmed by a strong Warriors side.
“Some of the finishes to our sets weren’t great either, the Warriors completed their sets really well and put together some good passages of play”, says coach Ivan Henjak.
“They played very good, they were full of energy and really went about their work with a real professionalism. We were totally outplayed.”
“We’ve just got to regroup, keep ourselves positive and give it a real good crack next week.”