Wielding the axe due to several players not attending a compulsory team meeting, the New Zealand Warriors team that played was very different to one that fans had been used to in the past.
Sporting several debutants and young players, there was enough experience there to give them a chance and they took it, defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons 26-10 at Mt Smart Stadium.
It was a different story from last week where they were thrashed by the Storm, with an improved performance in both attack and defence the catalyst for their win.
With three tries to their name in the first forty minutes, the Warriors showed some defensive resiliency, holding the Dragons out for the duration of the second half.
There was every chance for the Dragons to hit back and change things up and given their attacking opportunities and possession, you would expect them to do so.
However, it was not to be the case, as inopportune errors led to incomplete sets and it proved telling, as they were unable to penetrate the Warriors defensive line.
The win will take some pressure off coach Andrew McFadden, as he enjoys the win, the Warriors fourth of the season.
With teams having a week off due to the upcoming representative round, the win was one of relief for McFadden.
“Very similar to the players I imagine; relief is a big one,” McFadden said.
“It’s been a big week, and probably not many people understand how big of a week that was for the players and how much pressure they were under.”
Pre-match, McFadden could see the hunger in his players’ eyes and that was a telling factor for him.
“I saw a real steel in their eyes, particularly from our senior players, I thought they did a terrific job leading this week and it was good to see they all brought a lot of energy,” he said.
Despite the loss, one player he drew praise from Dragons coach Paul McGregor was Russell Packer.
“His talk was excited, he wanted to come back and play well and prove that he has worked really hard to be in the position he is,” McGregor said.
“I thought certainly in patches he did that… it was good that he could come back over, see family and friends again and play football again where he grew up.”
Player of the Game:
3. Russell Packer
2. David Fusitu’a
1. Shaun Johnson
Warriors 26 (Shaun Johnson, Matthew Allwood, Charlie Gubb, Jeff Robson tries; Johnson 5 goals) defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 10 (Euan Aitken, Kalifa Faifai Loa tries; Gareth Widdop 1 goal) at Mt Smart Stadium. Half-time: Warriors 18-10. Crowd 12,752.