A packed and highly charged One NZ Stadium in Christchurch set the scene and the Warriors delivered, overpowering the Cowboys 38-20 on the back of a four-try haul from winger Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
It was a crucial result for the Warriors to wrestle some momentum back after successive losses - away to the Panthers and at home to the Sharks as they moved back into solo possession of second on the NRL ladder with a 10-win, four-loss record.
Nicoll-Klokstad was the man of the moment, bagging a first half hat-trick and a fourth try early in the second half.
He would have had five, had it not been for a marginally forward pass just before the break.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster says Nicoll-Klokstad is team first.
Webster says definitely his preferred position is fullback, but they need him to play on the wing right now.
Welcoming the addition of Origin star Mitch Barnett into the starting lineup, the Warriors were quick out of the blocks and a snappily taken penalty in the opening minutes highlighted the tone they wanted to set.
While the Cowboys had, somehow, got themselves back in the contest by halftime despite having very little of the ball, the home team put their foot down early in the second half, quickly establishing a 16-point lead that proved too difficult to chase down.
Roared on by a sellout crowd of 25,365 for the first NRL match at Christchurch’s shiny new indoor arena, and given a helping hand by Cowboys enforcer Jason Taumalolo who copped 10 in the bin for a dangerous tackle on Nicoll-Klokstad, the Warriors didn’t let the visitors back in this time, despite a more even share of possession in the second half.
Source: stuff.co.nz
