Coming off the bye and riding high on a three-match winning streak, the Warriors were handed a brutal reality check by premiership favourites Melbourne Storm – crashing 42-14 in energy-sapping heat at AAMI Park.
Scoring three tries to one in the second half was a small mercy for the visitors as the Storm took the foot off the gas, but a 36-0 first-half rout leaves some deep scars.
Though the Warriors had only 47 percent possession and lost the run metres count (predictably, given their lack of ball) 1,714 to 1,551, the majority of key team statistics did not suggest a blowout of any description.
Post-contact metres and average set distance was almost even, the Warriors actually had more tackle-breaks (31 to 29), won the penalty count (6-3) and were only a shade behind error-wise.
The line-break tally was telling, however, with the Storm making eight to the Warriors’ two – and capitalising on most occasions with tries. The home side’s second-phase also killed the Warriors, with their 16 offloads to 10 providing another indicator of the Storm’s attacking onslaught.
Halftime horror
The Warriors’ halftime deficit was the second-largest in their history. No surprises to see a couple of other Melbourne nightmares appear on the below list:
WARRIORS’ BIGGEST HALFTIME DEFICITS
31-6 v Rabbitohs at Mt Smart Stadium, 2016 (lost 41-22)
26-0 v Panthers at Penrith Stadium, 2013 (lost 62-6)
28-0 v Broncos at ANZ Stadium, 1995 (lost 44-6)
28-0 v Storm at AAMI Park, 2016 (lost 42-0)
30-0 v Roosters at Sydney Football Stadium, 2004 (lost 58-6)
30-0 v Raiders at Mt Smart Stadium, 2019 (lost 46-12)
36-6 v Rabbitohs at Sunshine Coast Stadium, 2022 (lost 48-10)
30-0 v Titans at Cbus Super Stadium, 2024 (lost 66-6)
32-0 v Storm at Olympic Park, 2000 (lost 56-10)
34-0 v Tigers at Lancaster Park, 2004 (lost 50-4)
36-0 v Storm at AAMI Park, 2025 (lost 42-14)
38-0 v Storm at AAMI Park, 2018 (lost 50-10)
Hoodoo gurus
The legend of Melbourne’s stranglehold on the Warriors continues to grow, carving out their 17th consecutive win in the rivalry.
It’s now the equal-sixth longest streak between any two teams in premiership history and three wins clear of any other match-up in the NRL era.
The most recent streak above the Storm’s dominance of the Warriors on the list (St George’s 22 wins in a row against Newtown) ended 53 years ago.
Having steered out of an eight-match skid against Sydney Roosters earlier this season, the Warriors’ next-worst active losing streak against any rival is just two matches – against Canterbury and Gold Coast.
LONGEST RIVALRY WINNING STREAKS (1908-2024)
24 matches – South Sydney v University (1920-33)
21 matches – St George v Newtown (1962-72)
20 matches – Glebe v Annandale (1911-20)
18 matches – Glebe v North Sydney (1911-20)
18 matches – St George v Canterbury (1954-62)
17 matches – South Sydney v Western Suburbs (1908-17)
17 matches – Eastern Suburbs v Newtown (1929-39)
17 matches – Melbourne v Warriors (2016-24)
16 matches – Glebe v Western Suburbs (1908-16)
15 matches – St George v South Sydney (1957-64)
14 matches – St George v Penrith (1967-74)
14 matches – Eastern Suburbs v Newtown (1973-79)
14 matches – Manly v Newtown (1973-80)
14 matches – Melbourne v Canberra (2003-09)
14 matches – Melbourne v Brisbane (2017-23)
13 matches – South Sydney v North Sydney (1914-20)
13 matches – St George v North Sydney (1954-60)
13 matches – Canterbury v Gold Coast (1988-98)
13 matches – Brisbane v South Sydney (1990-2004)
13 matches – Sydney Roosters v South Sydney (1995-2005)
Back-to-back over Broncos?
The Warriors and Brisbane Broncos resume a consistently see-sawing rivalry on Saturday night.
The Warriors have won six of the teams’ last 12 encounters, with the Broncos winning five and one drawn. Neither side has won more than two in a row against the other since the Broncos chalked up three straight from 2014-16.
The only other longer streaks than that in the clubs’ 30-season rivalry were the Broncos’ nine straight victories from 1995-2000 and the Warriors’ four consecutive wins in 2002-03.
In their sole 2024 clash, the Warriors outlasted a depleted Broncos side 32-16 at Mt Smart a week after losing to the Titans by 60 points.
This is the teams’ 50th premiership encounter; the Broncos have won 27 to the Warriors 21, with one drawn.
Centurions
Erin Clark brought up his 100th NRL appearance in the heavy defeat in Melbourne – and was arguably the Warriors’ best on a tough day.
Clark made his NRL debut for the Warriors in 2017 but played his next 94 games in the top flight for Gold Coast (2020-24) before returning to the Auckland-based club this year.
This weekend will see Adam Pompey become just the 31st player to bring up 100 first-grade appearances for the Warriors, having debuted back in 2019.
Number crunchers
A handful of Warriors produced some decent stats in a heavy defeat to the Storm:
- Co-captain Mitch Barnett led the Warriors’ run-metre count (15 carries for 144 metres) and racked up 34 tackles.
- Milestone man Erin Clark matched Barnett with 144 metres from 16 runs – including a team-high five tackle-breaks – as well as making 31 tackles.
- Sin-binning aside, Jackson Ford was a workhorse with 16 runs for 142 metres and 31 tackles.
- Young forward Demetric Vaimauga made 29 tackles without a miss and added 11 hit-ups for 77 metres.
- Shunted to start on the wing for the first time since 2022, Adam Pompey led the Warriors’ backs with 126 metres from 13 runs.