The Warriors’ stellar campaign hit an unexpected bump via a disappointing 28-18 loss to a Penrith side missing its five NSW Origin stars.
After fighting back to grab the lead midway through the first half and early in the second, the Warriors leaked three straight tries to surrender what seemed a pre-game gift two points.
The Warriors had just 45 percent possession, but three other statistical areas were equally striking:
- The Panthers made six line-breaks to the Warriors’ two.
- The Panthers dominated the offload count 9-1.
- The Warriors took a bath in the run metres department with just 1,485 metres to the Panthers’ 1,964 and an average set distance tally of only 34.53 metres to the Panthers’ 43.66.
The defeat saw the Warriors slip to fourth spot behind Melbourne on for-and-against, though they still have a six-point break on fifth.
Bye the way
The loss to Penrith was the Warriors’ third in a row a week after the bye, having been edged out 20-18 in Canberra in Round 20 last year and overrun 42-14 by Melbourne in Round 6 this season – though they did thump Manly 36-16 in Round 2 after getting a post-Vegas weekend off.
The Warriors have won only three of their last 10 following a bye (Vegas excluded), which might have fans a tad nervous ahead of their upcoming Round 19 assignment against Wests Tigers after their last 2025 bye.
Home sweet home?
Setting new standards of on-the-road excellence – including wins in their last five matches in Australia and an unprecedented five-match winning streak in NSW – the Warriors have dropped their last two at Mt Smart Stadium in a worrying throwback to 2024.
Despite creating history by selling out all 10 games at their headquarters last season, the Warriors managed only four wins and a draw. The Warriors are now 3-2 this season at Mt Smart and have five key fixtures at the ground – though all against teams currently sitting outside the Top 8.
Top marks for Clark
Win or lose, the Warriors have been able to depend on a dynamic and industrious performance from top-value recruit Erin Clark.
The one-gamer from 2017 who arrived back from the Gold Coast in the off-season has been arguably the Warriors’ best in 2025 and certainly their most consistent.
The 27-year-old lock led the Warriors’ forwards against Penrith with 139 metres and seven tackle-breaks from 14 runs, along with making 43 tackles. He has made 130-plus metres in every game this season and has made 37-plus tackles in six of his last seven appearances.
Boasting a previous career-best season average of 99 metres per game (with the Titans in 2024), Clark is ranked 20th in the NRL for all run metres (2,186) with an average of 156 per game. He’s six in the competition for all run metres among forwards behind Addin Fonua-Blake, Terrell May, Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan and Keaon Koloamatagi.
Amazingly, he has climbed to 22nd in the premiership for total tackles (493), averaging 35.2 per game. Nine of the players ranked above him are hookers, including clubmate Wayde Egan, who is fourth overall with 582
Here comes the Suncorp
This Saturday’s blockbuster against Brisbane represents an opportunity for the Warriors to win three games in a row at Suncorp Stadium for the first time, having already accounted for North Queensland in Magic Round and the Dolphins there in the past two months.
The Warriors venture to ‘The Cauldron’ to face the Broncos for the first time since their 42-12 preliminary final loss in 2023 and have not beaten them at Suncorp since 2018.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are chasing three straight wins over the Broncos overall for the first since 2013-14, having chalked up home victories in Round 17 last year (32-16) and in a golden point barnburner in Round 7 this season (20-18).
The Warriors have previously notched wins over the Broncos in Auckland and Brisbane in the same season in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2010 and 2013.
Number crunchers
Erin Clark was a clear standout against the Panthers, but a few other Warriors also stuffed the stats sheet:
- Despite a few hiccups in other areas, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad again led the team with 215 metres on 23 carries with seven tackle-breaks.
- Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s superb season on the wing continues, racking up 172 metres from 15 runs with five tackle-breaks.
- Jackson Ford piled up 42 tackles to go with a try and 119 metres from 11 runs.
- James Fisher-Harris and Wayde Egan topped the Warriors’ tackle count with 44 stops each.
- Jacob Laban’s rise to genuine NRL-calibre star continued with a try, 12 runs for 99 metres and 38 tackles.
