Special Interest

NZ Warriors Stat Chat | Finals Week 1

NZ Warriors Stat Chat | Finals Week 1

• Will Evans
The Warriors’ spirited 2025 season came to an end via a gallant 24-8 elimination final loss to four-time defending premiers Penrith in Auckland. After holding the Panthers to a 6-2 halftime scoreline and trailing just 12-8 with 15 minutes to go, the Warriors conceding a back-breaking try against the run of play and another runaway four-pointer as they started to chase the scoreboard. The Warriors admirably hung in the contest despite enjoying just 44 percent possession and uncharacteristically losing the run metres count 1,748 to 1,394. The post-contact metres tally was just 624 to 523 in the Panthers’ favour, however,…
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NZ Warriors Stat Chat | Round 27

NZ Warriors Stat Chat | Round 27

• Will Evans
In what was essentially a dead-rubber, the Warriors finished the 2025 NRL regular season with a sloppy 27-26 loss to Manly at 4 Pines Park. The finals-bound Warriors scored the fastest try in NRL history – James Fisher-Harris dotting down after just nine seconds after the Sea Eagles flubbed the kick-off – but that’s about as good as it got for the visitors. Manly scored three tries in the next 15 minutes and led 26-10 with half an hour to play but made hard work of closing out the win in an ugly contest featuring 30 errors. The Warriors had…
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NZ Warriors Stat Chat | Round 26

NZ Warriors Stat Chat | Round 26

• Will Evans
The Warriors’ top-four hopes received a mortal wound in the penultimate round, edged 26-22 by out-of-contention Parramatta Eels in Auckland on Friday night. Concentration lapses in defence proved costly as the Eels built 20-4 and 26-16 leads. The Warriors came home with a wet sail – scoring three of the last four tries – but were denied a late match-winner by a controversial Bunker no try reversal. The bare statistics reveal that it was a game the Warriors should never have let get to that point: they had 54 percent possession, led the all run metres (2,046 to 1,673), post-contact…
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NZ Warriors Stat Chat | Round 25

NZ Warriors Stat Chat | Round 25

• Will Evans
The Warriors kept their top-four quest on track and overcame a frustrating bogey in a comfortable 32-18 victory over last-placed Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium in Round 25. After a dreadful start saw them concede a try in the fourth minute, the Warriors kept their line intact for the next 70 minutes – crossing five times themselves in the interim – to seal just their second win in eight matches against the lowly Titans. The Warriors dominated possession (54 percent) and, accordingly, all run metres (1,737 to 1,372), post-contact metres (620 to 509) and average set distance (41.36…
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