Scored the opening try, but made a very costly error just before halftime, which luckily the Raiders didn’t capitalise on. Made up for it by scoring the final try of the night, leaping over everyone before diving over.
3. Ali Leiataua – 6
Proved a handful for the Raiders defence, making eight tackle breaks and pulling off a crucial intercept which led to the opening try of the second half.
4. Adam Pompey – 5
Threw some wayward passes and was very lucky one was called back as it could have been a four pointer down the other end. Overall a quiet night at the office.
5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – 7
Became the ninth Warriors player to play 150 games for the club, in a solid performance. Finished with 212m with the ball and slotted a solitary conversion. While the stats say he made a couple of errors, they were not his fault as the passes thrown in his direction were not the best.
6. Chanel Harris-Tavita – 2
Sadly his night only lasted 10 minutes, as he was taken off attempting to tackle Raiders wrecking ball Noah Martin and got his head in the wrong spot. Will miss next week’s clash with Newcastle.
7. Tanah Boyd – 8
The conditions didn’t let him take control of the game to how he would have liked, but despite losing his partner in crime, he did an excellent job steering the ship. Late in the game, he kicked a 40/20 and scored a try on the ensuing set. Is proving the doubters wrong and will give Andrew Webster a headache when Luke Metcalf returns from injury.
8. James Fisher-Harris – 8
The captain is proving his worth to the Warriors with another brilliant skippers knock, leading from the front and going toe-to-toe, and not backing down against the big Raiders pack.
9. Wayde Egan – 7
The wet ground didn’t give him many chances to run the ball, but he did exactly what was required, including earning a repeat set with a smart kick on the last tackle, which led to the Warriors’ third try. Finished the game in the halves.
10. Jackson Ford – 9
Another workhorse effort from the prop who is turning out to be one of the Warriors best ever signings. Came up with a huge strip on the goal line just after the Raiders had been awarded another six again call. His hard work saw him score a try under the black dot. Topped the tackle count again with 37.
16. Leka Halasima – 8
Thrusted into a starting role minutes before kickoff after a calf injury to Kurt Capewell and made the most of his chance with his most complete performance in a Warriors jersey. Claimed a second half double on the back of a number of strong carries and big hits on defence.
12. Jacob Laban – 6
Gave away an early penalty which led to the Raiders’ opening try but bounced back with a solid effort. An improvement on last week’s efforts.
13. Erin Clark – 7
Was involved in everything as per usual with another typical Clark performance. Provided the try assist of the season, where he flicked the ball up with his feet and into the hands of Boyd. Any footballer would be proud with that.
Interchange:
14. Sam Healey – 6
Looked threatening when he came on the field with some big runs.
15. Demitric Vaimauga – 7
Brought plenty of physicality when he came onto the field which is exactly what the Warriors needed at the time.
17. Tanner Stowers-Smith – 7
Continued his strong form from the pre-season with 119m while he didn’t back down from the Raiders pack.
18. Taine Tuaupiki – 8
Probably wasn’t expecting any minutes this week, but was thrusted into the action after Harris-Tavita went down and was immense. Came up with big plays on both sides of the ball, as fans got to see the benefit of the new interchange rule. He proved his worth in first grade.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
