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Warriors coach Andrew Webster doesn’t blame the missed forward pass that led to a try to Jordan Riki for his team’s defeat to the Broncos on Saturday night.
The Warriors lost their Preliminary Final 42-12 at Suncorp Stadium, going down seven tries to three.
But a key moment in the game came when referee Gerard Sutton missed the forward pass thrown by Reece Walsh to Selwyn Cobbo in the build-up to Riki’s try.
It was the first try of the second half and took the score from 24-12 to 30-12, once Adam Reynolds kicked the conversion.
It made the Warriors’ chances of getting back into the game slimmer, although they didn’t play well enough to make that a possibility anyway.
Albert Perez/Getty Images
Jordan Riki consoles Josh Curran after the Broncos’ emphatic win over the Warriors in the NRL’s Preliminary final.
When asked about the forward pass after the game, Webster said the bad call wasn’t why they lost.
“Certainly not. I think that’s pretty clear to say,” Webster said.
“The forward pass was so wrong it wasn’t funny, but at the end of the day, they made a line break, we allowed the line break and the forward pass comes off the back of that.
“We weren’t defending well during that period, the forward pass was wrong, but we’re not crying over that and it certainly didn’t cost us the game.”
Webster clearly thought the better team won at Suncorp Stadium and the size of the Broncos’ victory does suggest next weekend’s Grand Final against the Panthers should be a great contest.
However, this wasn’t the Warriors at their best and even though they started well, the 18 points conceded between the 16th and 23rd minutes proved costly.
“It was different to week one against the Panthers (lost 32-6).
Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Andrew Webster is proud of what the Warriors have achieved this season.
“Our preparation and the way we started, we handled the occasion well in that sense,” Webster said.
“They wanted to offload the ball at every opportunity. We knew they were great offloaders and I think they went through the roof with that tonight, with how much they offloaded.
“We were nowhere near diligent enough around wrapping the ball and tackling together and then if they did offload, closing the dangerous space.
“We allowed fast guys, like (Reece) Walsh often, off good offloads and that was the seven-minute period where we didn’t execute and it cost us.
“We could see it coming because offloads were happening quite a bit, but that was the period where they destroyed us. We were already heading back, but were’t taking care of the football first.
“The way we started, we weren’t overawed, we just got that bit wrong.”
The defeat ended one of the most significant seasons in the club’s history. Based back in New Zealand after three years in Australia, they exceeded most people’s expectations and were cherished by the New Zealand public like never before.
“We love them,” Webster said of the club’s fans.
“The support they’ve given us, the movement ‘Up the Wahs’, all that stuff.
“Everywhere you go, everyone’s talking about rugby league and we couldn’t have done it without them.
“We sold out Mt Smart and I don’t care if you’re in the South Island or at the top of the North Island, they’re all talking about rugby league right now. That’s amazing, we’re really proud of that.
“I feel like the football programme is in a good position for us to launch something here. Stay consistent and challenge for grand finals and win grand finals.
“There is a lot of work to do that. We’ve got to come back hungry for that and it’s got to be in our actions, not just words.
“We’ll have a little break now, freshen up and get back and work hard.
“But to everyone, thank you very much. The whole nation, the whole support, even the ex-pats that are living here in Australia.
“I think there are a lot of NRL fans that weren’t Warriors fans, but are now. So I’m really proud of that.”
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