[ad_1]
Warriors utility Dylan Walker felt the team had the perfect response to coming off the bye as they tore apart the Dragons 48-18 in Wollongong on Friday night.
The win was not only the club’s biggest victory of the season, it could also be the most significant as it was against a team that had been playing a lot better since Ryan Carr took over as interim coach and it further cements the Warriors’ place in the top eight.
“Coming off the bye you want to get a win,” Walker said.
“We spoke about it in the week, that St George knocked off Souths a couple of weeks ago and had been in other games.
“So we came into this game having a big focus on not letting it slip and knowing it would be a dangerous game. Even though they are where they are on the ladder, we didn’t want to take it for granted.
David Neilson/Photosport
Rocco Berry dives over to score one of the Warriors’ second half tries in Wollongong.
“I’m really pleased we got the result and how we did it.
“We still weren’t happy or content with the whole game, we were clunky in stages. It sounds stupid because we put on some points, but we weren’t ruthless enough in our opinion.”
For the Warriors not to be ecstatic about demolishing a team by 30 points may seem odd, but that’s the attitude Andrew Webster has brought to the club, to always try to improve, look forward to and be excited about the next challenge.
“I’m not trying to play it down or anything, it was a great win,” Walker said.
“To come off the bye and put 48 points on a team in an away game that was Jack de Belin’s 200th game, but we found we made simple errors and I felt like we were trying to pull them apart all the time.
David Neilson/Photosport
Dylan Walker believes there’s still more to come from this Warriors team.
“But then again, we pulled off some great plays. Dallin (Watene-Zelezniak) scored a lot of tries and you can’t take that away from the boys.
“We all had fun out there, we enjoyed it and it was good for our confidence going into our next game, against South Sydney.”
Watene-Zelezniak’s four tries takes him up to 12 for the season, which is all the more remarkable considering he was injured for the first six games of the campaign and right now he’s arguably the best winger in the NRL.
“He’s an international player, he’s captained his country,” Walker said of his team-mate.
“There’s no doubt that he’s got the talent, the skills and athleticism.
“What I liked about the way he scored those tries was that he backed himself in the corners, with how he dived in.
“Not too many wingers can do that and I’m just really happy that he’s on our side.”
Webster said afterwards what pleased him most was the players’ determination to keep defending late in the game, even after the win was secured.
When teams have big leads, they can ease up defensively over the last 10 minutes, but that wasn’t the case with the Warriors.
“What we’re priding ourselves on is being ruthless on defence, playing to the whistle and for 80 minutes,” Walker said.
“We don’t want teams to cross our try line. As much as we can be happy, we can also look at the game and be upset about a few things.
“They made some line breaks, scored some tries, but we will still enjoy the win.”
Jason McCawley/Getty Images
Jack de Belin gives the Dragons mascot a hug after the loss to the Warriors.
Friday’s game against the Rabbitohs at Mt Smart Stadium is set to be another sellout and there will be a huge buzz in the crowd around what the team are achieving this season.
However, for the players they have to be cautious of having the balance right between embracing that enthusiasm and not getting carried away by it.
“I don’t think there is any hype, but we’ve got to keep ourselves grounded and each other accountable,” Walker said.
“There’s plenty to like about how we’re playing, but there’s also lots to work on. Everyone knows that in the dressing room.
“We’re going to work hard this week getting ready for South Sydney. They’re a top four side, so we’ll have to be on our game, but we’ll be ready to go.”
[ad_2]