Warriors v Knights key takeaways: Top two secured, Jett Cleary impresses, concerns arise from win

While it may seem like a small achievement, in the context of the season it is massive and means the Warriors could avoid having to leave New Zealand until the final on October 4.

By guaranteeing a top-two finish, the Warriors, who are now on a five-game win streak, will host either the Dolphins or the Sydney Roosters in a qualifying final in week one.

Win that and they earn a much-needed week off before hosting a preliminary final in late September. Lose, however, and they will host a semi-final in week two, with the winners advancing to the final four.

While the Warriors won’t have a say on who they face, both match-ups provide an intriguing match-up. For the Dolphins, it will be their first-ever finals match, while the Roosters have suffered back-to-back defeats and have lost halfback Sam Walker for the season, so expect the slide to continue.

Since the current finals format was introduced in 2012, every premiership winner has come from the top four and that trend will likely continue this year.

While the main goal has been achieved, the Warriors remain in contention to win just their second minor premiership, sitting atop the standings heading into the final round.

Their 14-point win was just enough to reclaim top spot, with the Warriors sitting just above the Penrith Panthers on points differential.

Just a single point separates the two sides, with the Warriors on +309 and the Panthers on +308. The Warriors have put themselves in the best position possible to contend for the title.

Now it’s up to the players to make the most of the opportunity – and maybe it will be third time lucky for the club.

Shocking numbers highlight resilience under pressure

The Warriors got off to the worst possible start by making an error in their first set, allowing the Knights to build early momentum as the visitors raced out to a 10-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes.

After Jacob Saifiti was sent from the field, the Knights scored again to make it 16-0, with steam almost visible coming from the coaches’ box as Andrew Webster watched his side struggle to find a way into the contest.

At that point, the Warriors had less than 30% possession, so James Fisher-Harris rallied the troops and they finally got their hands on the ball, making the most of their one-player advantage.

While the end result was far from pretty and there are some concerns to arise from the performance – more on those later – it was pleasing to see the resilience from the Warriors.

You could guarantee Warriors teams in past years would have caved under that kind of pressure, particularly with such an inexperienced side out on the field against the Knights.

Of the 18 players who took to the field, 11 had 50 games or fewer of NRL experience. Alofiana Khan-Pereira was the only starting back with more than 50 games of first-grade experience, while the average age of the team was just 24.

If you want to go deeper, the combined total of NRL games on the field was just 1441. On the sidelines, the Warriors had another 1169 games of experience either injured or suspended.

That included Rocco Berry, Tanah Boyd, Luke Metcalf, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Jackson Ford, Chanel Harris-Tavita and Te Maire Martin.

Taking that into consideration, you can understand why the Warriors struggled in certain areas of the field.

Take that much experience out of most teams and you would expect them to crumble. But not the Warriors. They are showing real signs of why they are genuine contenders this time around.

Family makes trip over to witness anticipated debut

Social media went into a frenzy at 4pm on Saturday when the Warriors confirmed Jett Cleary would make his NRL debut.

There was plenty of interest in the occasion, given the name he carries, with Cleary the son of Panthers coach Ivan Cleary and younger brother of Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary.

Jett Cleary was born in Auckland when his father was an assistant coach at the Warriors, having returned to the club after 53 games as a player.

Despite only finding out days earlier, the Cleary clan made the trip over from Australia to watch the occasion and treated Warriors fans to plenty of photos and autographs along the way.

It was probably the most-hyped Warriors NRL debut since Shaun Johnson made his first appearance for the club back in 2011.

Like the Warriors, Cleary took some time to settle into the match, but as the game progressed, he became increasingly comfortable on the field.

There were definitely glimpses of his older brother, with Cleary looking calm and composed in certain areas of the game, despite the occasion, while he appeared physically up for the challenge.

His kicking was particularly impressive, with many of his midfield bombs resulting in the Warriors regaining possession and, in some cases, scoring tries.

Cleary finished with 10 runs for 66m and three try assists. He also made 14 tackles but was credited with seven misses, although the young halfback was far from alone in struggling defensively, as the Warriors battled in that area throughout the match.

Cleary is the fifth player to play halfback for the Warriors this season, while his combination with Luke Hanson is the club’s seventh different halves pairing in 23 games.

With Harris-Tavita and Martin due back next week, it is likely to be Cleary’s lone appearance in a Warriors jersey.

He will leave the club at the end of the season and is expected to join the Panthers next year, where he would reunite with his father and brother.

Overall, it is safe to give Cleary a seven out of 10 for his NRL debut.

Knights expose Warriors’ edges before finals

Defence has been the cornerstone of the Warriors’ success this season, but the Knights exposed some concerning defensive frailties, which is alarming with the finals fast approaching.

Considering the Knights played with 12 players for 65 minutes, it will be a worry for Webster and his staff how easily the visitors repeatedly created space on the edges and found ways through the Warriors’ defensive line.

For a team that have built their season around defensive resilience, it was arguably their most worrying performance of the year on that side of the ball.

The 46 points the Warriors scored was their highest tally of the season, surpassing the mark they set just a week earlier. But the 32 points they conceded was their second-highest total, behind only their Easter Sunday defeat to the Cronulla Sharks.

While some of the defensive breakdowns can be attributed to the inexperience in the side, there has been a trend emerging over the past month – something I have been tempted to mention but have instead opted to focus on the positives of the Warriors’ recent form.

Going back to the Panthers match, the Warriors were on track for a comfortable win before Penrith launched a late onslaught, targeting both edges to score two quick tries. They broke down the Warriors’ right side again and nearly had a third, only for the try to be ruled out because Liam Martin was offside. Had it stood, it would have been a one-score game and the match could have ended very differently.

Against the Brisbane Broncos in Brisbane, the hosts found space down the Warriors’ left edge, which led to a try. However, the defending premiers have been woeful this year and never seriously threatened to get back into the contest.

Things then nearly went pear-shaped against the South Sydney Rabbitohs last week, who tore the Warriors’ left edge to shreds by executing a simple shift play.

The Knights found plenty of space on both sides, even with a player down, although they have proven this season that they are one of the best teams in the NRL at scoring long-range tries.

Defence in the NRL is all about trust – trusting that the player inside you will do their job so you can confidently make your own decision.

At times, it was clear the Warriors’ outside defenders did not trust their inside players, which led to them jamming in and creating the very space the Knights were looking to exploit.

Bringing the host of experienced players back into the side should shore things up, but this is an area opposition teams are beginning to target.

The Warriors’ edges have held up well for the most part this year, but some cracks are starting to emerge – and they will need to be fixed before the finals.

Or will Manly spoil the party?

There will be plenty of interest in team-list Tuesday this week to see whether Webster opts to rest players or give everyone another hit-out ahead of the finals.

As mentioned above, the Warriors are all but guaranteed a top-two finish, but they are still in contention to win the minor premiership – something they have only done once before, in 2002.

But the Warriors are chasing more than just the minor premiership. They are chasing the most successful regular season in club history.

When the Warriors finished top in 2002, they had 17 wins from their 24 games, finishing with 40 competition points.

They have the chance to eclipse that record if they beat the Manly Sea Eagles. But the attention will be on whether they can win the J.J. Giltinan Shield – and there is only one realistic way they can do that.

Can they beat the Sea Eagles by more points than the Panthers beat the Wests Tigers?

For the last two weeks, the Warriors have been the last of the contenders to play in the round, meaning they have headed into their games knowing exactly what they needed to do to go top.

This week is different. They play the Sea Eagles on Saturday afternoon, while the Panthers host the Tigers in the final match of the regular season at 6pm on Sunday.

There is a chance the Panthers could rest players too, which is probably the Warriors’ best hope, as relying on the Tigers to produce another upset like they did against the Roosters last week seems unlikely.

History is also against the Tigers. The Panthers have won six of the last seven meetings, including a 68-0 drubbing back in June.

The Warriors beating Manly is no guarantee either. The last time the two teams met last season – ironically also in round 27 – the Sea Eagles came away with a 27-26 win, despite the Warriors scoring the fastest try from kickoff in NRL history.

However, the Sea Eagles haven’t won in Auckland since 2017, although the teams did play out a thrilling draw there in 2024.

Regardless of what happens, strap yourself in for one of the biggest weeks in Warriors history.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.