Warriors blow numerous scoring chances in 20-12 loss to Roosters

At Allianz Stadium, Sydney: Roosters 20 (Jaxson Paulo 4 min, 47 min attempts, Sam Walker 57 min; Sam Walker 4 goals). warrior 12 (Wayde Egan 24 mins, Addin Fonua-Blake 57 min attempts; Shaun Johnson 2 goals). HT: 8-6

On report: Joseph Suaalii (roosters), Marcelo Montoya (warriors).

The Warriors paid a heavy price for not being able to convert their chances in Saturday’s 20-12 loss to the Roosters in Sydney.

Losing by just eight points to a team as strong as the Roosters sounds respectable, but Andrew Webster’s team had more than enough chances to at least get a tie as they dominated the last 20 minutes, but every chance the they had, playful.

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Warriors coach Andrew Webster had spoken about the importance of starting well at half-time after his team failed to do just that against the Knights last weekend, and that continued to be an issue against the Roosters as he was at Allianz -Stadion conceded early attempts in both halves.

The Warriors played well and defended well for much of the game.

But their biggest problem was self-inflicted setbacks, whether it was repeating sets for the Roosters close to their line or making mistakes when they had the ball to give up possession.

Without Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Matt Lodge and Victory Radley, it was the Warriors’ best chance in a while to end their losing streak against the Roosters, which dates back to 2018.

But if pressure cannot be converted into points, there is only one result.

The Warriors lost second rower Jackson Ford in just the second minute when he had to step out for a HIA, which he failed to do after bumping into Lindsay Collins.

Just after the Roosters had two set restarts near the Warriors line and as they moved the ball to the right, Jaxson Paulo had enough space to corner Marcelo Montoya.

Walker kicked a penalty for the Roosters in the 13th minute and by that time his team had completed nine sets while the Warriors only completed one.

In the 24th minute, the Warriors had their first try when Shaun Johnson played a pass back to Wayde Egan when he was held over the line by James Tedesco.

Eight minutes into the second half, the Roosters had another six near the Warriors line after a Warriors error, and Paulo bagged his second four.

A win looked likely for the Roosters as Joseph Suaalii broke through the Warriors’ defense near the halfway line and the center then gave the ball to Sam Walker for a goal.

But with 19 minutes left, Marata Niukore ran through the middle and then found Addin Fonua-Blake who completed the attack to try.

The momentum stayed with the Warriors and with 10 minutes left the Roosters’ defense was stretched almost to the breaking point, but inexplicably when Ed Kosi was tackled a few yards from the line there was no dummy half in play for the ball and the taps came out of prison.

There’s been more of that type of stuff from the Warriors in the last few minutes. If Webster wasn’t sure how frustrating coaching this club can be at times, he certainly is now.

AT A GLANCE

The big moment

Losing Jackson Ford after just two minutes was a huge blow to the Warriors considering how well he played against the Knights last weekend.

game rating

6/10: The first half wasn’t much special but the game opened up in the second 40 minutes with Sam Walker finishing the best try of the game.

The big picture

The Warriors have failed in their quest to win their first two games of the season for the fourth time in club history, but there have been promising signs from them. However, the serious injury fee from that game could be costly.

MVP

Joseph Suaalii was incredible for the Roosters, running the ball for 200 yards and setting up a try for Sam Walker. No wonder Eddie Jones is so desperate to put him in a Wallabies jersey.