Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Warriors defy Cowboys comeback for equal-best NRL start
Murray Wenzel, AAP • May 3rd, 2025 10:12 pm
Photo: NRL/Photosport
The NZ Warriors have defied another North Queensland second-half surge, Luke Metcalf's first-half clinic piloting the club to their equal-best start to an NRL season.
The Wahs led 30-12 with 24 minutes to play before the Cowboys rallied, Andrew Webster's side hanging on for dear life to win 30-26 on Saturday at Brisbane's Magic Round.
Luke Metcalf's first-half clinic had the Warriors on track for a cruisy win, the halfback scoring twice and running for 111 first-half metres.
Halves partner Chanel Harris-Tavita was equally as damaging with two try assists and a four-pointer of his own, before Adam Pompey's 80m intercept try from a regrettable Jake Clifford pass made it 28-12 at the break.
The Cowboys then scored three tries in seven minutes - and were denied another two minutes later - and looked destined to run the Warriors down with 18 minutes still to play.
The rain continued but the points dried up, the Warriors winning for a sixth time from their last seven games.
The victory improved Andrew Webster's side to 6-2 to equal their 2018 start as the best since the club's 1995 inception.
That's despite their off-colour start in a poor loss to Canberra in Las Vegas's opening round and Shaun Johnson's retirement after a 13th-placed finish last season left a gaping hole to fill.
Metcalf, the unheralded 26-year-old former Cronulla playmaker, has embraced the role, combining superbly with Harris-Tavita to threaten the line on both sides of the ball.
The Cowboys, in driving rain, tried to keep pace in the first half.
Jeremiah Nanai hitting a gap and putting Jaxon Purdue over, before Tom Dearden burrowed through to make it 22-12 approaching halftime.
But Clifford put the ball on Pompey's chest in a dagger blow as the siren sounded, before back-to-back Murray Taulagi knock-ons dug the Cowboys a bigger hole to begin the second half.
Clifford redeemed himself with a pinpoint chip to a flying Robert Derby, who caught his opposite marginally out of position.
Taulagi then did incredibly well to stay infield after collecting a bullet Scott Drinkwater pass and leaping over and the margin suddenly 10.
Luke Metcalf once again put in a strong performance in the Warriors No. 7 jersey | Photo: NRL/Photosport
Nanai had the Cowboys' third-straight try, Taine Tuaupiki coughing up a grubber on his tryline as the Cowboys looked to repeat their surging second half efforts of a week earlier against Gold Coast.
They were denied a fourth try inside nine minutes, Taulagi unable to repeat his earlier contortion as he stretched for the line.
Metcalf was denied the match-sealing moment soon after, his grubber touching the dead ball line before he batted the ball back for a would-be try.
The Warriors hung on regardless and will move up to third at worst once the festivities conclude in Brisbane on Sunday.
Subscribe to League Nation for Warriors commentary highlights, analysis and more.
