A blazing start and a strong finish carried the Warriors to a 22-14 win over Newcastle Knights in the NRLW Round 6 showdown in Hamilton on Saturday night.
The match was in the balance at 14-all with 15 minutes left, but gun backs Stacey Waaka and Apii Nicholls crossed in quick succession to give the Warriors a match-winning lead.
The Warriors had earlier rocketed out of the blocks after the Knights came up with an error from the kick-off. Winger Tysha Ikenasio flashed over in the corner for tries in the second and sixth minutes, with Patricia Maliepo nailing the conversion of the latter for a 10-0 lead.
But the class of Newcastle five-eighth Kirra Dibb swung the momentum and saw the visitors head into halftime with a two-point lead.
After laying on a try for interchange prop Simone Karpani, Dibb charged down a Nicholls kick and scooted 80 metres to score.
Ikenasio put the Warriors back in front six minutes into the second half, stepping inside close the line and beating a host of defenders to complete a hat-trick.
The Knights levelled up the scoreboard when Nicholls was pinged for a high shot. But after a searing break from Gayle Broughton, Waaka produced a piece of solo brilliance to cross out wide.
Nicholls delivered a decisive blow with eight minutes left, grubbering to the in-goal and accepting a dream bounce to grab her first try of the season.
All of the Warriors’ back five ran for over 100 metres, but centre Waaka — with a game-high 165 metres, two line-breaks, nine tackle-breaks, three try assists and a try — was especially impressive.
Second-rower Shakira Baker (14 runs for 159 metres, two line-breaks, six tackle-breaks) and lock Kaiyah Atai (18 runs for 160 metres, 28 tackles) were immense, while bench prop Harata Butler (11 runs for 133 metres, one line-break, six tackle-breaks) enhanced her burgeoning cult hero status by folding a procession of Knights ball-runners in half with punishing tackles.
The result saw the Warriors leapfrog the Knights on the table and ensures they will finish the weekend in fourth spot. They head to Sydney in Round 7 for a vital Sunday afternoon showdown with Wests Tigers at CommBank Stadium.
NRLW — ROUND 6: Warriors 22 (Tysha Ikenasio 3, Stacey Waaka, Apii Nicholls tries; Patricia Maliepo goal) defeated Newcastle Knights 14 at FMG Stadium, Hamilton.
This was a fun watch. I was shocked to see that that was only the third try ever for Api Nicholls