Stats the spirit: Running the Round 23 numbers 📊📉
The data matched the mana in the Warriors' statement win over the Panthers.
Rivalry shift
Met gala
Leka the Wrecka
Mt Smart drought for wingers
Gannon avoids one-game wonder fate
Flogging dead horses
The Warriors unmistakably planted their flag in the 2026 NRL premiership race by bashing, bullying and dismantling title favourite Penrith 28-12 at Go Media Stadium on Friday.
Dominant from the outset, the Warriors led 18-0 at halftime — the Panthers’ worst scoreline at the break since trailing Melbourne 20-0 in the 2020 grand final.
Extending their lead with a try just three minutes into the second half before a lengthy impasse, the Warriors would have to withstand a Panthers fightback during the last 15 minutes before man of the moment Luke Metcalf sealed the result with his second try three minutes before fulltime.
The raw numbers reflect the Warriors’ physical authority. Enjoying 53 percent possession, they had 1,811 run metres to the Panthers’ 1,434 (including 624 post-contact metres to 463), with an average set distance of 43.13 metres to 34.99.
The Warriors were also more disciplined with the ball, completed 35 of 42 sets (83 percent) to the Panthers’ 31 of 41 (75 percent).
Line-breaks finished 8-6 in the Warriors’ favour, but the Panthers made 37 tackle-breaks to 35 and had seven offloads to five.
The Warriors won the penalty count 5-3 but lost the set restart count 6-3.
The result keeps the third-placed Warriors right in the minor premiership race, sitting just two points behind the Panthers and Sydney Roosters, who play each other this weekend. The Warriors’ points differential is now +242 — not far behind the Panthers’ competition-leading +292 and well ahead of the Roosters’ +157.
A rivalry shift
The Warriors’ instantly iconic win was just their second in 13 games against the perennial heavyweight Panthers, their biggest winning margin and first victory over a team containing Nathan Cleary since 2019, and first in New Zealand since 2018.
The Warriors also had not scored more than 22 points against the Panthers since a 30-10 win at Penrith in 2019, nor scored five tries since a 36-16 late-2018 victory in Auckland.
After post-season losses to the Panthers in 2018, 2023 and 2025, it’s a crucial psychological boost to take into a potential rematch over the next two months.
Met gala
The polarising Luke Metcalf stepped up in extraordinary circumstances to produce a superb individual performance, highlighted by a line-break assist that led to his first try and a game-sealing solo try in the dying stages to complete his fourth NRL double.
The brace also snapped a five-match tryscoring drought at NRL level and a four-match NRL losing run, which were both the longest of his career.
