Stats the spirit: Running the Round 20 numbers đđ
Some intriguing facts and figures from the Warriors' scattered win over the lowly Dragons.
Ladder history
Red V seeing red
Mount Smart malaise
Industrious Dallin
Milestone Martin
Bite of the Bulldogs
Tauhalaliku rewrites record books
The Warriors made hard work of a 20-12 win over last-placed St George Illawarra at home on Saturday.
Despite dominating territory and possession, the Warriors trailed at halftime and only sealed the result with a couple of late penalty goals.
The Warriors enjoyed 55 percent of the ball and, accordingly, ran for almost 600 metres more than the Dragons (1,960 to 1,391). They racked up 649 post-contact metres to 490 and had an average set distance of 44.55 metres to the Saintsâ 38.66.
Less flatteringly, the Dragons made 31 tackle-breaks to the Warriors paltry 21, while they made nine offloads to two.
It was the seventh time the Warriors have been behind at halftime but only the second occasion (after running down the Dolphins in Wellington) they have come back to win.
Snakes and ladders
An update on the Warriorsâ extraordinary ladder stat: The club has finished a round in the top two just 33 times since 1995 â this season accounts for 17 of those weeks, more than half.
This is the deepest into a season the Warriors have sat in the top two since they won the 2002 minor premiership.
The most weeks the Warriors have spent in the top two during a season previously is six, in 2018.
Red V seeing red
The Saints were seething â probably quite justifiably â at a couple of big calls against them, while they lost the penalty count 7-5 and the set restart count 4-2.
In a rivalry they used to dominate, playing the Warriors is becoming quite the burden for the Dragons.
The joint venture once held an eye-watering 21-5 advantage against the Warriors (1999-2017). But since 2018, the Warriors have won 11 of 15 encounters.
Meanwhile, it was the sixth straight game between the teams at Mount Smart to produce a total of 37 points or less.
Mount Smart malaise
Another dour, clunky display at Go Media Stadium â and the Warriorsâ third straight low-scoring grind against a Saints side we were meant to blow off the park in four seasons at home â got me thinking whether there was something about our beloved fortress that stymies fluid attack.
The Warriors rank third in the NRL for line-breaks per game in 2026 with 6.1. At their primary home ground, however, they are making just 4.7 line-breaks per game; if that was their overall average, the Warriors would sit 12th in the competition.
Meanwhile, they are racking up 6.5 line-breaks a game at other venues; the best overall average is the NRL is South Sydneyâs 6.2.
The Warriors kicked off the season with a pair of seven-try demolitions against Sydney Roosters and Canberra at Mount Smart. I went back to the highlights to see how they did it: three tries from kicks in both victories, an intercept try against the Raiders, and plenty of punching holes on the edge and playing through the middle.
Is there something about the ground that makes it harder to go around teams?
Digging a little deeper, letâs look at our chief tryscoring weaponâs stats at home and elsewhere.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has scored four tries in six games at Go Media Stadium in 2026, scoring in 50 percent of those outings. At other venues, heâs crossed 13 times in 10 games â dotting down in 80 percent of those fixtures.
Going back further, since the Warriorsâ return home in 2023, DWZ has scored an elite 63 tries in 74 games (0.85 per game). Mount Smart accounts for a still solid 22 tries in 33 games during that period (0.67 per game) â but at every other venue, his strike-rate skyrockets to the rarefied air of a try a game, 41 tries in 41 matches.
Watene-Zelezniak has scored in 45 percent of his games at Mount Smart since the start of 2023 (15 of 33), while he has dotted down in 63 percent of his games at other grounds (26 of 41).
DWZ: Diligent Winger Zone
Speaking of Dallin, there was arguably none better on Saturday night than the recently extended veteran.
DWZ chewed through a game-high and season-high 227 metres (86 post-contact) from 22 carries and cleaning up some hairy situations at the back.
The other impressive number crunchers included fullback Taine Tuaupiki (215 metres from 23 runs, four tackle-breaks), and middle forwards James Fisher-Harris (18 runs for 189 metres, 24 tackles), Mitch Barnett (19 runs for 190 metres, 27 tackles), Erin Clark (16 runs for 161 metres, 29 tackles) and Tanner Stowers-Smith (16 runs for 155 metres, 29 tackles).
Outside-backs Alofiana Khan-Pereira and Ali Leiataua both racked up over 140 running metres from 12 carries each.
Milestone Martin
More than 10 years after making his NRL debut, Te Maire Martin has reached the milestone of 50 first-grade games for a club.
The well-travelled utility played 13 games for Penrith, 42 for North Queensland and â after retiring from the game for a period due to a brain bleed â 13 for Brisbane, before joining the Warriors in 2023.
Martin, who had not started an NRL game at halfback until Shaun Johnson missed the 2023 qualifying final against Penrith with injury, has been an unlikely saviour since Tanah Boydâs season-ending injury.
If TMM retains the No.7 for the rest of the season, he will move into fifth on the clubâs all-time list for most appearances at halfback.
MOST GAMES FOR THE WARRIORS AT HALFBACK
245 â Stacey Jones
217 â Shaun Johnson
56 â Grant Rovelli
34 â Blake Green
22 â Brett Seymour
21 â Nathan Fien
19 â Tanah Boyd*
17 â Te Maire Martin*
16 â Greg Alexander, Chanel Harris Tavita*
15 â Luke Metcalf*
Once bitten, thrice bitten
The Warriors head to Sydney this weekend looking to snap their equal-longest current losing run against an NRL rival.
After winning six straight against Canterbury from 2019-23, the Bulldogs have won the teamsâ last three encounters â a 13-12 golden point thriller in 2023 and a 32-14 trashing last year at Accor Stadium, either side of a 34-18 cruise at Mount Smart in late-2024.
The aforementioned defeats at Accor Stadium are the Warriorsâ only losses from their last six matches at the venue.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are looking to build on an outstanding 6-3 record in Australia in the first of four matches in the next five rounds across the Tasman.
The Bulldogs are 5-4 at Accor Stadium in 2026 but have won four of their last five there.
Tauhalaliku rewrites Wahsâ NRLW record books
Warriors winger Lavinia Tauhalalikuâs barnstorming performance in Saturdayâs 42-4 rout of North Queensland saw her equal the NRLW record for most tries in a match with four.
The mark had been achieved seven times previous at NRLW level â twice by current Warriors clubmate Mele Hufanga, who crossed for four tries in a match for Brisbane in 2023 and 2024.
Tauhalaliku had scored just two tries in seven NRLW games for the Cowboys and Warriors in 2024-25, but sheâs leading the league with six from just two appearances after also grabbing a double in Round 1 against Canterbury.
The Warriorsâ previous tries in a match record-holder was Payton Takimoana, who grabbed hat-tricks against Canberra and Newcastle in 2025.
NRLW Rd 3: Warriors wÄhine back on track courtesy of Cowboys caning
The Warriors NRLW side bounced back from a heavy Round 2 defeat in Canberra to record their second win of the 2026 season, a 42-4 thrashing of North Queensland at Go Media Stadium on Saturday.