Game Summary
The Warriors produced a dominant display at Belmore Sports Ground on Saturday, defeating the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 38-16 in Round 21 of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup to claim their 10th win of the season.
The Warriors set the tone early, with Morgan Gannon crashing over from dummy-half inside nine minutes after sustained pressure on the Bulldogs' line. Jett Cleary slotted the conversion to make it 6-0, then played a starring role moments later as Haizyn Mellars dived acrobatically in the corner for the visitors' second. Cleary's sideline conversion extended the lead to 12-nil and the Bulldogs appeared in real strife.
Canterbury-Bankstown hit back through the persistence of their forward pack. After several sets inside the red zone, bench forward Broden Konz barged over for his first try of the season, with Jonathan Sua converting to cut the deficit to 12-6 midway through the first half. The momentum appeared to be shifting toward Jason Taylor's side.
The Warriors struck right on half-time. A sharp back-line movement down the right edge saw Cleary open up the defence, finding Rocco Berry in support before the ball was shifted back inside for front-rower Eddie Ieremia-Toeava to score under the posts. Cleary converted and the Warriors trooped off to the break leading 18-6.
The Bulldogs came out firing after the break, with fullback Taye Cochrane finishing cleverly in the 44th minute to make it 18-10, before Konz claimed his second after a pinpoint grubber from Jake Turpin, to bring the margin back to just two at 18-16. The Bulldogs had their tails up and the contest was on a knife's edge.
The Warriors then steadied through Winitana-Patelesio, who weaved under the uprights to restore the eight-point buffer. A golden opportunity for Canterbury-Bankstown to level the scores then slipped through Maila Setu's fingers with the try-line open, and the Warriors made them pay through Mellars' second try - a crisp back-line move from Cleary through Berry and out to the winger - stretching the lead to 28-16.
Luke Hanson applied the final touches, first backing up a Rocco Berry line-break to score, then latching onto an offload from Mellars in the dying seconds after the Warriors kept the ball alive deep in their own half. The final score of 38-16 reflected a clinical Warriors performance, with Cleary kicking five conversions from seven attempts.
Talking Points
Jett Cleary rose to the occasion. Filling in for the rested Luke Metcalf, Cleary was immense across the 80 minutes, directing traffic with assurance, breaking tackles when required and landing five from seven off the kicking tee. He was the game's standout player.
Haizyn Mellars crossed for his 14th try of the NSW Cup season, making him one of the competition's most dangerous finishers. His ability to both chase kicks and finish off shift plays gives the Warriors a genuine match-winner on the wing.
Key Moment
Eddie Ieremia-Toeava's try in the final moments of the first-half was the turning point. The Bulldogs had worked their way back to 12-6 and were threatening to go into half-time with momentum on their side. Instead Cleary's offload from a half-break unlocked the defence for Rocco Berry, then the big front-rower dived under the posts. The Warriors extended the half-time lead to 18-6 and the Dogs couldn't quite recover.
What's Next?
The Warriors enjoy a bye in Round 22 following three straight wins, while the Bulldogs take on Melbourne Storm on Friday at Seabrook Reserve.
