The Warriors got their pre-season off to a winning start, defeating the Gold Coast Titans 26-10 at North Harbour Stadium yesterday.
The win has come at a cost however with frontrower Jacob Lillyman forced from the field with an arm injury that will see him sidelined for the next few weeks.
The Warriors were too strong for a Titans line-up missing a number of their top players who were involved with the NRL and Indigenous All Stars game, and a strong first half display from the home side put the match out of the visitor's reach.
It was the Titans who scored first however, with their first taste of possession, a chip to the crowded in-goal somehow evading Warriors' hands allowing Titans winger Joe Vickery to pounce for the try.
The Warriors soon found their groove, young gun halfback Shaun Johnson sparking things with a cut-out pass sending 20-year old debutante wing Konrad Hurrell over in the corner.
Before a quarter of hour was up the Warriors were in again when Lewis Brown found himself on the end of quick hands from Johnson and centre Krisnan Inu to score with his first touch of the year.
The heavilly involved Johnson then stamped his class on the match in the second quarter when debutante hooker and ex-Titan, Nathan Friend, combined with lock Elijah Taylor to put him in the clear.
Johnson put on the after-burners to cut between the fullback and winger and score to the left of the posts.
The Titans then looked to have an opportunity when halfback Beau Henry cut-out two to find Vickery in space but the ball was spilt and from broken play Warriors fullback Glen 'Fish' Fisiiahi showed his ability to punish on the counter attack.
Picking up the loose ball, the flying 'Fish' showed his speed racing 80 metres down the left flank to beat the cover and score, Maloney's conversion taking them out to 20-6.
The Warriors were served well by their Under 20's graduates, particularly Hurrell who looked comfortable with the rise in class, while centre Ben Henry and hulking backrower Sam Lousi also put in solid performances.
Their experienced hands also put their hands up, with captain Simon Mannering, Mateo, Maloney and Sam Rapira all leading the way.
With several Warriors top-liners off the field the Titans showed some fight with a third-quarter try to speedy winger Kevin Gordon, but Maloney returned to the field with his deft kicking game to limit the visitors chances in the final minutes.
The crowd got the finish they were wanting when wing Bill Tupou's length of the field effort sealed the match with five to go.
The Warriors next travel to Coffs Harbor to play the Rabbitohs on Saturday before they round out their trials against the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles in Whangarei on February 18.
Warriors: 26 (Hurrell, Brown, Johnson,
Fisiiahi, Tupou tries; J Maloney 3 con).
Titans: 10 (Vickery, Gordan 1 tries; J Rankin 1
con)
Halftime: Warriors 20-6 Warriors
