Friday's 36-14 win over Canberra Raiders was a bonafide game of two halves for the NZ Warriors, both of which showcased some of the most heartening improvements the team has made through their transformative 2023 campaign.
With the hosts riding a wave of emotion inspired by veteran Jared Croker's 300th appearance for the club, the Warriors found themselves camped in their own territory for almost the entire first 40 minutes.
In the final stages of the first half - after repelling relentless waves of attack - the Warriors finally worked their way into the Raiders' red zone, where Dallin Watene-Zelezniak soared to reel in a Shaun Johnson bomb and place it improbably inside the chalk as he fell out of bounds for the Warriors' first try - and perhaps best of the year.
Considering their near 65 percent disadvantage in possession up until that point, which was compounded by the loss of Mitch Barnett to the sin-bin, the Warriors' two-point deficit heading into the interval seemed almost incomprehensible.
But after that monstrous defensive effort, Watene-Zelezniak's try proved a harbinger of what was to come from the Warriors, as they laid on arguably their best offensive half of the year in the second.
The wing was soon in for his brace, sparking a run of four tries in 20 minutes that reduced the Viking clap to a sailor's whimper.
The sum of those two halves resulted in a beaming Andrew Webster at the post-match press conference, who reflected on one of his side's best displays of the season so far against a team capable of putting anyone to the sword on their home turf.
"We weren't playing terribly, they were just playing unbelievable and obviously we knew the occasion," said Webster of the first half. "We wanted to be a bit more physical than we were early in the game but I thought we should celebrate the fact that we didn’t let them cross our line. So many occasions and opportunities they had in the first half with their possession.
"I think maybe we had two sets in their 20 and we scored a try and it was a pretty special play from Dallin.
"But the resilience on our try line was something to be proud of, even though we weren't really getting it right.
"In the second half, I thought we came out and blew them away early and we were super impressive."
At the forefront of their effort was fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who returned to the ground on which he once rose to Dally M medal candidacy with a performance that will have left the Raiders faithful rueing what they'd let go.
The No.1 was at his bulldozing best from the backfield, keeping the Raiders' defence guessing with timely interjections into the attack to finish with a try, six tackle breaks and 194 running metres over 24 carries.
"It's what he does every week," Webster said.
"Effort, everything for the team, he puts the team first. He's been one of our most consistent each week.
"The boys love playing with him because when we're in trouble, he puts them on his back and carries them out of it.
"What everyone's got to understand is, when you're down to 12 men twice, you need your fullback to get your numbers right and the fullback needs to be in the line, but he's also got to be worried about the kick.
"To have that capability to get that right on two periods, then we go down the other end and score, the fullback has a big part in that.
"He's terrific with that. He's like an extra defender in our line all the time.
"He knows when to get in and out of the line and during that period he was unbelievable."
Upfront, Addin Fonua-Blake continued to stamp his mark as the game's best prop with a bruising 180m gained, playing the entire first 40 minutes without a breather. Cohort Barnett produced another industrious evening with 165m through 16 carries off the bench.
And it was a case of another game, another stellar outing for halfback Shaun Johnson. The pivot terrorised the Raiders' line in the second half, before going off with an apparent concussion as he took some friendly fire after laying on a try assist for the outstanding Wayde Egan.
He eventually put Warriors fans' fears to rest by not only passing his HIA but returning to the field with just three minutes left and the result secured to cap the win with an audacious intercept try.
"We got the call that he was coming back, they said, 'He wants to come back' and I wasn’t going to say no," Webster recalled. "But that's where he's at with his football. It's about the toughness, that he wants to play with the boys.
"I'm proud of where he's come with that stuff. The boys are thriving off not the tries or special plays but off the back of his toughness.
"I think that gives him energy and allows him to score tries."
After their fourth away win of the season, the Warriors moved up to fifth in the competition standings.
They'll have a week off with a bye in the next round, before trying to record a third straight win when they travel to Wollongong to face St George Dragons on June 23.
