Webster laments lack of quality in defeat by Broncos

Published date29 May 2023
Publication titleNorthern Advocate, The (Whangarei, New Zealand)
So far in 2023 Webster has been able to accentuate the positives after most defeats, given the team has generally performed to a decent benchmark

But he was clearly fuming after the 26-22 loss in Napier, in a strangely disjointed display from the Warriors.

They were meant to be fizzing after a long-awaited bye but were instead just a little flat.

Though they managed a remarkable comeback at the death — and might have stolen it in the 79th minute but for Adam Pompey’s indiscretion — it couldn’t disguise an off-colour performance against a depleted Brisbane team.

Webster didn’t want to highlight Pompey’s unfortunate brain fade where he pulled back a defender, with his jersey tug on Deine Mariner leading to Marcelo Montoya’s try being scratched — but admitted it was symptomatic of a frustrating night.

“That sums us up,” said Webster. “I’m not throwing it all on that moment, but we had a million of those moments that we didn’t own and that just summed us up I thought. The last play wasn’t the biggest moment but it was just one of many.”

The Warriors were ahead on several key statistics, including yardage, post-contact metres and tackle busts, but couldn’t make that dominance pay. There were fine margins — as they went close on numerous occasions in the first half — but there was always a feeling of unease, a sense that something wasn’t quite right.

That was shown by the fumbles that led to the first Broncos try, then the soft concession just before halftime after Tom Ale knocked on from the restart.

“Our DNA has been all year that we defend those and we didn’t,” said Webster.

Across the night the Broncos looked a little hungrier, a bit more desperate, especially with their scrambling defence in the first period. The Warriors never stopped coming, with huge workloads shouldered by the likes of Addin Fonua-Blake, Tohu Harris and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, but...

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