New Zealand Warriors

After Canberra spent the entire second half inside their own territory in Sunday's 36-6 loss to Penrith it was hard to imagine any team doing it tougher than that but the Warriors found a way on Monday in Melbourne.

The Storm's ruthless 10-try second half left commentators grasping for superlatives and left Nathan Brown's men with a horror injury toll and only five days to pick themselves up ahead of a clash with a desperate Raiders outfit.

On a day the Roosters were celebrating their 2002 premiership victory with a host of old boys in the stands, the Tricolours weren't at their convincing best but did enough in the second half to secure the two competition points.

The Warriors shot out of the blocks early in the contest to set up an 8-0 lead with Addin Fonua-Blake busting the line to earn his side a penalty goal before Edward Kosi finished off a backline movement on the left edge inside 15 minutes.

The win was the Warriors' third in succession after back to back defeats of Wests Tigers and the Broncos, while Johnson's 15th career field goal secured his 100th NRL victory.

The Cowboys dominated most of the game and led 18-6 until just before halftime, when a Chanel Harris-Tavita 40:20 kick gave the Warriors a late opportunity to score and they capitalised.

The lead see-sawed in the second half until the match was decided in golden point when Johnson landed his third field goal attempt.

Match snapshot

Nathan Brown's men conceded just two tries in round three and one in round four and it's that sort of defensive focus they will need to call on to subdue the likes of Val Holmes, Tom Dearden and Jason Taumalolo.

Their attack looked more threatening with Shaun Johnson back in the No.7 and Chanel Harris-Tavita finding his feet at five-eighth.

The Cowboys were outclassed by the Roosters in Townsville but still sit fifth on the ladder with a 2-2 record and a solid points differential.

Playing his first game since suffering a pectoral injury in round one, Johnson quickly found his groove, putting centre Jesse Arthars across with a perfectly timed pass in the fifth minute.

The Broncos then lost Thomas Flegler to the sin bin in the 21st minute and had Albert Kelly leave the field with an ankle injury and the Warriors capitalised through Arthars, who finished off some good lead-up by Johnson and Reece Walsh.

Having conceded just three tries across the first two rounds the Broncos gave up six to the Cowboys and some of the defensive lapses will give coach Kevin Walters sleepless nights in the build-up to round four.

The Warriors are yet to fully hit their straps but did enough to sneak past Wests Tigers and they'll look to build on that in front of their adopted home crowd in Redcliffe.

Plenty to look forward to in the battle of the big men with Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan matching motors with Addin Fonua-Blake and Matt Lodge, who combined for 298 metres against the Tigers.

Brimson took less than a minute to lay on the game's opening try for Beau Fermor and finished the day with two try assists, a line break and a line break assist in his first game at five-eighth since 2019.

The Titans were electric in the opening 45 minutes against Parramatta and came within an ace of a huge upset, while the Warriors rode the back of some astute Shaun Johnson kicking to push the Dragons all the way at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

The loss of Johnson to a pectoral injury is offset by the return of whiz kid Reece Walsh and hardman Matt Lodge from suspension while the Titans also get a boost with AJ Brimson (groin) back on deck after being a late withdrawal in round one.

Walsh exploded onto the scene on Anzac Day last year, debuting for the Warriors at fullback and going on to produce a stellar rookie season which included nine tries, 11 try assists and 53 tackle breaks.

The footnote to Walsh's stratospheric rise was a fall from grace in October when he pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and was placed on a good behaviour bond. He was also fined $5000 by the NRL and given a two-game suspension although he is permitted to play in the Warriors' pre-season trial against the Storm.

Currently based in Redcliffe this season due to Covid restrictions, Walsh could remain in the sunshine state after 2022 according to The Daily Telegraph.

The 19-year-old is yet to seek an official release but multiple sources have said the prized fullback is feeling “uneasy” at the Warriors and it is inevitable that Walsh and his family will return to a Queensland club.