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Sport Nation
FIFA World Cup 2026 poster'Semi-final worthy': How the Warriors have proven premiership credentials despite narrow Panthers loss
Savannah Lendich Jonkers • June 1st, 2026 11:33 am
Ali Leiataua | Photo: Photosport
The New Zealand Warriors have proved they really are the real deal after a top-of-the-table thriller against the Penrith Panthers on Sunday.
Penrith came away with a 20-18 win, extending their lead at the top of the ladder to 24 points. However, the Warriors sit firmly in second on 20 points - and after the strong performance, their premiership credentials look more legitimate than ever.
Both teams were without key players, with State of Origin seeing Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Brian To’o absent for the Panthers, as well as Kurt Capewell and Mitch Barnett for the Warriors, while Tanah Boyd and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck were also out with injury.
Jacob Laban, Jackson Ford and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak tackle Thomas Jenkins | Photo: Photosport
Despite pre-game doubts from some about whether the Warriors could actually be in contention against the 2021-2024 premiers, former Warrior Blake Ayshford believes the game proved otherwise and he is left wanting to see more.
“I think we saw two teams that are quite far in front of the rest of the competition,” Ayshford told Sport Nation on Monday.
“What we saw last night was two teams that were so defensively sound, but at the same time able to adjust on the run through attack.
“I thought it was semi-final worthy and it was officiated like that.”
Both sides absorbed immense defensive pressure while still threatening with the ball, with Ayshford believing either team would have beaten any other NRL side by 20 to 30 points with that performance.
“That was high level. You usually only get one or two games like that a year.”
However, he believes the result came down to execution as Penrith capitalised on their opportunities, while the Warriors couldn't after having three critical tries disallowed.
Listen to the full interview below:
