Demitric Vaimauga unstoppable as young guns forwards star in Warriors’ long overdue win in Melbourne

Monday, 13 April 2026

Warriors forward Demitric Vaimauga hits the ball up against two Storm defenders in the best game of his NRL career during the Kiwi club’s first win in Melbourne since 2014.

ANALYSIS: Perpetual motion man Jackson Ford underscored his State of Origin claim and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was centre of attention - but the young guns in the pack inspired as the Warriors snapped their 11-year losing streak against the Storm.

Ford - the standout prop in the NRL this season - scored a try, topped the tackle count (36) and metres chart (162) in another 80-minute effort in the 38-14 rout - the Warriors’ first win in Melbourne since 2014 and their first in any encounter with the Storm since 2015.

It was the third time Ford has led both the defence and attack categories this season and he has been the Warriors’ top defender in five of six matches. The NSW Origin selectors are surely taking notice.

Tuivasa-Sheck - moved to left centre after a late backline reshuffle - showed he is a master of any outside back role with his first try of the season, 145m from 19 runs and five tackle breaks.

The Warriors scored six tries with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak nabbing a double to take his tally to five in the last two games.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scored two tries for the Warriors against the Storm to move to fourth on the NRL try-scoring chart.(File photo).

Webster’s mob - smarting after back-to-back losses to the Tigers and the Sharks - dominated all the attack statistics, but were even better on the other side of the ball, conceding just two tries and keeping the Storm scoreless in the second half.

Rarely has a Warriors team defended so doggedly for the full 80 minutes and had such an excellent second half as they inflicted the Storm’s fourth loss in a row to go to second on the table by Saturday’s end.

Coach Andrew Webster hailed the “lots of energy and connection’’ and said “it looked like a side that wanted to do it together. The goal-line defence at the end was probably the most proudest part.”

Longtime NRL television commentator Andrew Voss labelled the Warriors’ win “the most physical domination of Melbourne perhaps we’ve ever seen in a regular game”.

When Warriors fans look back on the moment they broke their hoodoo in Melbourne - a frustration Webster termed “the streak - not the voodoo” - they will reflect on the night their young forwards came of age.

Jacob Laban, pictured scoring against Wests Tigers, was impressive off the Warriors’ interchange bench in Melbourne.

They scored four tries between the 30th and 51st minutes - without four senior forwards, skipper James Fisher-Harris, loose forward Erin Clark and injured State of Origin stars Mitchell Barnett and Kurt Capewell - on the field.

Saturday night at AAMI Park was where Demitric Vaimauga, Tanner Stowers-Smith and Jacob Laban - all 22 or younger - collectively displayed their impact off the bench, alongside 20-year-old Leka Halasima, who has repeatedly proved his pedigree.

Some Warriors insiders believe Vaimauga has as much potential as Halasima, and the 30,000-strong Melbourne crowd - swelled by Warriors fans - saw glimpses of that promise.

“I thought Demitric was so hard to tackle off the bench,” Webster said.

Vaimauga had a try assist and peeled off 130m with ball in hand off 17 carries in 40 minutes. He bumped off defenders and he also put in some punishing tackles - one real rib-rattler on the Storm’s Kiwis scrumhalf Jahrome Hughes.

The 22-year-old told Sky TV later that he had been “kind of stuck between the ball playing role and being an enforcer’’, but he set out against the Storm “to just simplify my game, starting with run hard, tackle hard’.

“The results speak for themselves.”

Webster also saluted Stowers-Smith’s contribution (86m in his 26 minutes) and felt “Jakey [Laban] had his best game”, but he noted “the whole pack were great”.

That included hooker Wayde Egan - another Warrior with genuine Origin aspirations - who made six dummy half runs and delivered the final pass for two tries.

Fisher-Harris, who made 107m and 31 tackles, when asked about the Warriors’ pack’s physicality, said: “That’s just our game. We go good when we are physical.”

Storm skipper Harry Grant felt the Warriors were “a desperate footy side” and were “probably more desperate than us in the consistency of their game.”

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (L) and Chanel Harris-Tavita, pitured celebrating a try against the Roosters, had strong games for the Warriors in Melbourne.

“They turned up willing to do the basics of the game - run hard, tackle hard - for much longer and through tougher periods of the game than us.”

While the pack’s performance would have warmed the heart of Mark Graham and other tough Kiwi forwards of old, the backs were also on song.

Watene-Zelezniak ran for 99m and had two line breaks and scored in each half to fourth on the NRL tries chart with seven in six games while fullback Taine Tuaupiki carved off 146m and had five tackle breaks.

Standoff Chanel Harris-Tavita - in his first start since injury - was a rock on defence and complemented Tanah Boyd, who kicked seven goals, marshalled his attack well and won the kicking game, delivering seven decent bombs.

The Warriors dominated possession (54%), completed 88% of their tackle sets, had 192 runs to 162 for a total of 1386m and made 450m post-contact. They had six line breaks and 35 tackle breaks and had an average set distance of 32.25m.

Both sides gave up some needless penalties, but the Warriors’ discipline was generally better and their defence more aggressive.

The Storm’s veteran coach Craig Bellamy - unaccustomed to losing against the Warriors - said his side’s 35 missed tackles was “hugely disappointing” after spending the week focussing on defence.

“May as well have went to the pub and had a couple of beers,’’ he said.

Warriors fans would drink to that.