Credit / nrl.com
With a 'wobbly' Shaun Johnson field goal, the Warriors pulled off the impossible to celebrate a golden-point 25-24 victory over the North Queensland Cowboys and make it three wins in a row on Friday night at Redcliffe.
The team from Aotearoa were down 18-12 at halftime, conceding an early try after halfback Shaun Johnson was sold a dummy by his Cowboys counterpart Tom Dearden but the Kiwi would more than make up for it when it counted.
Moments before the break, loose forward Josh Curran pulled one back for the Warriors to leave the home side trailing by six.
It was all tied up 18-all soon after the restart after Kodi Nikorima went over, and by the end of regular time, the teams were deadlocked once again 24-24.
This is when Johnson showed his star quality, winning it for the Warriors in extra time, with a less than pretty second field goal attempt which he drove low over the crossbar after his first attempt was charged down.
It was a kick which Warriors coach Nathan Brown described as "probably Shaun's wobbliest field goal".
Captain Addin Fonua-Blake said Johnson has brought a "calm head" to the Warriors, "You can't put an old head on young shoulders."
"He's got plenty of experience, and it shows like tonight," Fonua-Blake said. "Last year, we lost a few games like this, he's steering the ship from behind, getting us a few points - and he ices that one there."
Brown said the Cowboys played a faster game but his team's defence kept them in with a chance, which they ultimately took.
"In the context of the game, they played a fair bit faster. I thought the amount of goal-line 'D' we did to give ourselves a chance to win the game, ultimately I thought we deserve to win from that point of view," he said.
"They didn't have to do much goal-line 'D'. We did an awful lot of work, there was a point there where we were I think a hundred tackles more than them.
"I think we earned the right to win the game."
Fonua-Blake said the halftime message was, "We're a better team than what we dished out in the first 40 - and I put my hand up, I played pretty poorly."
He said the team "fought hard" for the win.
Brown was not getting too ahead of himself, dampening down suggestions of anything other than that the team is working hard to keep improving.
"We play the top end of town in the next two weeks on the road. We've got the Roosters and Melbourne who have been the two best footie clubs, probably sporting clubs, in Australia for the past 20 years.
"So, that'll give us a real good look at actually how much growth we've had and how much more we need to get."
The Warriors' next game is away to the Rooster next Sunday at the SCG in Sydney.
Warriors 25 (Jesse Arthars, Josh Curran, Kodi Nikorima, Euan Aitken tries; Reece Walsh 4 cons, Shaun Johnson field goal)
Cowboys 24 (Tom Dearden, Scott Drinkwater, Kyle Feldt, Valentine Holmes tries; Holmes 2 cons, 2 pens)
HT: 12-18