Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad bags four tries as Warriors beat Cowboys in Christchurch
Sunday, 21 June 2026
At One NZ Stadium, Christchurch: Warriors 38 (Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 7’, 10’, 34’, 48’, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 55’, Adam Pompey 70’, Taine Tuaupiki 74’ tries; Adam Pompey 5 goals) Cowboys 20 (Braidon Burns 23’, 62’, Scott Drinkwater 27’, Jeremiah Nanai 77’ tries; Jake Clifford 2 goals). HT: 14-10.
As far as bounce-back wins go, this was pretty good.
A packed and highly charged One NZ Stadium in Christchurch set the scene and the Warriors delivered on Sunday, overpowering the Cowboys 38-20 on the back of a four-try haul from winger Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
It was a crucial result for the Warriors to wrestle some momentum back after successive losses - away to the Panthers and at home to the Sharks - as they moved back into solo possession of second on the NRL ladder with a 10-win, four-loss record.
Nicoll-Klokstad was the man of the moment, bagging a first half hat-trick and a fourth try early in the second half. He would have had five, had it not been for a marginally forward pass just before the break.
“He's team first, Charnze, all the time,” Warriors coach Andrew Webster said of the regular fullback.
“Definitely his preferred position is fullback, he's he's very good at it, he's elite, but we need him to play on the wing right now and he’s holding his hands up, he's learning all the time and very grateful to have him.”
Welcoming the addition of Origin star Mitch Barnett into the starting lineup, the Warriors were quick out of the blocks and a snappily taken penalty in the opening minutes highlighted the tone they wanted to set.
While the Cowboys had, somehow, got themselves back in the contest by halftime despite having very little of the ball, the home team put the foot down early in the second half, quickly establishing a 16-point lead that proved too difficult to chase down.
Roared on by a sellout crowd of 25,365 for the first NRL match at Christchurch’s shiny new indoor arena, and given a helping hand by Cowboys enforcer Jason Taumalolo who copped 10 in the bin for a dangerous tackle on Nicoll-Klokstad, the Warriors didn’t let the visitors back in this time, despite a more even share of possession in the second half.
Nicoll-Klokstad, playing on the left wing, crossed twice inside 10 minutes, the first after quick hands created an overlap and the second after a beautiful cutout pass from dummy half Wayde Egan.
At that point it looked ominous for the Cowboys but they got themselves back in the game largely on the back of fullback Scott Drinkwater.
His brilliant intercept denied a third Warriors try and swung momentum before he created the first Cowboys try then scored the second himself, just three minutes later.
Nicoll-Klokstad flew in the corner again to restore the Warriors lead heading into the break but the Cowboys, having been starved of possession for most of the first stanza, would have been the happier of the two teams.
That feeling did not last long. Nicoll-Klokstad was on the end of yet another set if quick hands and some nifty work from Te Maire Martin set up the the other winger, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, to put the Warriors 16 points clear.
Martin was again the provider, a bomb that was fumbled straight into the waiting hands of Adam Pompey to fall over the line and seal the deal.
Taine Tuaupiki closed it out with a late try, expertly set up by Egan who, along with Martin, stamped his class on the game as the Warriors playmakers found plenty of space to work their magic.
Egan, in particular, was a real handful for the Cowboys around the ruck and as Webster noted, had the Warriors been at the very top of their game they could have capitalised even more.
The only real downer for the Kiwi side was a pectoral injury to front rower Jackson Ford, the extent of which will not be known till after scans, Webster said.
What’s next
It’s 2 v 3 as the second-placed Warriors travel to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane to take on the third-placed Dolphins on Saturday night (5pm kickoff, live coverage on Stuff).