Halasima proves himself after late call up

The New Zealand Warriors overcame a late pre-game injury and a string of disruptions during the match to deliver a dominant 40-6 victory over the Canberra Raiders on Friday afternoon, securing back-to-back home wins to start the season.

It marks just the fourth time in the club's history that they have won their opening two matches.

The standout performance came from 20-year-old second rower, Leka Halasima, who was given barely a minute's notice that he would be playing a full 80-minute role.

Originally named on the bench in jersey No.16, Halasima was suddenly promoted to the starting side after veteran forward Kurt Capewell suffered a calf injury in the warm-up. The young forward was tasked with stepping straight into the second row and responded with one of the best performances of his young career.

Only in his second season in the NRL, Halasima produced a powerhouse display across the full 80 minutes, finishing with two tries, 14 runs for 117 metres, a line break, six tackle breaks and 35 tackles — second only to teammate Jackson Ford, who recorded 37.

The performance was made even more impressive considering Warriors coach Andrew Webster had spoken just a week earlier about carefully managing the rising forward's minutes at the top level.

"The day will come when Leka will play 80 minutes, and I'm looking forward to that day, because it will be awesome, but he doesn't need to do it right now," Webster said. "He just needs to own his little time and have that impact."

That moment arrived sooner than expected, and Halasima made the most of it.

The Warriors' injury troubles didn't stop with Capewell's late withdrawal. Just nine minutes into the match, playmaker Chanel Harris-Tavita was knocked out, forcing another reshuffle. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad shifted into the halves while Taine Tuaupiki was activated from the bench.

Later in the match, Nicoll-Klokstad also left the field for a head injury assessment, adding to the adversity the Warriors had to navigate. Despite the disruptions, the home side stayed composed and continued to build scoreboard pressure as the game wore on.

Ford was another standout in the forward pack, showing his power and determination with a strong defensive performance while also crossing for a try of his own.

After the match, Webster revealed how quickly the team had to adapt when Capewell went down during the warm-up and praised Halasima's ability to rise to the occasion.

"Honestly, we were all just talking in the sheds about how proud we were of Leka," Webster said. 

"He got a minute's notice, knuckled down, scored two tries, but his tackling, his defence, his effort areas were the best parts of his game - and he did it for 80 minutes. 

"Happy, super happy."

Webster said the team had contingency plans in place for situations like the one they faced on Friday.

"We have something organised for every situation," he said. 

"Capey' went down in (the) warm-up with a calf, so straight away, we knew that Leka was going to start. We knew, if we got an outside back or half injury, we would activate Taine, and Charnze would move to the halves or centre or wing. 

"We had the plan, and then Chanel went down, so we activated Taine, and then 'Nuck' went down, so we put Wayde Egan at half."

Despite the chaos, Webster said the calmness shown by his players was one of the most pleasing aspects of the performance.

"The best part was the boys were so calm and so clear during adversity," he said.

Whether Halasima lines up for another 80-minute performance next week or returns to the bench if Capewell is fit remains to be seen. Either way, the 20-year-old has shown across the opening two rounds that he is ready for a permanent place in the Warriors' first-grade side.