Pacific flyer lights up reshuffled Warriors but injury casts shadow over Cowboys' win

Cook Islands international Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad produced a standout performance to lead the Warriors past the Cowboys 30-28 in their National Rugby League (NRL) round 16 clash in Christchurch on Sunday.

The match marked the first NRL game at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch, with a sold-out crowd of around 30,000 fans packing the new venue for its debut rugby league fixture.

Nicoll-Klokstad, who was born in Auckland, has proudly shared that he has Cook Islands, Māori and Norwegian heritage. He scored four tries in a reshuffled backline that caught the North Queensland side off guard.

Playing his first NRL game on the wing since 2017, the 30-year-old made an immediate impact, using his speed, timing and support play to punish gaps in the Cowboys’ defence.

A first-half hat-trick set the tone before he added a fourth after the break to complete a rare four-try haul.

The performance gave the Warriors early control of the contest and highlighted the value of his versatility as the backline reshuffle paid off in a big way.

But the win came with a major concern.

Forward Jackson Ford was forced off midway through the first half after appearing to suffer a pec injury while pulling out of a tackle on Tom Chester.

He immediately left the field and will now undergo scans to determine the extent of the damage.

From left: Warriors forward Demitric Vaimauga, Cowboys forward Jason Taumalolo, and Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak after the NRL clash between the Warriors and Cowboys in Christchurch. Photo/Photosport/John Davidson

Ford has been one of the Warriors’ most consistent forwards this season, and his absence would be a significant blow to a side building momentum in the competition.

The Warriors were already managing a disrupted pack, with Mitch Barnett among those carrying a heavy workload through the middle.

The Cowboys struggled to contain the Warriors’ edge attack, with defensive lapses again proving costly at key moments.

Jason Taumalolo’s second-half sin bin for a dangerous tackle proved another turning point as the Warriors capitalised on the momentum shift.

The Tongan star has since been fined by the match review committee but avoided suspension.

Scott Drinkwater provided much of the Cowboys’ attacking spark, producing a try-saving intercept and several key involvements but North Queensland were unable to maintain pressure long enough to stay in the contest.

The result will be viewed as a positive response by the Warriors after recent inconsistency.

But the focus is quickly turning to Ford’s injury and what it means for the team's forward depth when they travel to Brisbane to face the Dolphins this Saturday 27 June.