Warriors smoke Eels in opener

The New Zealand Warriors are off to their best NRL start in five years after an impressive 34-18 win over Parramatta at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night.

The Warriors ended a five-game losing run against the Eels and claimed their first round one victory since 2002 after racing to a 24-0 lead and then withstanding an Eels second-half fightback.

"The first half was to script actually, and in the second half they got a bit more ball so we showed a lot of character and were able to bounce back, which was very satisfying," said Warriors skipper Steve Price.

Both sides, though, had injury concerns with Eels prop Fuifui Moimoi likely to miss the next few weeks with a knee injury and Warriors interchange forward Louis Anderson limping off late in the game with an ankle injury.

Parramatta centre Ben Smith also left the field with a knee injury in the first half, but it was not believed to be serious. After trailing 24-0 at halftime, the Eels reduced the margin to 12 points with tries to Daniel Wagon and Nathan Cayless just 10 minutes after the break - but it was the closest Parramatta would get.

"We nearly got ourselves back in the game at one point there, but just a couple of, you know errors at critical times," said coach Michael Hagan after his first NRL game in charge of the Eels.

"I thought the Warriors were physical. They played fast in the first 40 minutes.

"We also copped a couple of injuries in all of that, which made it a bit of a tougher night for the players. I thought they dug in extremely well in the second half."

Former Eel Wade McKinnon celebrated his first game at the Warriors by scoring the opening try in the eighth minute, with winger Michael Crockett claiming a double in the six-tries-to-three victory.

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary was pleased with his team's performance.

"I just like the way we defended at times. You know we sort of held our line there for a long time in the first half and for periods in the second," he said.

"I think they nearly got back into the game in the second half, they got five penalties in a row and they just had a lot of ball and had nothing to lose at that stage."

Eels captain Nathan Cayless admitted his side paid dearly for their ill discipline.

"If we were playing any team I think we would have struggled giving that much possession away," Cayless said.

"Once we got that back under control we got ourselves back into the game. It is something we need to work on and keep improving."

After McKinnon's opener, Price, Crockett and backrower Simon Mannering all crossed for tries to give the home side a 24-0 halftime lead. The Eels, missing injured Test backrower Nathan Hindmarsh, halved the margin soon after the break, but Warriors centre Lance Hohaia all-but sealed victory when he pounced on a Nathan Fien grubber for a 30-12 lead in the 57th minute.

Eels winger Jarryd Hayne ensured an interesting finish with his try in the 61st, but the Warriors always looked in control - Crockett adding the final touches to the 34-18 scoreline with his second try two minutes from fulltime.