Soft. Embarrassing. Destroyed. And absolutely dominated.

Whatever the adjective, Warriors’ coach Andrew Webster wasn’t holding back after the debacle against the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday night. He had nowhere to hide after the shocking 66-6 defeat – the equal worst losing margin in club history – and wasn’t trying to.

But equally, he remains optimistic the team can turn things around ahead of the clash with 2023 grand finalists Brisbane next weekend at Mt Smart, though that will be hard to swallow for the average fan right now.

Because this was abysmal. The Titans crossed for 11 tries, many through tissue thin defence. The Warriors conceded 12 line breaks and missed 46 tackles. They were monstered physically and seemed to give up at times.

Even if you discount the six try carnage in the second half – with the score already blown out and a period down to 12 men, with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in the bin - it is the first half that will be of great concern. The match was still in the balance at 6-0 after 18 minutes but the team folded from there, leaking four tries before the break. And the Gold Coast didn’t have to work particularly hard for their points; they just played solid footy and watched the Warriors continually fall off tackles.

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the Warriors react during the NRL Round 16 match against the Gold Coast Titans. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt / www.photosport.nz)

“They are devastated,” said Webster of his players. “It’s unbelievable. With so much support, trained really well, off the back of some confidence and physically we were poor.

“The Titans are so fast and when you don’t turn up they are capable of destroying you and they did that. We got rolled, completely and every single player was accountable for that. We weren’t there physically. We got absolutely dominated.”

It was the second most points conceded in the club’s history - only topped by the 70-10 loss to the Melbourne Storm in 2022, which was during the Covid relocation. It had echoes of several other hidings, like the 62-6 reverse at the hands of Penrith in 2013.

Webster struggled to explain the performance, off the back of the recent block of three wins, followed by a credible effort in the last week’s battle with the Melbourne Storm.

“You can’t take anything for granted in this game,” said Webster. “I didn’t see us complacent; I saw us confident, not over confident. [But] we obviously took for granted how well we were going and what we were doing to prepare and we got what we deserved.”

Webster gave plenty of credit to the Titans – who were excellent, especially with their defensive resilience – but understandably couldn’t find any positives for his team.

“We didn’t deserve anything,” said Webster. “We were soft.”

Shaun Johnson looks on amongst dejected Warriors. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt / www.photosport.nz).

So where to from here? It is a major fork in the road and Webster insists the Warriors can find a solution.

“We are a proud club,” said Webster. “[It] is obviously very embarrassing. But we can definitely come back. The way we attack things from here is going to be the most important thing.”

But don’t expect wholesale changes, as Webster is not that type of coach. He is angry but wants to take a measured approach.

“You have to be consistent and try to take all the emotion out of it,” said Webster. “If you picked a team for next week [on Saturday night], I don’t know if we would have a team, because 1-17 were really poor. We need to stay tight as a team. We have got to show some care for each other and not point the finger. And we are all in this together.”

Halfback Shaun Johnson will be in doubt for next week, after picking up a hamstring strain towards the end of the match, though Webster said they will assess it over the coming days. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Te Maire Martin were also placed on report, though they should avoid heavy sanctions.

The Brisbane clash (Saturday, 5pm) looms as a massive game in the context of the season, as the road to the playoffs gets rockier for the Auckland club.

“There needs to be a response,” said Webster. “So that is what we are going to be after, against a good team. Both teams are going to be desperate. We have got more to play for than just two points. We’ve got to get our pride back. We’ve got to go after it.”

Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He has also reported on the Warriors and NRL for more than a decade.