The Sydney Roosters have dissected an inept Warriors 32-0 in Auckland, injecting life into their mix-and-match NRL campaign.
In heavy conditions at Mt Smart Stadium, the Warriors played like they had legs of lead as the visitors shaded them in every department.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves played like a man possessed in front of new Kiwi coach Michael Maguire, but the barnstorming prop was among a host of Roosters to shine.
Cooper Cronk laid on their first-half tries to Ryan Matterson and Joseph Manu as they pushed 14-0 ahead.
Blake Ferguson, James Tedesco and Isaac Liu scored slick tries in a second spell which was one-way traffic.
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Ferguson improved his State of Origin selection prospects, along with a dynamic Latrell Mitchell and a fired-up Dylan Napa.
The result was a second straight win for the Roosters, ending a run of alternating win-loss results and improving to 6-4.
Coach Trent Robinson said avenging their 30-6 humbling by the Warriors in Sydney in round four wasn't a driving force.
He was delighted with a massive effort in the middle of the park, even if their standards dropped late.
"I felt like the pack played like a Roosters pack today," he said.
"There were individual bits there but I thought the guys came out and stood together, all the forwards.
"But I feel we left some points out there in the second half. I feel we could have got some more if we executed better."
Thudding defensive hits from Waerea-Hargreaves and Napa midway through the first half established dominance for the Roosters, whose start was almost as dishevelled as the Warriors.
Waerea-Hargreaves was sent to the sin bin for his role in a late scuffle, while Queensland hard man Napa was placed on report for a tackle on Isaiah Papali'i.
A spectacular Napa shoulder charge on Agnatius Paasi in the first half might also come under scrutiny.
The high-flying Warriors (7-3) crashed back to earth with a performance arguably even flatter than their previous losses to Brisbane and Melbourne.
Guaranteed to drop one place to third, they were blunt without injured playmakers Shaun Johnson and Issac Luke.
They also lacked the metres from their big men and the tight ball control that had been a hallmark of their season.
It is the first time they have been kept scoreless since a 42-0 drubbing more than two years by the Storm.
Coach Stephen Kearney said his team's performance plummeted from last week's excellent showing against the Wests Tigers.
"We got beat tonight in the physical challenge. I spoke about that when we played the Broncos here about a month ago," he said.
"Roosters have come out tonight and were really determined, really physical and we just couldn't match that."
Young halfback Mason Lino limped off late with an ankle injury and emerged later on crutches.
Scans will determine his fate, creating headaches for the Warriors as Johnson (ankle) is unlikely to be fit next week to face Parramatta.
