Two tries in the final four minutes carried the One New Zealand Warriors to a thrilling 28-24 comeback win over the Newtown Jets in Friday night’s round one New South Wales Cup match at Go Media Stadium.
Down 20-24 heading into the closing minutes the home side drew level 24-all when centre Ali Leiataua powered across just to the right of the posts only for Ben Farr's conversion to hit the near upright.
With little more than a minute left, the Warriors steamed downfield, moved the ball right and created an overlap for Geronimo Doyle to race over in the corner to hand the Warriors a four-point victory.
That the contest came down to such a frantic finish hadn’t seemed likely when returning Warrior Chanel Harris-Tavita scored and converted straight after the break to give his side a 20-6 lead.
Match: Warriors v Jets
Round 1 -
home Team
Warriors
5th Position
away Team
Jets
10th Position
Venue: Go Media Stadium, Auckland
As the final quarter loomed the One New Zealand Warriors were still 14 points clear but then the Jets mounted a withering assault scoring three converted tries in the space of 11 minutes to take a 24-20 lead with 10 minutes to play.
With time running out, calm heads prevailed as the Warriors engineered an escape route to snare two competition points.
They had opened strongly with winger Ed Kosi scoring in the 18th minute and centre Moala Graham-Taufa following up four minutes later to earn a 12-0 lead.
