A second straight close loss at home has dented the One New Zealand Warriors' hopes of making the SG Ball Cup (under-19) playoffs.
Facing fellow finals contenders the Canberra Raiders, they had to settle for a 14-18 loss in Sunday's second leg of another pathways triple header at Pukekohe’s Navigation Homes Stadium.
It followed last Sunday’s 24-32 reverse against Illawarra resulting in the Warriors slipping to 10th spot on the ladder, two points outside sixth spot with just two rounds to go in the regular season; only the top six sides qualify for the finals next month.
The Warriors' last two matches are against sides ranked above them.
Match: Warriors v Raiders
Round 7 -
home Team
Warriors
away Team
Raiders
Venue: Navigation Home Stadium, Pukekohe
In the first they play Cronulla Sutherland next Sunday, the Sharks lying seventh on eight points after beating Penrith 28-22 yesterday.
And their final clash is against St George Illawarra, which has moved to third on 10 points with an 18-4 victory over Illawarra yesterday.
As was the case against the Steelers last week, the Warriors were right in the hunt for victory against Canberra.
They held a 10-6 lead at halftime after tries to forwards Rodney Tuipulotu and Kayliss Fatialofa but managed just an unconverted Sio Kali try in the second half while the Raiders scored twice and importantly converted both tries for a four-point win.
