A fourth consecutive win eluded the One New Zealand Warriors when they lost 16-28 to the fourth-placed Wests Tigers in their 15th-round Jersey Flegg Cup clash at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney on Saturday.
The Warriors had toiled impressively to grind out wins over Melbourne (28-24), the Sydney Roosters (20-16) and the Kaiviti Silktails (16-10) in their previous three encounters but a fourth victory proved to be just beyond them.
Fielding a forward pack and bench significantly modified from the combination used against the Silktails, the Warriors took time to settle in their third straight match on the road.
The Tigers went out to a 12-0 lead after 26 minutes before the Warriors hit back with a try to halfback Cassius Cowley three minutes later, Tallan Egan converting for a 6-12 scoreline at halftime.
The Warriors made a fast start after the break, Egan scoring his first Jersey Flegg try in the opening minutes of the second half as well as adding the conversion to lock it up 12-12.
Match: Wests Tigers v Warriors
Round 15 -
home Team
Wests Tigers
3rd Position
away Team
Warriors
13th Position
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
The contest then settled into a grind but it was the Tigers who seized the advantage by scoring tries in the 54th and 57th minutes for a 24-12 lead and then adding another to stretch to 28-12 with six minutes to play.
In the final minute the Warriors engineered a try for winger Raphael Sio – his fifth in his last five games – to finish the scoring.
After a tough run of away fixtures, the Warriors are back on home soil at last next Saturday when they face St George Illawarra at North Harbour Stadium.
