Exciting teenaged winger Motu Pasikala nabbed a double – his second a stunner – as the One New Zealand Warriors stormed to their biggest win of the season in the New South Wales Cup on Saturday.
Facing the bottom-placed Western Suburbs at Leichhardt Oval, the Warriors rattled on six converted tries to win 36-6 and move back to fifth on the ladder for now.
The first half was a grind with just the one try to Pasikala in the 27th when the Warriors shifted wide to the right; from the touchline, fullback Taine Tuaupiki slotted the first of his six conversions.
The tempo changed completely in the second half as the Warriors found their attacking mojo scoring five tries and 30 points in 18 minutes.
From 40 metres out, Demitric Sifakula served up a sweet pass from first receiver for halfback Luke Hanson to start the spree with another try in the right-hand corner. Tuaupiki didn't have an issue with a second sideline conversion.
Match: Magpies v Warriors
Round 15 -
home Team
Magpies
13th Position
away Team
Warriors
5th Position
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Five minutes later it was 18-0 when interchange forward Harry Durbin steamed onto a Ben Farr bomb to score near the posts.
In the 60th minute Pasikala produced the try of the match. From 50 metres out he collected a dummy half pass, running into and through the heart of the home side's defence shaking off five defenders to nail his second try. Tuaupiki did the honours again to make it 24-0.
Second rower Leka Halasima extended the lead further when he collected a Hanson bomb and in the 64th minute and three minutes later interchange prop Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea powered over with Tuaupiki’s conversion making it 36-0.
Only then did the Magpies make an impression on the scoreboard with a late try.
The Warriors had a long list of superb individual performances, among them captain Kalani Going with 211 metres from 23 runs while NRL rookie topped the team's tackle count with 31.
The win was the Warriors’ eighth of the season lifting them to 19 points and fifth spot on the ladder.
