No last-minute heartaches for the One New Zealand Warriors today as they worked their way to a solid 22-10 win over South Sydney in their round 23 Jersey Flegg Cup (under-21) encounter at Bruce Pulman Park in Auckland.
Last week the Warriors fought back to draw level with Parramatta 20-20 but couldn’t clinch victory with the Eels instead snatching the match-winning try two minutes from fulltime.
No such concerns this time as the home side took the lead in the 11th minute and went on with it to grind out a confidence-boosting victory in front of a healthy crowd at the Takanini venue in Manukau City.
Not only was there relief and satisfaction over securing a win but the result also lifted the Warriors up a spot to 12th place on 19 points, edging ahead of the Rabbitohs through their superior points for and against differential.
Unlike many of their recent contests, the Warriors weren’t left chasing the game after falling behind in the first half.
Match: Warriors v Rabbitohs
Round 23 -
home Team
Warriors
12th Position
away Team
Rabbitohs
13th Position
Venue: Bruce Pulman Park, Takanini
In a grinding opening 35 minutes they opened the scoring through hooker Jaydee Auloa for a 6-0 lead before conceding an unconverted try to the visitors to leave them just 6-4 ahead at halftime.
Both sides slogged it out until 16 minutes from fulltime when the Warriors finally put their stamp on the game.
Making his return after being out for a few weeks, winger Garry Tuilekutu provided breathing space with a 54th minute try converted by Etuate Fukofuka for a 12-4 lead and just three minutes later prop Toby Crosby produced one of the tries of the year. Taking the ball from the restart 10 metres from his line he blasted through two defenders on a sensational 90-metre run including a fearsome fend to shove off a would-be defender. That made it 16-4.
There were some moments of concern when the Rabbitohs climbed back to 10-16 with nine minutes left but the Warriors saw them off with their fourth try to centre Nganatatafu Vake to close out a deserved triumph, their seventh of the season.
