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Three tries in each half saw the One New Zealand Warriors convincingly dismiss Western Suburbs 34-10 in their sixth-round Harold Matthews Cup (under-17) clash at Kirkham Oval in Sydney on Sunday.
They controlled last year’s grand final rematch to snare their fourth win from five matches to move up to third on the competition ladder.
The heat was on from the outset, the Warriors targeting the middle and going close before the pressure told, prop Krushil Koteka finding little resistance as he went over from close range.
Having made the ideal start the Warriors then conceded a try six minutes later but soon found their groove again with two tries in the space of seven minutes.
Another muscular run from Koteka had Western Suburbs back-pedalling and from a quick play the ball hooker Dreytin Marriott scooted over for a 12-4 advantage.
With impressive loose forward Ronan Byford at the forefront, the Warriors were dominating the side they’d beaten 34-16 to win the Harold Matthews premiership last year.
Match: Magpies v Warriors
Round 6 -
home Team
Magpies
away Team
Warriors
Venue: Kirkham Oval, Camden
They underlined it when fullback Jeremiah Lemana fielded a kick and returned it with interest to provide the spark for a wonderful try he would feature in twice.
On the fourth tackle Marriott found powerful second rower Satali Asolelei Fretton with a short pass to his right. The big man broke the line, fed Lemana with a superb pass, the fullback streaking down the touchline before feeding inside for Fretton to finish.
With Ashton Ulaula-Ieremia’s conversion and a penalty on halftime the One New Zealand Warriors had a healthy 20-4 lead leaving them on track for their biggest win of the season so far.
They wasted little time extending their advantage with their fourth try of the day coming just two minutes into the half.
Contesting a last tackle kick, they forced an error from the Magpies and put on a try-scoring play directly from the scrum. Luke Lemalu picked up from the back of the scrum, sweeping the ball wide to the left to centre Parekaahu Keepa who attracted two defenders to give winger Kaian Olsen a try in the corner.
It would be another 12 minutes before the Warriors added to their total when they swung the ball right on the last tackle, Lemana taking defenders with him as he managed to dot the ball down.
And just minutes later second rower Bishop Neal was unstoppable from close range, the conversion taking the score out of 34-4.
With 10 minutes still to play the Warriors might have added to their tally but instead it was Western Suburbs having the final say.
As it was the Warriors’ 24-point winning margin boosted their points for and against differential as they moved to 10 points on the ladder, two behind competition leader Illawarra.
They have this week off before returning to Sydney on Sunday, Match 23 to take on the Balmain Tigers at Leichhardt Oval. The Tigers, who had a bye this week, are sitting 12th on the table with two wins and three losses.
