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A spirited effort carried the One New Zealand Warriors within reach of an impressive victory over the much higher-ranked South Sydney in Sunday’s eighth-round SG Ball Cup (under-19) match at Redfern Oval in Sydney.
Confidence boosted by their first win of the season last week, the Warriors showed plenty of intent throughout but ultimately had to accept a still meritorious 16-16 draw against the competition’s second-placed side.
The match was only eight minutes in when prop Tepatasi Laumalili exploded towards South Sydney’s line before off loading for fullback Joseph Ratcliffe to score.
In the 21st minute the energetic Rico Lemalie had the lead out to 10-0 when he sped into dummy, scooped the ball up and scythed through the defence to touch down.
The Rabbitohs nabbed two tries in the early stages of the second half but then the Warriors put themselves back in front when standoff Tyrone Hurt-Pickering fooled Souths defenders with a delightful show and go. Kahu Capper’s conversion had them 16-12 in front with 17 minutes to play.
Match: Rabbitohs v Warriors
Round 8 -
home Team
Rabbitohs
away Team
Warriors
Venue: Redfern Oval, Sydney
The Warriors held firm for a period but the Rabbitohs broke their resolve and their hearts five minutes from fulltime when fullback Charlie Poynton crossed wide out from a short side scrum play.
The conversion attempt slid across the face of the posts to leave it all even at 16-16.
In the finals stages South Sydney failed with a long range field goal attempt and had another chance to win in the dying seconds but second rower Militoni Sikuvea chased out brilliantly to block the shot and leave the teams with a point each.
The Warriors remain 12th on the ladder with their final match against the fourth-placed Roosters in Pukekohe next Sunday.
