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The Warriors’ visit to Redfern Oval on Saturday netted a vital NSW Cup win and a narrow defeat in a Jersey Flegg high-scorer against South Sydney.
The Warriors’ Jersey Flegg team were run down 40-38 by a desperate South Sydney outfit at Redfern Oval.
Out of contention for the playoffs, the Warriors’ under-21s led 14-6 midway through the first half and 32-22 with 23 minutes left but were unable to hold on against a Rabbitohs side that climbed to fifth with the win.
Promising winger Brandon Norris opened the Warriors’ account with a sizzling 80-minute try, before centre Mark Sikuvea stepped through from close range.
Prop and captain Tepatasi Lamalilii continued his great tryscoring form with a four-pointer in each half.
Harry Inch, again lining up at lock, powered over for an impressive try from close range just after halftime, centre Motu Pasikala dotted down via a grubber from stand-in halfback Ashton Ulaula-Ieremia, and left winger Harry Tauafiafi-Iutoi found his away over after excellent lead-up work by five-eighth Noah Jensen from a recovered kicked downfield.
Three unanswered tries from the Rabbitohs in the space of 16 minutes during the second stanza gave the hosts a 40-32 lead with time ticking down before Laumalilii’s second gave the Warriors a last-gasp sniff.
The eighth-placed Warriors wrap up their campaign against 12th-placed Newcastle at Trusts Stadium in Auckland next Saturday.
JERSEY FLEGG — ROUND 25: South Sydney Rabbitohs 40 defeated Warriors 38 (Tepatasi Laumalili 2, Brandon Norris, Mark Sikuvea, Harry Inch, Motu Pasikala, Harry Tauafiafi-Iutoi tries; Inch 5 goals) at Redfern Oval, Sydney.
The Warriors overcame the absence of their regular halves duo and a 12-point deficit to dispose of South Sydney 38-12, producing a dominant second-half display at Redfern to put one hand on a NSW Cup finals berth.
Doubles after the break to prop Morgan Gannon and crack centre Jye Linnane helped the Warriors consolidate a top-five spot with one round remaining.
The Rabbitohs scored two blazing tries to lead 12-0 after 25 minutes, but a dinky kick-and-chase try from fullback Geronimo Doyle gave the Warriors crucial momentum heading into halftime.
Four minutes into the second, Jack Thompson — paired in the halves with Maui Winitana-Patelesio in the absence of Luke Hanson and Jett Cleary — grubbered for Gannon to score. A Thompson bomb then led to Gannon’s second just five minutes later.
Either side of Makaia Tafua’s 69th-minute try — combining brilliantly with Winitana-Patelesio (who also kicked seven-from-seven) — Linnane stamped himself as a future NRL star yet again with two blistering, tackle-busting solo tries.
Along with his third straight brace of tries, 20-year-old Linnane made 10 tackle-breaks among his 11 runs for 105 metres.
Meanwhile, mid-season recruit Luke Laulilii put his hand up for the top-grade wing spot vacated by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s broken collarbone, racking up 219 metres and four tackle-breaks from 15 carries. Right winger Mellars had 10 runs for 141 metres.
Riley Price led the way for the pack with another hyper-industrious performance, notching a game-high 230 metres from 23 runs and an equal-team-high 31 tackles, along with a line-break assist. Hooker Tafua ran for over 100 metres and made two line-breaks.
The 13-8 Warriors’ fifth straight win sees David Tangata-Toa’s side remain in fifth spot, behind Newtown on for-and-against — one win behind next week’s final-round opponents, third-placed Newcastle.
The Knights, who face the Warriors at Go Media Stadium next Saturday, appear to be on the slide, crashing 40-12 yesterday to a Manly outfit that had won just one game this year. It was their third loss in four games.
A win next week would catapult the Warriors ahead of the Knights, but they would need the Jets to lose to 12th-placed Parramatta to finish in the top three. Meanwhile, the Warriors aren’t quite over the line for a finals spot — if they go down to the Knights, the Roosters will leapfrog them via the two points from their Round 26 bye.
NSW CUP — ROUND 25: Warriors 38 (Morgan Gannon 2, Jye Linnane 2, Geronimo Doyle, Makaia Tafua tries; Maui Winitana-Patelesio 7 goals) defeated South Sydney Rabbitohs 12 at Redfern Oval, Sydney.