ComfortGlaze Lower Grade Report: NSW Cup boys knock off leaders, Flegg team falls short
The Warriors' reserve graders set the tone at Mount Smart on Friday and gave their finals hopes a huge boost.
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The Warriors’ NSW Cup side pulled off a momentous win on Friday, while the Jersey Flegg oufit were edged out in a memorable 24 hours against Penrith.
The Warriors extended their NSW Cup winning streak to four matches and stormed into the top five courtesy of an outstanding 36-24 victory over ladder-leading Penrith on Friday — setting the tone for the NRL outfit’s heroics against the Panthers.
The home side scored three tries to two in each half, racing to a 36-12 lead with three tries early in the second stanza and withstanding a late Panthers rally.
Jye Linnane’s star continues to rise at left centre, scoring a slashing double inside the first 25 minutes. The Warriors took an 16-12 halftime lead after a brilliant break from debutant fullback Joseph Ratcliffe. Later in the set, Manly-bound Kayliss Fatialofa showed what the club will be missing out on by skirting around a horde of Penrith defenders and slipping a pass for winger Luke Laulilii to cross out wide.
Hooker tyro Makaia Tafua scored two tries from kicks Penrith was unable to clean up, either side of the highlight of the match in the 45th minute. Riley Price stepped through the defence on the Warriors’ 40-metre line and found the quicksilver Ratcliffe backing up to score.
A long-range intercept try to the Panthers off a Jett Cleary pass halted the Warriors’ momentum, but the result was never really in doubt.
Ratcliffe went off for a game-high 222 metres on 15 runs with seven tackle-breaks in a wonderful introduction to senior football, while the ever-impressive Linnane had eight tackle-breaks from his 13 runs for 141 metres. Luke Hanson, who has formed a nice combination with Linnane, finished with three try assists.
Fatialofa (18 runs for 188 metres, 25 tackles, two line-breaks, nine tackle-breaks) and Price (21 runs for 174 metres, 38 tackles, one line-break) were clear all-round standouts in the pack on top of their try assist efforts.
The 11-8 Warriors receive an ideal opportunity to cement their top-five standing this weekend, taking on last-placed Manly Sea Eagles — who have won only one game — at 4 Pines Park on Saturday.
NSW CUP — ROUND 23: Warriors 36 (Jye Linnane 2, Makaia Tafua 2, Luke Laulilii, Joseph Ratcliffe tries; Jett Cleary 6 goals) defeated Penrith Panthers 24 at Go Media Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland.
The Warriors’ Jersey Flegg side narrowly missed out on making it a cleansweep against Penrith, going down 26-22 to their third-placed opponents at Trusts Stadium on Saturday.
Going into the match with a reshuffled backline — Brandon Norris switched to fullback with Joseph Ratcliffe on NSW Cup duty, while gun winger Harry Tauafiafi-Iutoi was a late scratching — the Warriors were down 10-0 after 20 minutes.
But they found their footing and trailed by six at halftime as centre Taipari Wikitera opened their account just before the break, combining nicely with five-eighth Noah Jensen.
The Warriors levelled up the scoreboard when a try was bizarrely awarded to interchange forward Krushil Koteka, who got up and played the ball as the referee pointed to the spot.
The Panthers responded with a try, but the Warriors made it 16-all with 22 minutes left when tall timber back-rower Connor Bowden stormed over after the bat-back of a Jack Thompson bomb.
The game slipped away from the hosts as the Panthers produced back-to-back tries, though the Warriors set up a grandstand finish thanks to Sio Kali shrugging off several defenders and slipping a ball to interchange Tama-Teahorangi Darlington to score out wide with two minutes left.
The 8-10 Warriors are eighth on the ladder with three rounds remaining, five points adrift of fifth spot. They will attempt to snap a three-match slide against second-last Manly at 4 Pines Park on Saturday.
JERSEY FLEGG CUP — ROUND 23: Penrith Panthers 26 defeated Warriors 22 (Taipari Wikitera, Krushil Koteka, Connor Bowden, Tama-Teahorangi Darlington tries; Harry Inch 2, Jack Thompson goals) at Trusts Stadium, Auckland.