Lower grades: NSW Cup thriller provides club's only win of the weekend

Luke Hanson got the Warriors reserve grade team home, but Wests chalked up a trio of wins on Sunday.

It was a tough round of footy for the Warriors from the NRL down to the under-17s, but their NSW Cup outfit’s much-needed 29-28 defeat of Western Suburbs Magpies brought some respite.

In a seesawing curtain-raiser at Go Media Mount Smart on Friday, the Warriors twice fought back from a deficit to lead 12-10 at halftime. Stand-in skipper Ali Leiataua, demoted from first grade in a late change, scored the Warriors’ first try and Alofiana Khan-Pereira showed his electric pace to score a long-range try.

The Warriors’ other winger, Haizyn Mellars, scored the first try after the break but the Magpies rallied to a 28-22 lead. Seventeen-year-old sensation Bishop Neal’s second try — a brilliant 50-metre effort which saw him back up Mellars after sending him away down the sideline — levelled up the scores with six minutes left.

Luke Hanson, fresh from a strong NRL debut six days earlier, stepped up to bury the late match-winning field goal. The defending champs’ second win from four matches lifted them to ninth on the NSW Cup ladder.

The Magpies and Tigers swept the Warriors at Bruce Pulman Park in Auckland on Sunday.

The Warriors’ Harold Matthews Cup side led the Magpies 16-8 after tries to Kayce Perese-Sukroo and Shaye McEwan before fading to a 26-16 defeat.

In the SG Ball clash, a second-half charge — including a double to prop Micah Sula — was not enough for the Warriors to run down the Magpies in a 32-26 result. Parekaahu Keepa, Ezekiel Davidson-Faaiuaso and Rene Frame scored the Warriors’ other tries.

The Warriors’ Jersey Flegg outfit had their hearts broken 36-30 by Wests Tigers, leting an early 10-0 lead slip and blowing a 30-20 advantage that they held with 12 minutes to go.

Motu Pasikala, Brandon Norris and Sio Kali dotted down for the hosts in the first half, while Maui Winitana-Patelesio, Harry Tauafiafi-Iutoi and Kahu Capper crossed after the break.

It was the Warriors under-21s’ first loss of the season, subsequently dropping to second on the ladder.

The SG Ball team is out of the finals running with two matches remaining, sitting 11th with a 2-4 record. Meanwhile, the Warriors’ quest for a third straight Harold Matthews title is well and truly over, with Albert Vete’s side winning just one of their six games.