📰 Warriors home run busted by Raiders

By Michael Burgess

The Warriors streak is over.

After a magical, mystical tour over the past five weeks – with a series of improbable wins and non stop travel– the bubble burst on Sunday night, with a 16-10 defeat to Canberra.

It always felt like this match might be a bridge too far, given the accumulated fatigue and without both Mitch Barnett and James Fisher-Harris, and so it proved.

But it went down to the wire, in another cliffhanger finish, with Marata Niukore centimetres away from a late try, in front of a massive 26,512 crowd.

In a tight contest, the Raiders were more clinical, able to take their opportunities, while the Warriors couldn’t make the most of numerous chances, with their red zone attack not good enough.

Canberra rode their luck – getting away with some nasty incidents – but also defended superbly, holding the Warriors out for the last 57 minutes, after Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s opening try.

The decisive moments came after two sin binnings, one in each half. The Raiders managed to score with 12 men – and not concede – then made the most of their numerical advantage for Jamal Fogarty’s game-breaking try in the 62nd minute, after Nicoll-Klokstad had been dismissed.

Thirteen weeks on from the Las Vegas debacle, the Warriors’ improvement shone through – but it wasn’t quite enough - against one of the competition’s form teams.

It brings the Auckland club back to an 8-3 record, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Sydney to face the Rabbitohs.

The opening exchanges were fierce. Bunty Afoa threw himself into the line, new skipper Kurt Capewell managed a big shot and Nicoll-Klokstad was targeted by his former teammates.

The Warriors had more early opportunities but couldn’t ice them, against the aggressive Raiders defence, with a Luke Metcalf penalty, after an awful crusher tackle on Nicoll-Klokstad the only return.

That said, the Warriors opening try in the 23rd minute was a gem. It was started by Tuivasa-Sheck, as he leapt high to take a Fogarty bomb, then released a split second pass to Nicholl-Klokstad, allowing the fullback to scorch 40 metres. From the resulting momentum, slick hands saw Tuivasa-Sheck over in the corner, the veteran doing well to force the ball behind his head.

That should have been the platform to build on – especially when Corey Horsburgh was sin-binned, after referee Adam Gee ran out of patience with persistent infringements – but it never happened. The Warriors were too eager in the greasy conditions, resulting in a couple of errors and stalling momentum.

That opened the door for the Raiders’ first try, against the run of play, with Sebastian Kris beating an ineffectual Dallin Watene-Zelezniak attempt, before sending Tom Starling away.

That buoyed the Raiders, who spent the last eight minutes of the half camped on the Warriors’ line. The home side held firm, including a remarkable try-saving tackle on Simi Sasagi, for five consecutive sets, before Adam Pompey was pinged by an enthusiastic touch judge for being offside before a goal line dropout, allowing Fogarty a simple penalty.

That passage was vital; not only using up time, with Horsborough off the field, but also burning up Warriors’ petrol.

The third quarter was a tight affair, as the collisions seemed to go up a notch, while a Metcalf penalty edged the Warriors ahead. The Warriors couldn’t make the most of any momentum, unable to capitalise on Raiders’ errors or penalties.

A turning point came with Nicoll-Klokstad’s sinbinning in the 59th minute. It was for accumulated infringements but looked harsh, given what the Raiders had got away with. The visitors went ahead soon afterwards, with Fogarty profiting from a superb Zac Hosking offload.

The Warriors should have replied – but lacked precision – with Watene-Zelezniak bundled across the touchline after a series of attacks. There were more chances, in a helter-skelter finish, with Starling binned for a kamikaze challenge on Chanel Harris-Tavita but the Canberra line held firm.
 
This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.