Round 5
New Zealand Warriors 34 d. North Queensland Cowboys 14

2007 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Warriors put an end to Cowboys unbeaten start
Sun April 15, 2007
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

North Queensland's unbeaten start to the season came to an abrupt halt as the Vodafone Warriors sprung a 20-point defeat on them in their fifth-round NRL encounter at Mt Smart Stadium today (Sunday).

The victory gives the home side a three wins-two losses record heading into a bye next weekend.

It also means the Vodafone Warriors will remain in the top eight for the fifth week running when the round is completed with tomorrow night's clash between Canberra and the Sydney Roosters.

Down 0-6 to a brilliant early Matt Bowen try, the Vodafone Warriors defended grittily before organising a smart try for winger Todd Byrne in his first NRL outing of the year.

And a Brenton Bowen try soon after was answered on the stroke of halftime when prop Steve Price scored his third try of the season from a flat Nathan Fien pass close to the line. With Tony Martin's conversion, the scores were locked at 10-10.

The Vodafone Warriors hit the lead for the first five minutes into the second half after a stunning long break by winger Manu Vatuvei. Cornered by the cover near the line, Vatuvei tried to find support to his left only to see the pass tipped down by Matt Bowen. The ball went loose, Michael Witt swooped to snatch it and plant the ball in one motion.

With Martin's conversion the Vodafone Warriors were 16-10 ahead and looked good to take a bigger lead when Vatuvei smashed his way over only for the video referee to find he had lost control of the ball as he planted it across the line.

Just as swiftly the Cowboys reacted with the ever dangerous Johnthan Thuston sniffing out a try through multiple defenders on the short side. He missed the wide angled conversion, though, and that was as close as North Queensland came for the rest of the match.

In the 67th minute halfback Grant Rovelli stepped his way through for a classy try and five minutes later Nathan Fien dummied his way over against his old club, clearly revelling in the moment after dotting down; Fien had missed the chance of savouring a victory against the Cowboys when injury kept him out of the 26-0 win in Auckland last year.

And the big man Vatuvei provided the final statement when he surged over for an overlap try.

With Martin converting all three tries, the Vodafone Warriors put on 18 points in a dazzling nine-minute blitz.

The only blemish on the win was a badly gashed ear that forced Lance Hohaia off the field in the 57th minute.

Match details:

At Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland:
Vodafone Warriors 34 (Todd Byrne, Steve Price, Michael Witt, Grant Rovelli, Nathan Fien, Manu Vatuvei tries; Tony Martin 5 conversions).
North Queensland Cowboys 14 (Matt Bowen, Brenton Bowen, Johnathan Thurston tries; Johnathan Thurston conversion).
Halftime: 10-10.
Referee: Tony Archer.
Crowd: 11,260

Report source: www.warriors.co.nz


Byrne ready for first start of the season
Sat April 14, 2007
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Experienced winger Todd Byrne is set for his first NRL outing of the year when the Vodafone Warriors face North Queensland at Mt Smart Stadium tomorrow.

The 28-year-old was brought into the side on the right wing to replace injured Michael Crockett.

With Crockett snaring the NRL job for the first four matches of the year, Byrne has played in the centres in three of the Vodafone Auckland Lions' first four games in the New South Wales Premier League.

A 92-game NRL veteran, he missed half of last season after breaking his right arm in the Vodafone Warriors' loss to Cronulla in May. He didn't play again until early September, coming off the bench to score a try in the club's final match of the year against the Broncos in Brisbane.

After joining the Vodafone Warriors from the Sydney Roosters, Byrne scored 14 tries in 22 appearances in his debut season for the club in 2005. He now has 16 in 31 games and needs only four more tries to take his NRL career tally to 50.

Tomorrow's match gives the Vodafone Warriors their third successive outing against an unbeaten side. Along with the Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm, the Cowboys have four straight wins so far this year, their most recent a last-gasp 25-24 victory over Wests Tigers on Saturday night.

In successive weekends the Vodafone Warriors have played first the Storm, then the Sea Eagles and now meet the Cowboys.

In their last NRL clash against North Queensland last August, the Vodafone Warriors won 26-0 at Mt Smart Stadium.

They started this season winning their first two home matches against Parramatta and Brisbane, giving them five successive home wins and a record of seven wins from their last eight home games since beating Newcastle last June.

North Queensland arrived in Auckland on Friday night bringing the same 17 players originally named on Tuesday. Young centre Ben Farrar travelled as the side's 18th man.

The match has special significance for three Vodafone Warriors players. Nathan Fien, Micheal Luck and George Gatis all played for the Cowboys before moving to Auckland.

Fien (27) goes into the game, ironically against his former club, having this week signed a new contract to remain a Vodafone Warriors until the end of the 2009 NRL season.

TEAMS
* There are no changes to either team at this stage.
* The Vodafone Warriors made just one positional switch when their side was named on Tuesday. Todd Byrne was named on the right wing to replace the injured Michael Crockett.

CASUALTY WARD
* Wairangi Koopu (shoulder) indefinite
* Jerome Ropati (back) Round 7
* Aidan Kirk (knee) Round 7
* Louis Anderson (ankle) Round 7
* Michael Crockett (elbow) Round 11

STATISTICS
* Logan Swann made his 150th first-grade appearance for the Vodafone Warriors last weekend.
* Todd Byrne is eight games away from reaching the milestone of 100 first-grade apopearances.
* Nathan Fien is three games away from making his 50th NRL appearance for the Vodafone Warriors (he previously played 91 times for the Cowboys).
* Fullback Wade McKinnon has underlined his value as an outstanding metre gainer in each of his first four appearances for the Vodafone Warriors. He had 17 runs for 148 metres against Manly. In the first three matches of the year he gained 186 metres against Parramatta, 150 metres against Brisbane and 172 metres against Melbourne ? a total of 656 metres in just four matches, an average of 164 metres game.
* Grant Rovelli and Micheal Luck will be making their 29th consecutive appearances for the Vodafone Warriors tomorrow. They haven't missed a match since joining the club last year.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS V NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
* Overall: Played 20, Won 11, Lost 9
* At Mt Smart Stadium: Played 11, Won 7, Lost 4
* Biggest win: 52-6, Ericsson Stadium, 1996
* Most recent win: 26-0, Mt Smart Stadium, 2006

VODAFONE AUCKLAND LIONS
* The Vodafone Auckland Lions also return to Mt Smart Stadium tomorrow after two away matches in the New South Wales Premier League.
* They secured their first away win in their debut season with a 29-16 win against the Manly Sea Eagles last Sunday.
* With a two wins-two losses record they lie sixth in the competition as they prepare to take on 10th-placed St George Illawarra.
* Making his first start of the season for the Vodafone Auckland Warriors will be 19-year-old Pakuranga product Miguel Start. The Samoan international comes into the centres with Todd Byrne elevated to the Vodafone Warriors for their NRL clash against the Cowboys.

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS v NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
2.00pm, Sunday, April 15, 2007
Referee: Tony Archer

New Zealand Warriors
1 Wade Mckinnon
2 Todd Byrne
3 Tony Martin
4 Lance Hohaia
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 Michael Witt
7 Grant Rovelli
8 Ruben Wiki (vc)
9 Nathan Fien
10 Steve Price (c)
11 Simon Mannering
12 Logan Swann
13 Micheal Luck
14 George Gatis
15 Evarn Tuimavave
16 Epalahame Lauaki
17 Sam Rapira
Coach: Ivan Cleary

North Queensland
1 Matt Bowen
2 Brenton Bowen
3 Ashley Graham
4 Paul Bowman
5 Neil Sweeney
6 Jason Smith
7 Johnathan Thurston (c)
8 Matthew Scott
9 Aaron Payne (vc)
10 Scott Tronc
11 Steve Southern
12 Jacob Lillyman
13 Justin Smith
14 David Faiumu
15 Scott Bolton
16 Sione Faumuina
17 Ray Cashmere
18th Man: Ben Farrar
Coach: Graham Murray

News sent by: www.warriors.co.nz

Tue April 10, 2007
• Byrne back in Warriors line up for Cowboys clash
  

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