Round 8
New Zealand Warriors 14 d. Canberra Raiders 6

2008 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

Defence wins it for Warriors
Tue May 6, 2008
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Vastly improved defence was the critical factor as the injury-ravaged Vodafone Warriors shut out Canberra in their eighth-round NRL encounter at Mt Smart Stadium.

In back-to-back matches on the road against North Queensland and Gold Coast the missed tackles rate was the major contributor in both defeats.

But such was the improvement in that area that the Vodafone Warriors missed just five tackles in the first half today and only 15 in the entire match, dominating possession and field position in winning 14-6 in some of the worst conditions witnessed for an NRL match in Auckland.

With rain falling heavily throughout the day, the Vodafone Warriors not only had to rebound from successive defeats but they also had to do so with a heavy injury toll impacting severely on selection.

Only 17 of the 25-man NRL squad was fit for consideration when the team was named on Tuesday and by Thursday night that was down to 16 when winger Aidan Kirk, brought in to replace the injured Manu Vatuvei, became the ninth player in the casualty ward with a hamstring injury picked up at training on Thursday night.

In the end one of the injured players Patrick Ah Van was cleared from a neck strain to return on the left wing.

But with Steve Price, Ruben Wiki, Wade McKinnon, Jerome Ropati, Manu Vatuvei, Sonny Fai, Aidan Kirk and Herman Retzlaff unavailable, the Vodafone Warriors were unable to call on the collective experience of 820 NRL appearances boasted by those players.

Faced with the background of recent form, the injury count and the weather, the Vodafone Warriors began the match aggressively and never let up in a relentless defensive display.

Playing patiently and concentrating on set completions, they began the scoring with a Michael Witt penalty followed by a brilliant try in any weather let alone the treacherous conditions they encountered.

In the 21st minute standoff Witt shaped to kick to the corner but instead deftly chipped in behind Canberra's line, raced through to collect the ball on the bounce and fed halfback Grant Rovelli who sped towards the line. Confronted by the cover, Rovelli shifted beautifully to his right for centre Brent Tate to score his second try for the club.

The 8-0 scoreline might have ballooned to 14-0 when Rovelli himself crossed 15 minutes later after a well constructed play but the video referee Steve Clark disallowed it after decoy runner Logan Swann had failed to avoid running into Canberra fullback Bronx Goodwin.

That margin would have been the least the Vodafone Warriors deserved after the way they dominated the first half. Instead they had just eight points to show for their work which provided hope for the Raiders that they could play their way back into the contest - and 11 minutes into the second half that's exactly what they did with a converted Lincoln Withers try.

There was to be no further damage, though, as Nathan Fien grubbered neatly into the Canberra in-goal, centre Ryan Shortland timing his surge perfectly in the 55th minute to swoop for his third try of year. Unusually Witt missed the conversion from a comfortable angle but landed a penalty from a similar spot seven minutes later to restore an important eight-point lead.

When he had the chance to add another penalty from in front, Witt's attempt was surely the worst of his career. He slipped and succeeded in kicking the tee further than the ball, in the process doing some damage to his hip flexor which forced him from the field.

With 12 minutes left, the Vodafone Warriors weren't about to be troubled despite that setback. They might have and perhaps should have scored again to extend their winning margin but the 14-6 result was still invaluable, preserving the Vodafone Warriors' unblemished home record this year (four wins on end) and extending their run of success at Mt Smart Stadium to nine wins from their last 10 matches.

The result also had the effect of giving the club a 50-50 record at the end of the first phase of their campaign - four wins from eight starts and the knowledge this win effectively became a four-point game as they head into the first of their two byes. After that comes 16 matches starting with Penrith away in round 10.

It reinforced just how effective the Vodafone Warriors are on their home track. In the wins over Parramatta, Newcastle, the Bulldogs and Canberra they have conceded only 58 points. They're one of only nine teams with a 50 per cent or better record after this round.

The win against Canberra was built not just on a better defensive display but also much improved ball control, the Vodafone Warriors completing 35 of their 45 sets, a fantastic feat in the conditions. They also had a smarter approach to wet weather football with a game relying on plenty of dummy half running and kicking (they ran from dummy half 26 times to Canberra's 12 and kicked 26 times to the visitors' 17).

Individually there were ample willing ball carriers, none more impressive than the players' player of the day Evarn Tuimavave (23 runs for 208 metres) and Tate (20 runs for 158 metres). Fullback Lance Hohaia was again busy (14 runs, 111 metres) as were Sam Rapira (12 runs, 101 metres), Ian Henderson (12 runs, 103 metres) and Simon Mannering (10 runs, 77 metres) while Epalahame Lauaki, brought into the starting line-up, gained 78 metres from nine carries.

Also providing great value was debutant prop Russell Packer who, in his one stint of 23 metres, made 75 metres from eight runs.

The busiest defenders were Simon Mannering with 29 tackles, Nathan Fien (26), Ian Henderson (24) and Micheal Luck (23).

Match details:

At Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland:
Vodafone Warriors 14 (Brent Tate, Ryan Shortland tries; Michael Witt conversion, 2 penalties).
Canberra Raiders 6 (Lincoln Withers try; Todd Carney conversion).
Halftime: 8-0 Vodafone Warriors.
Referee: Sean Hampstead.

Report source: www.warriors.co.nz


Tongue and Withers return
Tue April 29, 2008
Source: www.raiders.com.au

The CFMEU Canberra Raiders will be bolstered this weekend ahead of their round eight clash against New Zealand, with both Captain Alan Tongue and hooker Lincoln Withers named to take on the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Both Tongue (quad) and Withers (eye) were late withdrawals in their round six loss to the Melbourne Storm at Canberra Stadium, but after the week off due to the bye, both are expected to take their places on Sunday.

Outside back Brett Kelly also makes his return to the top grade for Sunday's match, after successfully recovering from a knee injury and after two weeks in the Queensland Cup for Souths Logan.

Kelly said he's looking forward to the challenge of returning to first grade, and has fond memories of playing the Warriors.

"I haven't played first grade since the last game of last year after an injury in the last trial, and after two weeks in the Queensland Cup I'm ready to go again this week," Kelly said. "Last time I played the Warriors I scored a hat trick so hopefully I'll be able to do that again."

Raiders Coach Neil Henry said the return of Withers and Tongue would be a big boost for the side and he was confident they would be ready by Sunday.

"We'll have a look at Lincoln and Alan today. They're both training this afternoon and indications are Lincoln's eye has cleared up despite a bit of blurred vision there, and Tonguey tested his leg out last week and ran at about 80 per cent so hopefully by Sunday he'll be right," Henry said.

Henry said the inclusion of Todd Carney and Joel Monaghan in Friday night's country origin team may have a bearing on the final make-up of the side to play the Warriors, and they would link up with the team on Saturday if they come through the match injury free.

"Our Toyota Cup side travels across on Saturday morning so they (Carney and Monaghan) will fly out Saturday morning and we'll take 17 players across Friday and if they are right we'll have 19 there," Henry said.

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP
Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors
Mt Smart Stadium, Sunday May 4, 2.00pm (Aest)

1. Bronx Goodwin
2. Colin Best
3. Adrian Purtell
4. Joel Monaghan
5. Brett Kelly
6. Terry Campese
7. Todd Carney
8. Scott Logan
9. Lincoln Withers
10. Troy Thompson
11. Marshall Chalk
12. Nigel Plum
13. Alan Tongue (c)

14. Michael Dobson
15. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs
16. Joe Picker
17. Dane Tilse
18. David Milne
19. Ben Jones
(two to be omitted)

Coach: Neil Henry

Injuries/Suspension
Josh Miller - Ankle - Round 10-12
Michael Weyman - Suspended - Round 13
Ryan Hinchcliffe - Thumb - Round 11
William Zillman - Knee - Season
Phil Graham - Knee - Season

TOYOTA CUP
Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors
Mt Smart Stadium, Sunday May 4, 11.45am (Aest)

1. Josh Dugan
2. Michael Brophy
3. Jarrod Croker
4. Justin Carney
5. Steve Naughton
6. Michael Picker
7. Matt Smith
8. Todd Grace
9. Travis Waddell
10. Nick Skinner
11. Joel Thompson
12. Jarrad Kennedy
13. Shaun Fensom (c)

14. Brock Dunn
15. Diego Codyre
16. Andrew Edwards
17. Zac Merritt

Coach: Tony Adam

News sent by: www.raiders.com.au

Tue April 29, 2008
• Warriors struck by more injury trouble for Canberra clash
  

Advanced Search