Round 16
Wests Tigers 26 l. New Zealand Warriors 28

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

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

Warriors make Wiki's 300th memorable
Mon June 30, 2008
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Vodafone Warriors veteran Ruben Wiki had cause for a double celebration at Leichhardt Oval in Balmain on Sunday.

On a personal level he celebrated the achievement of becoming the first New Zealander and just the 10th player in history to play 300 first-grade matches in a season.

And appropriately it happened in a year when the Australian Rugby League is marking its 100th anniversary.

But, most importantly for Wiki and his team-mates, the occasion was iced by a pulsating 28-26 victory in a sparkling match, a victory that might have been far more clear-cut but for some decisions that caused a fair degree of consternation.

Ultimately the result rested on Wests Tigers captain Brett Hodgson's conversion attempt of Kiwi winger Taniela Tuiaki's try in the final seconds of the match, his third four-pointer of the day. Hodgson needed the conversion to take the contest into golden point extra time but he was just astray to the relief of the Vodafone Warriors and their fans.

The win was richly deserved as the Vodafone Warriors put together a display high on quality on both attack and defence.

The major obstacle for them was a lopsided penalty count awarded by referee Steve Lyons which favoured the home side 7-3. In fact, the Vodafone Warriors received their three penalties in the early stages of the match but then went without another one - including the entire second half - while the Tigers received seven straight.

That resulted in the Tigers having 21 sets in the second half to just 15 for the Vodafone Warriors. The Vodafone Warriors also had to make 168 tackles in the second 40 minute period, 72 more than the Tigers.

But they defended heroically against the odds, especially when they were under heavy attack on their own line. Having repelled multiple attacks by the Tigers, the Vodafone Warriors staged a compelling two-try breakout in the 66th and 69th minutes that enabled them to jump to a 28-16 lead and hang on to win the game, the second in their last three away matches.

The first of the tries was a long-range stunner, the ball shifted wide to the left edge where huge back rower Sonny Fai - who was used in the centres for this match - sped down the touchline, kicking clear of his marker and then feeding Grant Rovelli who was backing up inside. He in turn fed fullback Lance Hohaia alongside him to round off a brilliant try. Three minutes later the man of the day Wiki provided a perfect pass for fellow prop Sam Rapira to surge onto for his first try of the season.

Earlier the Vodafone Warriors had played almost perfectly in the opening 30 minutes.

They started with a line-up that differed significantly from the one named earlier in the week. Rovelli, not used against Manly, was recalled at halfback with Nathan Fien moving out to standoff while Michael Witt, selected at No 6, went to the bench. Fai was brought off the bench to play in the centres on the left edge while Simon Mannering was shifted back to his preferred second rower's spot.

With those changes, the Vodafone Warriors ran at the Tigers with zest, their attack looking a lot sharper. That manifested itself in yet another try for hooker Ian Henderson in the ninth minute before Fai was set free in the 24th minute on a thrilling 35-metre dash to the line for his second career try. Five minutes later Fien scythed through for his first try of the season. With Hohaia converting two of the tries, the Vodafone Warriors had a 16-0 edge, reduced to 16-6 at halftime after Benji Marshall's skills arranged a dazzling try for Tuiaki.

Facing a possession drought in the second half, the Vodafone Warriors yielded tries to Robbie Farah and Chris Lawrence that had the game tied up at 16-16 with 24 minutes to play.

It was then that the Vodafone Warriors' goal-line defence was outstanding before they rebounded to take a critical 12-point lead, which proved to be just enough for their sixth win this season.

Their defence was again sound with just 20 missed tackles in the match compared to 34 for the Tigers. And after struggling to make line breaks against Manly, they came up with seven this time.

Rovelli laid on two of the five tries while Wiki excelled in his landmark game, carrying the ball 13 times for 95 metres. Other big contributors were Jerome Ropati (18 runs, 180 metres), impressive debutant winger Malo Solomona (11 runs, 104 metres), Hohaia (12 runs, 114 metres), Fai (8 runs, 120 metres), Aidan Kirk (10 runs, 93 metres) and Mannering (9 runs, 89 metres).

Captain Micheal Luck was the defensive glue as usual with 49 tackles and only one miss while Mannering (28), Henderson (24), Rovelli (23) and Rapira (23) were not only busy but had no missed tackles marked against them.

The Vodafone Warriors have moved to 14 points and will climb to 16 with the second of their byes next weekend. Their next outing, a celebration at home of Wiki's 300-game feat, is against North Queensland on July 12.

Match details:

At Leichhardt Oval, Balmain
Wests Tigers 26 (Taniela Tuiaki 3, Robbie Farah, Chris Lawrence tries; Brett Hodgson 3 conversions).
Vodafone Warriors 28 (Ian Henderson, Sonny Fai, Nathan Fien, Lance Hohaia, Sam Rapira tries; Lance Hohaia 2 conversions; Michael Witt 2 conversions).
Halftime: 16-6 Vodafone Warriors.
Referee: Steve Lyons.
Crowd: 15,027.

Report Source: www.warriors.co.nz


Wests Tigers team to play Warriors
Tue June 24, 2008
Source: www.weststigers.com.au

Wests Tigers Coach Tim Sheens has named his team to play the Warriors at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday, June 29, at 2pm in round 16 of the Telstra Premiership.

Beau Ryan returns from a shoulder injury and has been named on the wing to replace the injured Shannon McDonnell (hamstring). Corey Payne also makes his return from a shoulder injury.

Prop Ryan Tandy has been named 18th man.

1 Brett Hodgson [c]
2 Taniela Tuiaki
3 Dean Collis
4 Chris Lawrence
5 Beau Ryan
6 Benji Marshall
7 Mathew Head
8 Bronson Harrison
9 Robbie Farah
10 Bryce Gibbs
11 Ben Te'o
12 Chris Heighington
13 Liam Fulton

14 John Morris
15 Dene Halatau
16 Corey Payne
17 Daine Laurie
18 Ryan Tandy
(one to be omitted)

Casualty Ward
Todd Payten - hamstring, Rd 18
Keith Galloway - foot, Rd 18
Ryan O'Hara - jaw, Rd 19.
Shannon McDonnell - hamstring, Rd 21
Danny Galea - achilles, season

News Source: www.weststigers.com.au

Tue June 24, 2008
• Wiki set to become first Kiwi to play 300 NRL games
  

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