Round 3
New Zealand Warriors 10 l. Brisbane Broncos 26

2009 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

Warriors winning run ended by Broncos
Sun March 29, 2009
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Brisbane inflicted a double dose of pain on the Vodafone Warriors in their third-round NRL encounter at Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday night.

The 10-26 loss was the first of the year for the home side after winning all three of its trials and starting its 2009 NRL campaign with successive victories against Parramatta and defending premier Manly.

If the defeat in front of a massive crowd on 24,350 was disappointing enough, it was a devastating night for centre Brent Tate.

Playing against his old club, Tate (27) was forced off the field in the first half with a season-ending injury after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee (he needed surgery on his left knee in 2007 soon after he had signed to join the Vodafone Warriors for the 2008 season).

Immediately after the game ex-Brisbane team-mates Darren Lockyer and Corey Parker visited the Vodafone Warriors' dressing room to console Tate.

With the result and Tate's injury, a night of huge expectation failed to materialise.

Last Sunday Manly came out fast against the Vodafone Warriors, grabbing a 10-0 lead in quick time and this time the Broncos were in the same mood as they raced to a 12-0 advantage. But unlike the Manly match, there was no way back into the contest on Saturday night.

For the Vodafone Warriors, it was a quick turnaround of just six days since playing Manly while Brisbane had the benefit of an eight-day lag after its win against Melbourne on March 20. The difference seemed to show as the Broncos set the tempo from the outset and sustained it.

With halves Darren Lockyer and Peter Wallace prominent, Brisbane was all precision in a battle that pitted the two traditional - and unbeaten - rivals against each other.

In the opening 15 minutes Wallace laid on a try for Joel Clinton with a deft grubber kicker and Lockyer's bullet-like but marginal flat pass put centre Steve Michaels across.

Shaken by the rampaging Broncos, the Vodafone Warriors stemmed the flow and tried to work their way back into the encounter. They seemed to have done just that after another ex-Bronco Joel Moon drove across only to have a would-be try rubbed out when he was penalised for a double movement. Instantly the Broncos transitioned downfield, Dave Taylor busting through and setting up centre Israel Folau for a try close to halftime.

Down 0-16 at the break, the Vodafone Warriors clearly needed to be the first to score in the second half but instead New Zealander Alex Glenn and Lockyer himself scored to open up an ominous 26-0 lead with 27 minutes still to play.

Faced with such a daunting score line, the Vodafone Warriors had their best passage of the match as they not only held Brisbane scoreless but produced two tries themselves, the first to Simon Mannering and the second to new back rower Ukuma Ta'ai courtesy of a Russell Packer off load. It was Ta'ai's first NRL try in only his second outing.

It says a lot for the nature of the NRL - yet again - that the Broncos are now the only unbeaten side in the competition with the third round still not completed. In the process of winning this one they not only redressed the balance against the Vodafone Warriors (the home side had won six of the last eight games between the two in Auckland) but also stopped the Vodafone Warriors' run of consecutive home wins at seven.

The Vodafone Warriors now have eight days to ready themselves for another Mount Smart Stadium clash when they face South Sydney next Sunday (April 5).

Match details:
At Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
Vodafone Warriors 10 (Simon Mannering, Ukuma Ta'ai tries; Denan Kemp conversion)
Brisbane Broncos 26 (Joel Clinton, Steve Michaels, Israel Folau, Alex Glenn, Darren Lockyer tries; Corey Parker 3 conversions)
Halftime: 16-0 Broncos
Referees: Jason Robinson and Matt Cecchin
Crowd: 24,350

NRL Stats: Warriors 10 v Broncos 26
NYC Stats: Warriors 22 v Broncos 16
Warriors v Broncos Discussion Thread


Preview: Warriors v Broncos - 2009 NRL Round 3
Fri March 27, 2009
Up to 4000 tickets are still available for the Vodafone Warriors' third-round NRL clash against the Brisbane Broncos at Mount Smart Stadium tomorrow night (Saturday).

"At this stage we have sold about 21,000 tickets and we'd love to see the ground packed out to support the team against the Broncos," said chief executive Wayne Scurrah.

"Playing Brisbane here is always a special occasion for the club and it's even more so this time with both sides unbeaten after the opening two rounds."

Scurrah said the ground's capacity had been boosted to 25,000 tomorrow with 1500 seats being installed at the northern end of the stadium.

"There are a handful of premium tickets available but the majority of the 4000 tickets left are for the area at the northern end. It's first in, first served for the 1500 extra seats we've had put in so we'd recommend fans who buy tickets in that area arrive early."

The Warriors will be aiming for their eighth straight win at Mt Smart Stadium when they line up against the Broncos in Saturday night's blockbuster clash.

Both teams have been highly impressive in opening round victories but the Warriors will start firm favourites with the home ground advantage.

The Broncos have won only one of their last four games in Auckland and with another capacity crowd expected to throw their support behind the home team, they could have their work cut-out.

The loss of strike centre Justin Hodges (suspended) will be felt acutely by the Broncos although his absence is countered by an injury which will keep big Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei on the sidelines.

The Warriors were on a high after their last-ditch defeat of premiers Manly last Sunday but coach Ivan Cleary was quick to ground his players with criticism of lapses at the start of each half which twice handed the Sea Eagles sizable leads.

The Warriors have had the better of the Broncos for much of this decade and should continue their ascendancy with a win by 1-12 points ($3). Consider also a penalty goal to either side as First Scoring Play (each paying $9).

For First Tryscorer try Jerome Ropati ($15), Wade McKinnon ($13) or Brent Tate ($11) for the Warriors or Israel Folau ($8), Karmichael Hunt ($15) or Steve Michaels ($13) for the Broncos.

The gates open at 5.00pm with the Vodafone Junior Warriors taking on Brisbane in their NYC match from 5.20pm.

Match day sponsor Lion Red is providing some entertainment including a performance by the Kara Gordon Trio along with the Lion Red Rockettes. There'll be kids' interactive activities in the Vodafone Warriors One Community tent in the D Zone at the northern end of the field while the Bendon Man Warriors Cheer Team will perform before the NRL match (kick-off 7.30pm) and at halftime. There'll also be Bendon Man underwear giveaways during the evening.

Saturday March 28, 2009
New Zealand Warriors vs Brisbane Broncos at Mt Smart Stadium, Penrose, Auckland (NZ)

New Zealand Warriors
1 Wade McKinnon, 2 Denan Kemp, 3 Brent Tate, 4 Jerome Ropati, 5 Aidan Kirk, 6 Joel Moon, 7 Nathan Fien, 8 Sam Rapira, 9 Ian Henderson, 10 Steve Price [c], 11 Simon Mannering, 12 Jacob Lillyman, 13 Micheal Luck. Subs: 14 Stacey Jones, 15 Russell Packer, 16 Jesse Royal, 17 Ukuma Ta'ai, 18 Daniel O'Regan, (one to be omitted).

Brisbane Broncos
1. Karmichael Hunt, 2. Antonio Winterstein, 3. Steve Michaels, 4. Israel Folau, 5. Jharal Yow Yeh, 6. Darren Lockyer [c], 7. Peter Wallace, 8. Nick Kenny, 9. Aaron Gorrell, 10. Joel Clinton, 11. Sam Thaiday, 12. Ben Te'o, 13. Corey Parker. Subs: 14. Andrew McCullough, 15. Lagi Setu, 16. Dave Taylor, 17. Alex Glenn, 18. Josh McGuire, 19. Ashton Sims, 20. Michael De Vere, (three to be omitted).

Date: Sat March 28 2009, 7:30PM NZDT GMT+13 [Sat March 28 2009, 4:30PM AEST GMT+10]
[Sat March 28 2009, 6:30AM GMT]
Referee: Jason Robinson, Matt Cecchin

Predictions:
Matthew O'Neill: Broncos by 2
Paul Booth: Warriors 6

OVERALL:
Total Games: 23
New Zealand Warriors wins: 9. [Pts: 385]
Brisbane Broncos wins: 14. [Pts: 531]
Draws: 0

Biggest wins:
New Zealand Warriors: 20 pts: 2003 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 5 - [View] Sun Apr 13: Broncos 12 l. Warriors 32 [Crowd: 18959]
Brisbane Broncos: 38 pts: 1995 Australian Rugby League - Round 22 - [View] Sun Aug 27: Broncos 44 d. Auckland 6 [Crowd: 54645]

Biggest Crowd: 1995 Australian Rugby League - Round 22 - [View] Sun Aug 27: Broncos 44 d. Auckland 6 [Crowd: 54645]

Last 50 games against each other form line (most recent matches at end of line):
New Zealand Warriors: LLLLLLLLLWLWWWWLLWWLLWW
Brisbane Broncos: WWWWWWWWWLWLLLLWWLLWWLL

Last 10 games:
2008 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 22 - [View] Sat: New Zealand Warriors 16 d. Brisbane Broncos 12 [Crowd: 13007]
2007 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 2 - [View] Sun: New Zealand Warriors 24 d. Brisbane Broncos 14 [Crowd: 16738]
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 26 - [View] Sun: Broncos 36 d. Warriors 12 [Crowd: 47193]
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 13 - [View] Sun: Warriors 18 l. Broncos 23 [Crowd: 7746]
2005 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 16 - [View] Sun: Warriors 30 d. Broncos 18 [Crowd: 13752]
2005 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 2 - [View] Sat: Broncos 12 l. Warriors 24 [Crowd: 24719]
2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 22 - [View] Sat Aug 7: Warriors 14 l. Broncos 21 [Crowd: 9710]
2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 1 - [View] Sun Mar 14: Broncos 28 d. Warriors 20 [Crowd: 28548]
2003 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 24 - [View] Sun Aug 24: Warriors 22 d. Broncos 14 [Crowd: 19439]

NRL Stats: Warriors v Broncos
NYC Stats: Warriors v Broncos
Warriors v Broncos Discussion Thread
Round 3 Teams, STATS and Predictions

Tue March 24, 2009
• Kirk called up, Luck back to take on Brisbane
  
Tue March 24, 2009
• Hodges takes early guilty plea
  

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