Round 6
New Zealand Warriors 17 d. Sydney Roosters 16

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

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

Veteran halfbacks out shine youngsters
Mon April 20, 2009
Veteran halfbacks Stacey Jones and Brett Kimmorley showed yesterday that there's still a valuable place for the old man in Rugby League.

Jones was the mastermind of the Warriors comeback against the Sydney Roosters in the second half at Mt Smart Stadium where they came from 16-0 down to level up at 16-all after 80 minutes with Jones crossing for the first try.

When the game was to be won in Golden Point it was Jones that stepped up to the plate over-shadowing his team-mate Nathan Fien and the much over-rated Roosters pairing Braith Anasta and Mitchell Pearce to seal the Warriors a memorable one-point victory.

Jones last played for the Warriors in 2005 and headed across to France to have two seasons with Super League side Catalans. Jones didn't play at all in 2008 and felt he still had something to offer to the game and Warriors in 2009. Naturally Warriors coach Ivan Cleary didn't hesitate when deciding to give Jones an opportunity.

Cleary eased Jones into the Warriors line-up, but after three successive losses and staring down the barrel of a 4th it was up to the experience of Jones to get the Warriors home. Without Jones the Warriors wouldn't have got even close to the Roosters.

Soon after Jones stole victory for the Warriors it was left to Kimmorley to dominate as the Bulldogs turned on an attacking treat to wallop the Eels 48-18 despite some lop-sided and farcical refereeing.

Kimmorley was on the ball from the outset and his slick passing and his enthusiastic kick chase game kept the Bulldogs going when at other times they would have been missing that extra bit of fight in them after a grueling Monday night battle.

Kimmorley had a hand in several Bulldogs tries and controlled the position of the Bulldogs attack superbly with his sweet reward coming in the 74th minute when a kick from the Eels deflected off his leg and he scooped up the ball to race 75m to score. The old legs just kept going for Kimmorley and his competitive spirit showed in all facets of his performance against the Eels when really the Bulldogs could have been there for the taking.

Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore in the pre-season said Kimmorley had a lot of qualities about him that were similar to Canterbury's greatest player and 70 year captain Terry Lamb and Moore's comments certainly raised some eyebrows. Lamb is at times pigeonholed purely as a support player when some of his great characteristics included his leadership, competitiveness, toughness and drive - assets Kimmorley has brought to the Bulldogs.

When the Bulldogs were struggling and forced to do repeat sets in the first half Kimmorley would be encouraging the players and keeping their minds on the job. Moore had to change his plans a lot with David Stagg being a late withdrawal and Josh Morris being injured early on. Kimmorley stepped up to the plate and delivered not only a victory to the Bulldogs, but one by 30 and could have been by 50 if Hazem El Masri was on-song with the boot and the Bulldogs got even 25% of the 50-50 calls.

The Bulldogs were the most proactive club in the off-season in their recruitment and all their signings have been terrific to date. A lot will say that Stagg or Michael Ennis have been the best and that could be correct, but Kimmorley has been by far the most important.

Andrew Ryan has been the biggest beneficiary of Kimmorley coming to the Bulldogs and Ryan in recent weeks has rediscovered his lost running game and feels like a new man. Ryan has been leading by example and Kimmorley has helped take a lot of the leadership pressure off the captain of 101 games.

As Jones recently announced he won't be available for the Kiwis Kimmorley on the other hand has stated that he is the best man for the NSW State of Origin halfback position. Kimmorley believes his combination with Ennis and his experience would be ideal for what essentially has to be a youthful Blues side.

On form Kimmorley and Peter Wallace are the two form halfbacks in the NRL along with Queenslander Scott Prince, but rarely do the NSW selectors pick a side based on form. Kimmorley wouldn't be the worst choice for NSW halfback and there instantly is the captain for the series this year. The influence Kimmorley will be immeasurable for the likes of Terry Campese, Ben Creagh, Michael Jennings, Ennis/Robbie Farah and the next generation of NSW players, which the selectors will be forced to blood.


Jones delivers second Golden Point victory for Warriors
Sun April 19, 2009
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Almost six years after giving the Warriors their first golden point victory, halfback Stacey Jones provided just the club's second extra-time win with an 84th minute field goal against the Roosters at Mount Smart Stadium.

In a game in which Jones had a direct hand in not just the critical match-winner but also each of his side's three tries (one of them his own), the Vodafone Warriors rebounded from a 0-16 halftime deficit to keep the Roosters scoreless on their way to a dramatic 17-16 win.

It boosted the home side to a 3-3 record for the season so far, lifting it to eighth spot on six points four behind co-leaders Brisbane and Gold Coast.

Jones (32) ignited the Vodafone Warriors' comeback with a 52nd minute try after a trademark double-round he worked with second rower Jacob Lillyman. The Roosters' defence hung off and the champion halfback sliced through for a try the 16,000-plus fans rapturously celebrated; it was his first touchdown in the NRL since his farewell appearance against Manly in 2005, taking his club record tally to 76 in 243 matches.

But Jones and his team-mates were far from done.

After performing so indifferently in the first half, Jones' try ignited a transformation which would see the Vodafone Warriors control the second half to the point the Roosters were unable to mount any real pressure on the home side's goal-line.

Nine minutes after his four-pointer, Jones went to the sky with a cross-field bomb to the Roosters' left flank, giant winger Manu Vatuvei reaching high to tap back the ball for centre Jerome Ropati to score in a near replica of the try the three players concocted for the second-round victory against Manly.

Denan Kemp couldn't convert leaving the Vodafone Warriors 10-16 behind with 19 minutes to play.

The flow of the game was demonstrably with the Vodafone Warriors and in the 70th minute they were in again, the Jones-Vatuvei formula working a treat once more. This time Vatuvei went up for Jones' bomb, the ball went loose and he pounced on it for his 47th career try in his first game back from a three-match injury absence. It took a few replays to provide the result the Vodafone Warriors wanted.

Kemp couldn't convert leaving the Roosters clinging to a 16-14 lead with 10 minutes to play.

It stayed that way until the 75th minute when the Vodafone Warriors received a penalty 30 metres out. Kemp slotted it calmly to lock the score up at 16-16 and in the dying minutes they had a chance to win it only for Nathan Fien's field goal attempt to narrowly miss.

But four minutes into the first period of extra time Jones didn't need a second invitation, dodging to slot the one-pointer for the Vodafone Warriors' first golden point win at home. Jubilation didn't describe the crowd's reaction.

For the second consecutive clash between the two sides at Mount Smart Stadium, the Vodafone Warriors had prevented the Roosters from registering any points after halftime. In last year's home final, they had trailed the Roosters 6-13 at the break before scoring 24 unanswered points on their way to a 30-13 victory.

In today's match they were out of sorts for virtually the whole first half.

Hohaia, called in to fill the fullback's role, immediately looked dangerous, slicing his way across for a would-be try in just the sixth minute ? only the video referee ruled he'd lost control in the process of forcing the ball.

Thereafter the Roosters took charge with centre Iosia Soliola, loose forward Shane Shackleton and halfback Mitchell Pearce all scoring to propel them to a commanding 16-0 lead.

But the complexion of the contest was so contrasting in the second round.

The Vodafone Warriors led all the statistics completing 20 of 25 sets, gaining 878 metres to 567, making two line breaks to none, making only 150 tackles while the Roosters were forced to make 203, missing just seven tackles to the Roosters' 15 and winning the penalty count 4-0.

Stats for the entire match revealed the Vodafone Warriors had seven players who gained more than 100 metres - Hohaia 179 from 23 runs, Steve Price 169 from 18, Vatuvei 163 from 19, Ropati 139 from 19, Simon Mannering 137 from 18, Sam Rapira 112 from 12 and Russell Packer 103 from 13.

Loose forward Micheal Luck was typically the king of the defenders with a game-high 53 tackles.

The win coincided with the return of three key performers in Price, Vatuvei and Hohaia. They'd all been missing during the run of three losses to Brisbane, South Sydney and Manly.

The Vodafone Warriors' next match is against Melbourne at Olympic Park on Anzac Day.

Match details:

At Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
Vodafone Warriors 17 (Stacey Jones, Jerome Ropati, Manu Vatuvei tries; Denan Kemp conversion, penalty; Stacey Jones field goal)
Sydney Roosters 16 (Iosia Soliola, Shane Shackleton, Mitchell Pearce tries; Craig Fitzgibbon 2 conversions)
Halftime: 16-0 Roosters
Referees: Ben Cummins and Alan Shortall
Crowd: 16,309

Post Match Media Conference:

New Zealand Warriors

Sydney Roosters

Sun April 19, 2009
• NRL Round 6 Sunday Preview from RleagueBetting.com
  
Tue April 14, 2009
• Price and Vatuvei named but McKinnon out of Roosters game
  

Advanced Search