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Fri July 10 2009, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10Fri: South Sydney Rabbitohs 36 d. Penrith Panthers 12 at
ANZ Stadium (Sydney), Homebush Bay, Sydney (NSW)Crowd: 9,017
Sat July 11 2009, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10Sat: Newcastle Knights 23 d. Canberra Raiders 4 at
Energy Australia Stadium, New Lambton, Newcastle (NSW)Crowd: 15,355
Sun July 12 2009, 4:00PM NZST GMT+12Sun: New Zealand Warriors 14 l. Bulldogs 18 at
Mt Smart Stadium, Penrose, Auckland (NZ)Crowd: 11,802
Sun July 12 2009, 3:00PM AEST GMT+10Sun: St George Illawarra Dragons 48 d. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 18 at
WIN Stadium, Wollongong (NSW)Crowd: 16,792
Mon July 13 2009, 7:00PM AEST GMT+10Mon: Gold Coast Titans 18 d. Parramatta Eels 12 at
Skilled Park, Robina, Gold Coast (QLD)Crowd: 14,009
Brisbane Broncos bye North Queensland Cowboys bye Sydney Roosters bye Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks bye Melbourne Storm bye Wests Tigers bye
Mon July 13, 2009
Source: www.bulldogs.com.auA last-gasp try secured the Bulldogs an 18-14 victory over the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday.
The Warriors led by two points with less than two minutes on the clock but couldn't hold on as youngster Ben Barba made the most of his opportunity in first grade and sliced through to score the match-winner.
Going into the match without the likes of Brett Kimmorley, Michael Ennis, Ben Hannant, Josh Morris, Greg Eastwood and Bryson Goodwin, the Dogs were expected to struggle.
But Daniel Holdsworth once again showed his mettle at halfback while Michael Sullivan was dynamic in the number nine jersey.
"The difference between this year and last year is we have plenty of depth. We needed that depth today and it came through for us," said wing Hazem el Masri, who had another perfect day with the boot.
The Warriors were on the board early courtesy of Manu Vatuvei. The hulking wing collected a flick-pass from centre Joel Moon and found the line after only five minutes.
The Bulldogs attempted to hit back but their left-hand flank, which has proved most profitable this year, was falling flat.
After a midfield arm-wrestle that dominated the first forty minutes, the Dogs finally broke through with three minutes left in the half.
Prop Brad Morrin charged, offloaded in the tackle, the ball took a fortuitous bounce off the legs of Michael Luck and rolled into the in-goal for Sullivan to claim the try.
El Masri's conversion gave the Dogs a 6-4 lead at halftime.
The Warriors defence was non-existent as five-eighth Ben Roberts engineered a spread to the left and Luke Patten strolled through for a try four minutes after the break.
The Dogs then had a golden chance to wrap up the game but captain Andrew Ryan lost control of the ball while reaching for the line.
After constantly kicking for Vatuvei's wing without success, Warriors halfback Stacey Jones directed a 62nd minute bomb to the other wing where Kevin Locke flew over Tim Winitana to score.
Prop Russell Packer's converted try gave the Warriors a two-point lead and as time ticked away it looked like it would be enough.
But Yileen Gordon showed some fancy footwork to crack the line. From the next play the Bulldogs spread the ball left and Barba made no mistake from close-range.
David Stagg was again invaluable for the Dogs - finishing with 45 tackles, four offloads and four tackle breaks.
NRL Stats: Warriors 14 v Bulldogs 18NYC Stats: Warriors 46 v Bulldogs 16Mon July 13, 2009
Source: www.warriors.co.nzHeartbreak is a frequent visitor during any NRL season and it called on the Vodafone Warriors again when they succumbed to a last-minute try that gave the Bulldogs an 18-14 win in today's 18th-round encounter at Mount Smart Stadium.
With just two minutes left the home side led 14-12 after prop Russell Packer's well-taken 66th-minute try was converted by Kevin Locke.
The Vodafone Warriors were holding firm as they sought their third straight home win. But after an error deep inside the Bulldogs' territory - one of very few the Vodafone Warriors made on the day - the visitors swept downfield, piercing the Vodafone Warriors' left side before shifting the ball wide to the home side's right for interchange back Ben Barba to score the match-winner.
The angled conversion was no real test for the master Hazem El Masri and the Bulldogs, beaten by Manly on Monday night, had secured an invaluable 18-14 victory.
If there was joy for them, there was only pain for the Vodafone Warriors who had dictated the course of the contest in so many respects without translating it to the scoreboard. Once again they simply couldn't put together a run of points when the flow of the game suggested they would.
Much was made of the number of key players the Bulldogs were missing. In truth the Vodafone Warriors were also without influential performers, not least captain Steve Price as well as centre Jerome Ropati, who was ruled out with a shoulder injury. And, of course, they also continue to miss the qualities Brent Tate would bring to the side if he hadn't been sidelined for the season.
The Vodafone Warriors began the match impressively, stitching together a superbly-constructed try for left winger Manu Vatuvei in just the fifth minute. But despite ample possession and position, they couldn't build on that lead and had to suffer the anguish of seeing the Bulldogs score just before the halftime break and straight after it to steal a 12-4 advantage.
It might have been worse just a few minutes later but Andrew Ryan failed to ground the ball as he was planting it for a try.
Buoyed by that escape, the Vodafone Warriors worked their way back into the battle and in the 61st minute a Stacey Jones bomb to the right was expertly snaffled by Locke for his fourth try in only his sixth first-grade appearance. He couldn't convert, but his side had some momentum.
That was underlined only five minutes later when Packer, who had only just come onto the field for his second stint, was put across by hooker Ian Henderson. There were opportunities after that to seal the deal but the telling final blow couldn't be delivered.
The Vodafone Warriors, while lacking the all-important end result, put together a string of strong numbers as they completed 34 of their 43 sets. They made more than 1600 metres with seven players topping 100 metres - Wade McKinnon 149 from 17 runs, Simon Mannering 144 from 15, Joel Moon 140 from 15, Manu Vatuvei 156 from 14, Packer 121 from 14, Sam Rapira a game-high 159 from 18 and Lewis Brown 111 from 16.
The Vodafone Warriors are away next Sunday facing the Roosters as the Sydney Football Stadium before returning home to take on the table-topping St George Illawarra a week later.
Match details:
At Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
Warriors 14 (Manu Vatuvei, Kevin Locke, Russell Packer tries; Kevin Locke goal)
Bulldogs 18 (Michael Sullivan, Luke Patten, Ben Barba tries; Hazem El Masri 3 goals)
Halftime: 6-4 Bulldogs
Referees: Jason Robinson and Gerard Sutton
Crowd: 11,802
To watch post-match media conferences for both sides please click on the links below:
Bulldogs:
http://video.web-vision.co.nz/player.php?v=cr72j602Warriors:
http://video.web-vision.co.nz/player.php?v=u3c92d1v
Round 18
New Zealand Warriors 14 l. Bulldogs 18
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