Warriors’ season all but over
AUCKLAND: Cronulla hammered another nail into the Warriors’ coffin last night, exhausting the home side’s finals hopes with a 2612 NRL defeat at Mt Smart Stadium.
The Warriors have little more than pride left to play for as the inconceivable prospect of them winning their remaining five matches is unlikely to be enough to see them scrape inside the top eight.
Cronulla dominated the firsthalf to earn tries through centre Kurt Capewell and fiveeighth Fa’amanu Brown, while the Warriors crossed once through centre Solomone Kata to trail 126 at the break.
A Valentine Holmes penalty goal edged the Sharks further ahead early in the secondhalf, before a Bodene Thompson try gave the Warriors hope, but tries to wing Sosaia Feki and former Warriors backrower Jayson Bukuya sealed the win for the visitors.
Players from both teams wore dark green tape on various parts of their playing kit and strapping to show their support for the Rugby League Players’ Association in its ongoing pay dispute with the NRL.
That silent protest proved to be the Warriors’ biggest statement of the night, as they failed to build on the committed effort shown in their lastround loss to North Queensland.
The opening three minutes of the game epitomised their inconsistent season, with a strong first set in possession ruined with backtoback penalties gifting Cronulla field position before Capewell scored off former Warrior Chad Townsend’s grubber.
The Sharks continued to dominate possession and could have gone further ahead if not for Warriors captain Roger TuivasaSheck successfully raking the ball free from Andrew Fifita’s grasp as he tried to ground the ball.
Cronulla’s sharp start was contrasted by the Warriors, who lacked urgency and accuracy on attack before hooker Issac Luke was denied a try by the video bunker at the end of the first quarter.
The Warriors continued to press and consecutive penalties put them back within attacking range, but rookie halfback Mason Lino’s inside ball failed to find TuivasaSheck and let the Sharks off the hook.
The tide looked to have turned when Kata stole an intercept to run 60m to score, but Cronulla hit back quickly in similar fashion, when Brown pinched a pass to run in their second fourpointer.
Errors and illdiscipline continued to hurt the Warriors in the secondhalf, but three straight sets put pressure on the Sharks before Lino’s short ball sent Thompson over.
Warriors prop Sam Lisone faces an anxious wait after he was placed on report following a stray knee which resulted in Brown being carted off after a lengthy stoppage.
The loss of their playmaker impacted little on the Sharks’ attack and slick hands put Feki over in the corner, before Bukuya bounced out of a tackle to dive over and effectively close the curtain on another failed Warriors campaign. — NZME