Tigers put an end to Warriors’ finals hopes
Warriors fans can mark 2016 as yet another failed season after the 24-36 loss to Wests Tigers at Mt Smart Stadium yesterday ended hopes of making the finals.
The Warriors were up 24-18 with nine minutes to go, but three quick tries to the Tigers meant they’re the side still with hopes of finishing in the top eight, while the Warriors are left with just a meaningless game against the Eels next Sunday.
The Warriors, and indeed the Tigers, were given a lifeline by the Panthers defeating the Titans 15-14 on Saturday night, although the Tigers are still reliant on the Cowboys beating the Titans next weekend.
If that happens and the Tigers beat the Raiders, they’ll finish in the top eight.
But for the Warriors, the post mortem can begin of a season where there was so much promise at the beginning of the campaign, but the run of not making it to the finals since 2011 continues.
The Warriors were given a boost with Issac Luke back from his knee operation, taking the place of Nathaniel Roache in the team and he did bring an extra spark to hooker.
At the start, the crowd of 14,020 would have thought they were in for a great afternoon.
The Tigers looked fragile up the middle right from the beginning of the match and the Warriors were able to exploit this in the eighth minute when Bodene Thompson burst through the line to score.
But this wasn’t going to be a run- away win and 12 minutes later Aaron Woods put a perfectly timed pass to Sauaso Sue a few metres out and Jordan Rankin kicked the subsequent conversion to make the score 6-6.
Woods, who has to be called man of the match in this game, surged over in the 24th minute to put the Tigers in front. The Warriors could have got back in it in the 31st minute when Luke put through a probing grubber kick, but Blake Ayshford slipped when trying to ground the ball and Joshua Addo-Carr forced it down.
But straight after the Warriors raced down the left edge and Solomone Kata scored and bagged another try when Simon Mannering caught a bouncing ball under the posts.
In the last minute of the half the Warriors should have been awarded four points for a stunning try to Kata, but controversially it was ruled out because a player blocked Jordan Rankin from getting to the ball carrier. The Warriors were the better side for the first 15 minutes of the second half, but couldn’t add to their score and it was Addo-Carr who scored next for the Tigers with a 90m run.
Rankin’s conversion locked the game up at 18-18 and the deadlock was broken when Tuimoala Lolohea took a pass from Shaun Johnson a metre out and ran behind the posts to put the Warriors back in front.
The end of the game was one way traffic for the Tigers though. Luke Brooks kicked a 40/20 with 10 minutes to go and from following attack Sue bagged his second try. With three minutes to go Mitchell Moses danced through the Warriors’ defence to score the Tigers’ next try and the Warriors didn’t a get a chance to regroup before Kevin Naiqama’s try put the final nail in the coffin of the Warriors’ season.