Warriors nick an NRL point despite a string of errors against Manly in 22-22 deadlock
ANALYSIS: The Warriors made a string of mistakes which should have proved too great to overcome.
But Manly made the most costly one that led to a share of the points in their NRL Round Six clash in Auckland yesterday evening.
The hosts trailed by 16 points in the first half, and were still eight down with just 70 seconds remaining, when winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scored what felt like a consolation try, which Shaun Johnson converted.
Johnson missed a desperate last-second attempt at a two-point field goal to level the scores, but Manly forward
Josh Aloiai was penalised after a bunker review for making contact with Johnson’s leg after the kick - even if the visitors could have argued the Warriors star was equally responsible for the minor collision through the momentum of his kicking leg.
The halfback kicked the resulting penalty with time up to send the encounter into a Golden Point period, which proved to be a stalemate that ensured a 22-22 draw.
It was a home game the New Zealand Warriors were more than capable of winning, so the end of their three-match winning run should ensure a sharper focus when they travel to meet the Dragons on Friday night.
And while the Sea Eagles were never going to be a pushover after defeating three-time defeating champions Penrith in the previous round, the hosts were chiefly their own worst enemy.
Aside from a brilliant run for a try which opened up the hope of a comeback triumph, Johnson was outshine by opposing playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans, who notched two tries and ended with 14 points.
Johnson also fluffed a relatively simple second-half conversion that ultimately proved costly in his side’s quest for victory.
The hosts were always having to start deep in their own half with possession, as Cherry-Evans pinned them in constantly as Manly chalked up 386 kick metres in the first 40 minutes and ended with a whopping 819.
The veteran, who played a record-breaking 310th NRL match for Manly last weekend, was also in the right position to seemingly quell any faint hope of a late charge by the Warriors, until Watene-Zelezniak struck to set up the nerve-jangling finish.
The mistakes began early, when Roger Tuiavasa-Sheck took his eyes off the ball and spilled a pass in his 201st NRL match.
That, and a drop from Jackson Ford on attack, would have encouraged the visitors, who took the lead when Johnson missed a tackle when Corey Waddell ran onto a short ball.
The tale of woe multiplied when Wade Egan knocked back a Hail Mary pass from a falling Tom Trbojevic, and it nutmegged Tohu Harris before Cherry-Evans pounced on it in-goal for the opening try.
The Warriors constantly sought to make busts in the middle of the park - a feature of last weekend’s win over the Rabbitohs - but were well controlled by Manly, and Johnson’s attacking kicks at the end of sets rarely allowed his chasers to contest.
That’s been a deliberate tactic seen often this season from yesterday’s hosts, but it didn’t often peg Manly deep as intended.
From another unchallenged take, the Sea Eagles made quick ground forward and found the hosts lacking numbers in defence on their right flank, before winger Tommy Talau’s smart in-field grubber set up Cherry-Evans’ second try.
When Watene-Zelezniak lost the the ball running into three defenders, and then came in off his wing with the defence scrambling and left ample room for Talau to touch down, it seemed a fourth win on the trot for the Warriors was already out of reach.
Winger Marcelo Montoya was far too optimistic trying to score in the corner from 15 metres out, being easily closed down by Ben Trbojevic after the half-hour, and there was a palpable sense of desperation from players and fans before Jazz Tevaga got the Warriors on the board after 35 minutes.
Tevaga hobbled off a minute later after being injured in his resulting carry from the kick-off, before Charnze Nicoll-Klostad needlessly kicked ahead after a sizzling break with a minute still to play and tackles in hand.
Yet when Watene-Zelezniak read a Luke Brooks pass perfectly to intercept and race away in the dying seconds, somehow the hosts headed to the sheds at the break trailing by only six.
That deficit was doubled four minutes into the second stanza when a defensive mis-read saw Cherry-Evans put Ben Trbojevic in untouched.
There were signs the hosts were starting to find cracks up the middle and when they did break through, Johnson provided the elusiveness and pace to score his side’s third try - only to miss a conversion he should have added.
Mitch Barnett’s key tackles - two on defence, one to force a Sea Eagles dropout - helped the home side’s late resurgence and was a rare bright spot, but utility bench Tevaga will miss games with a hamstring injury.