Storm stun brave Warriors
Late field goal denies upset win
For 75 minutes the injury-hit Warriors looked like pulling off the unthinkable.
Missing four first-choice players, including key duo Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Blake Green, the Warriors delivered an incredibly brave performance to lead 8-4 at halftime and hold a two-point advantage for much of the second half.
But in the end it was Melbourne, as they so often do, who came through as the Auckland club fell to an agonising 13-12 defeat in a thrilling Anzac Day clash at AAMI Park on Thursday night.
Both teams scored two tries apiece but after Cameron Munster levelled the scores through a questionable penalty with five minutes to go, Brodie Croft delivered the killer blow in the very next set with a field goal that bounced in off the posts.
There was so much to like about the Warriors’ performance, particularly on defence as they almost held on for a famous victory.
Peta Hiku filled in superbly for TuivasaSheck at fullback, as did
Tohu Harris in the halves, setting up the opening try for Adam
Blair.
Rookie halfback Chanel Harris-Tavita played beyond his years to take the reins in attack, only to fall away at the back-end of the game as he struggled with cramp.
And there were few better players on the field than debutant Patrick Herbert. Indeed, centre Solomone Kata may find it hard to get his place back in the side as Herbert tightened up the right edge defence and stopped several Storm attacking raids with some thunderous tackles.
But for all the positives, the result continues a woeful run against the Storm, who have won the last seven meetings between the clubs.
While the Warriors have now lost their last three games and will be under pressure to return the winner’s circle when they host Newcastle in 10 days’ time.
With so many changes, few gave the Warriors a hope of threatening the NRL’s leading team, but Stephen Kearney’s men had other ideas.
The start was always going to be crucial and the Warriors nailed it.
After a Harris-Tavita penalty opened the scoring, Harris took the ball to the line and produced a superb short ball to Blair running back on the angle for an 8-0 lead.
The visitors should have had another shortly after only for Blake Ayshford, whose hands let him down a couple of times in the first half, to drop the ball with the line wide open.
While the Warriors began the game full of purpose, the Storm were guilty of several uncharacteristic errors.
But they soon began to win the yardage battle on the back of Munster’s kicking game and a swarming defence.
It was Munster who got his side on the board as the five-eighth followed up his cross-field kick to receive the tap-back from Josh Addo-Carr.
It took Melbourne just three minutes to take the lead after the break courtesy of a pinpoint grubber from Cameron Smith for Jahrome Hughes, who beat Hiku to the ball to crash over.
But the Warriors refused to drop their heads.
A Suliasi Vunivalu error deep in his own half invited them back in and Hiku responded to the earlier setback with a perfect cut-out pass to send Ken Maumalo over untouched.
With more than 30 minutes to go, the Storm had more than enough time to strike back yet the Warriors continually turned them away.
The visitors’ kicking game, however, did let them down in the second half. And after absorbing a huge amount of pressure, they eventually gave way when Blair and Isaiah Papali’i were penalised at the ruck as Jesse Bromwich lost the ball.
It perhaps could have gone either way but up stepped Munster to send the penalty over from in front before Croft had the final say.