Round 15
Warriors 30 d. Knights 18

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Warriors make it back to back wins
Sun June 18, 2006
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Nathan Fien's first half double put the Vodafone Warriors on course to complete a 2006 home-and-away double when they beat Newcastle in their NRL match at Ericsson Stadium on Sunday.

Hooker Fien surged over from dummy half in the 13th minute and backed up for his second in the 30th minute after an Awen Guttenbeil bust had set Brent Webb free.

Leading 14-6 at halftime the Vodafone Warriors, who beat the Knights 26-22 at Energy Australia Stadium in April, went on with it in the second half. Tries came from Sione Faumuina, Jerome Ropati and captain Steve Price, taking them out to a commanding 30-10 lead with 18 minutes still to play.

Newcastle finished the match with late tries to Todd Lowrie and Aucklander George Carmont to trim the margin but the Vodafone Warriors prevailed to record just their second win in 10 matches against the Knights in Auckland.

It was also the home side's second instance of back-to-back wins this season, this success coming after last Sunday's 22-12 win over the Sydney Roosters. Ironically the Knights were also the second leg of the club's only other instance of two wins on end this season, that coming after the round three win against Wests Tigers was followed by the win in Newcastle.

The most poignant try was Price's effort in the 62nd minute when Fien put him through a gaping hole. Price's mother Margaret had travelled from Australia to watch her son play his 250th first-grade game and he obliged by crossing for the 25th try of his career, a strike rate of precisely one try for every 10 matches. He's doing better than that in 2006. The try was his third in 12 matches.

There was also plenty of quality in the tries scored by Faumuina and Ropati.

Faumuina's was critical to the Vodafone Warriors' plans, coming just nine minutes into the second half. Halfback Grant Rovelli slipped through a perfectly weighted grubber kick behind the Newcastle defensive line, Faumuina timing his run ideally to collect for a four-pointer which Tony Martin converted to stretch the lead to 20-6.

Only eight minutes later, Ropati took on the Knights' left-hand side, slipping past Andrew Johns' tackle and scorching 40 metres for a superb try. With his two first half tries, Fien took his tally to three in two games, four for the season.

The win was the Vodafone Warriors' sixth of the season and their third at home. It also followed the home-and-away double completed eearlier in the season against 2005 premiers Wests Tigers.

The Knights, who came into the match off a bye, have now lost their last three matches which has seen them slip to fifth on the table with 18 points.

The Vodafone Warriors now have a six wins-eight losses record.

Report source: www.warriors.co.nz

Advanced Search