By PETER JESSUP
The Auckland Warriors panicked their way to a draw in a bizarre last 30s of their rugby league match against the Bulldogs, a game they should have taken with a well-executed field goal.
Instead, successive attempts by John Simon and Stacey Jones were charged down - Simon given the ball late with tacklers on him, Jones not set when the ball came straight to him.
Skipper Simon knew they had killed their opportunity, answering "definitely" when asked after the 18-18 result whether he thought they had blown it.
"They still need to learn as a side that they can't knock off the job," Simon said.
As usual there was a degree of refereeing and video ref controversy, but this time it was Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes who reckoned he was off to see whistlers' boss Peter Louis with a list of complaints.
Top of the list was a touchdown to wing Lee Oudenryn that gave the Warriors the lead for the first time, eight minutes after the break. The ball had been stripped by centre David Myles in a tackle that Oudenryn was in on at the start, but fell off. Folkes pointed to the law that says when two men start a tackle it remains a two-man tackle, even when one drops off.
It should have been a penalty to the Dogs, not a try to Auckland, Folkes said. Like Auckland, he will find that complaining to Louis does not get you any more points on the competition ladder.
The Warriors again showed plenty of courage to come from 0-12 down after the first quarter to go to the break at 12-12.
Where the Dogs had relied on Ricky Stuart's kicks behind the line and distribution around the ruck to score through rookie standoff Brett Sherwin then Kiwi centre Willie Talau, the Warriors went in thanks to individual brilliance from Jones, Nigel Vagana and Ali Lauiti'iti.
Lauiti'iti stepped five players, including Hasim El Masri, Brad Clyde and Jason Hetherington, as he jinked 5m to score under the bar. The 20-year-old could be the best player in the world when his defence toughens.
The Dogs went to the air again to pressure Auckland, with replacement fullback Scott Pethybridge good under the high ball, even after being briefly sidelined by a shoulder shot from Travis Norton that dislocated his jaw.
But as Jones started to run and the Warriors dominated possession, it appeared as if they had learned how to exert downward pressure when standing on the opposition's larynx.
Not so. With four minutes remaining, the mostly Canterbury supporters among the 7132 people lost in the vast Olympic Stadium set up a chant of "Bulldogs, Bulldogs" to carry their side home.
The Warriors fell off tackles, Norton fell over the line and, with Daryl Halligan kicking, the Warriors probably wanted to gift the two points and save the time.
With under a minute to go and the scores locked up, Stuart was penalised and the visitors marched into the red zone. Then came rushes of blood to the head that denied them victory.
Logan Swann has a medial ligament strain and will go to the medical team today. Joe Vagana got a bad bump to the arm but is expected to be all right. Pethybridge is just sore.
The team's completion rate is the best in the competition and easily bettered the Bulldogs' on Saturday. Oddly, the teams with lower sets-of-six completion lead the table. Maybe the Warriors need to do more with the football and risk a bit for some better returns.
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