Adam Blair was impressive, sin binning aside, as the Warriors notched up their third straight NRL win after beating the Raiders 20-19. PHOTO/PHOTOSPORT.NZ
Adam Blair was impressive, sin binning aside, as the Warriors notched up their third straight NRL win after beating the Raiders 20-19. PHOTO/PHOTOSPORT.NZ
An early sin-binning to new recruit Adam Blair was a minor blip on possibly the Warriors' best performance in recent memory as they came from behind to beat the Raiders 20-19.
The Warriors were down 19-12 with just four minutes left on the clock but an Issac Luke try anda pair of field goals from Shaun Johnson saw them home to leave them unbeaten after three rounds for the first time ever.
Things started roughly for the Warriors as they conceded six penalties in the opening seven minutes in Canberra.
To compound issues, new recruit Blair was given an early 10 minute break after making a late hit on Raiders standoff Aidan Sezer.
The Panguru product hit Sezer with a shoulder charge squarely in the back, earning himself a trip to the sin bin.
The result was their second away win following their round one triumph over Souths in Perth and last week's home victory over the Titans, while the luckless Raiders remain winless to start their campaign following consecutive 30-28 defeats to the Titans and Knights over the past fortnight.
The win also ends the Warriors' four-game losing run against Canberra and gives them just their fourth win in 16 visits to the Australian capital.
Blair has been slapped with a grade one dangerous contact charge but despite having a prior non-similar offence in the last two years, will be free to play next weekend with an early guilty plea.
Warriors coach Stephen Kearney did not think Blair had a case to answer.
"The (penalty) where he got sent to the bin was off the back of a number of penalties that we had against us," said Kearney.
"What's Adam supposed to do? I tell my players that the halves are very dangerous, that they show the footy a lot, and I don't want them sneaking through the defensive line.
