The New Zealand Warriors fell to their third National Rugby League defeat in a row tonight as they went down to the Canberra Raiders 23-16 in the Auckland rain.
The Warriors paid for another slow start and found themselves behind 16-0 at halftime, the fourth time in five matches that
they have been held scoreless in the opening spell.
Canberra, who threw away an 18-point halftime lead last week to be run down by South Sydney, avoided a similar fate this time around, holding off a revival by the home side in the third quarter.
It was a notable result for the injury-hit Raiders, who grabbed their first victory at Mt Smart Stadium since 2001 despite having 11 players out and fielding a side with plenty of changes from the one originally named.
The Warriors made a horror start, gifting the Raiders the opening try after 11 minutes.
Fullback Lance Hohaia was running back the ball from near his own goalline when he threw a pass that went to ground.
While the ball bounced between Patrick Ah Van and James Maloney, Canberra winger Drury Low swooped to collect and stroll to line.
Up 6-0, the visitors, led by a big forward pack, began to dominate possession and territory, forcing the Warriors to use up plenty of energy as their tackle count mounted.
The pressure told in the 17th minute, with prop David Shillington crashing over and five-eighth Terry Campese adding his second conversion.
There was worse for the home side just three minutes later, when Campese put impressive young fullback Josh Dugan in space.
Dugan broke clear before throwing a long crossfield pass that found an unmarked Low, who crossed in the corner.
Down 16-0, the Warriors had to show plenty of defensive grit over the remainder of the half, at one stage holding out for four successive sets after a Campese 40-20 kick.
The Warriors finally got on the scoreboard three minutes after the break, with interchange forward Ukuma Ta'ai breaking through two tacklers to dot down.
From there, the Warriors started to build pressure, as they improved their ball security and their forwards began making some big runs.
Midway through the half came the try of the match, with Maloney showing great vision with a crosskick that found an isolated Ah Van on the sideline.
Ah Van in his first NRL appearance of the season, dived to gather and score.
However, Canberra hit back minutes later with Kiwis second rower Bronson Harrison producing a one-handed offload that sent centre Joel Thompson over.
Campese added the extras to take the score to 22-10, before halfback Marc Herbert landed a field goal with nine minutes to go.
There was a late consolation for the Warriors with a run by hooker Ian Henderson ending with centre Brent Tate scoring.
- NZPA
The Raiders' Josh Dugan takes on Brent Tate of the Warriors. Photo / NZPA
The New Zealand Warriors fell to their third National Rugby League defeat in a row tonight as they went down to the Canberra Raiders 23-16 in the Auckland rain.
The Warriors paid for another slow start and found themselves behind 16-0 at halftime, the fourth time in five matches that
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