Warriors 12
Panthers 6
The New Zealand Warriors redefined the meaning of bravery in defence by tackling their way to a gritty 12-6 National Rugby League (NRL) win over the high-flying Penrith Panthers yesterday.
They tackled themselves to a standstill in a scoreless second half to repulse wave after wave of Panthers attacks on
Penrith's home ground in Sydney.
The Warriors spent the vast bulk of the half stuck inside their own 20, repeatedly turning back concerted Penrith raids to earn a result which thrust them from ninth to sixth place on the NRL standings.
Penrith were heavily favoured to pick up maximum points, after belting the Warriors 40-12 in Auckland on April 18.
But to a man, the Auckland-based team refused to let the second-placed Panthers through although the home side did not help themselves with a one-dimensional attack which placed too much emphasis on aerial bombs.
Halfback Luke Walsh peppered the Warriors' back three on numerous occasions but, apart from one spilled ball from fullback Jerome Ropati, the Warriors held firm.
The visitors' cause was also not helped by a lopsided penalty count, with the Panthers earning 11 penalties to the Warriors' three, prompting skipper Simon Mannering to speak to referee Shayne Hayne on more than one occasion to seek clarification.
Warriors second rower Micheal Luck admitted his teammates did it particularly tough in the second half when they sighted little possession of their own and were forced to tackle for their supper.
"I was very, very proud of the boys. We seemed to be defending our line for the entire last 20," Luck told Radio Sport.
"We have been working on that (defence). It is not a fluke. They're a good side, Penrith"
By the end the Panthers had no answers, despite having forced 59 tackles in the opposition 20 compared to just eight by the Warriors.
The match degenerated into a war of attrition for the Warriors after halftime, by which stage they were arguably unfortunate not to lead by more than 12-6.
They had much the better of the first spell, dominating for at least 30 minutes as they maintained the type of form which had seen them win their previous three matches.
Only two tries went their way during this period, although it could have been more.
They certainly made the stronger start to lead 12-0 after 25 minutes after tries to five-eighth James Maloney and big winger Manu Vatuvei.
Maloney finished off a break by Lewis Brown in the 16th minute after the centre sold a midfield dummy, then Vatuvei showed his instincts are as sharp as ever to chase an Isaac John bomb, retrieve the ball running at full pace and dive over untouched. It represented Vatuvei's 11th try in 10 matches this season.
The Panthers finally awoke in the latter stages of the spell and responded two minutes from the break when fullback Lachlan Coote crossed for a try after centre Michael Jennings and interchange forward Daine Laurie kept the ball alive in heavy traffic.
The Warriors' next match is against Melbourne Storm in Auckland on Saturday night.
- NZPA