Rugby League: Losing virus bewitches Warriors again

By PETER JESSUP

They still have the mystery virus.

How else can you explain the Auckland Warriors rugby league team's penchant for losing?

They surrendered a good early lead over Penrith on Saturday, came back after the break to lead again, then went out of their way to find some way to devalue their effort in going down 24-31.

It was a far better display than the debacle at Canberra, but problems that have been there for seasons persist.

There were the usual questionable refereeing decisions. The best example was when prop Joe Vagana appeared to suffer a crisis of confidence and power loss after being called for using an elbow when he had not, referee Mogsheen Jadwat's bad call giving Penrith an easy two points and the ball back.

But you would have thought the Warriors would have learned to accept such decisions, and the bad plays of their fellows, and get back on defence.

Instead, they were repeatedly stunned by the quick response of the Panthers.

Three times the Warriors turned the ball back to the opposition on the first tackle.

The midfield remains confused, with Scott Pethybridge struggling to find the combination that Nigel Vagana had with Logan Swann down the left side. Pethybridge is hampered by a virus which is sapping his energy, and will go for blood tests this week.

Indecision under the high ball continues to plague the back three.

The statistics clearly show where the Warriors lost a game that produced equal possession for each side, 38 sets of six.

The Warriors managed 71 per cent ball control, lost the ball eight times in their own half and missed 7 per cent of their tackles.

Penrith dropped the ball five times in their own half, built an 81 per cent completion rate and missed only 4 per cent of their tackles.

There were some bright spots for Auckland.

They had some go-forward that allowed John Simon to get his kicking game back to his best, half Ben Lythe moved about with more confidence, especially in the second half, and Swann and Robert Mears maintained good work rates.

The rest of the team need to fire with the enthusiasm Jason Death, Mears and Tony Tuimavave show week-in, week-out.

Coach Mark Graham was far happier yesterday than he had been on Tuesday.

"I'm proud of the way they came back [after the Canberra game]," he said. "It's a long road to recovery after something like that but we're on the way.

"The effort was there at Penrith. It was intensity that let us down now and again."

Graham agreed there had been contentious decisions but said it would be counter-productive to focus on those. The team knew they had let Penrith get back in the game when they should have put them away.

Centre Ivan Cleary may be out for up to three weeks after he dislocated a shoulder in a hell-for-leather dive for the Warriors' third try.

The shoulder was popped back in at the game but a specialist's report is required today.

Lythe, worked over in the usual professionals' welcome for new boys, had stitches in his back and came home with a bulging cheek and ripped lip.

The Warriors' feeder club, Newtown, were beaten 28-16 by Sydney City, Mark Tookey going well after a slow start and Lee Oudenryn returning a safe game, but scholarship player Shontayne Hape rated the best.

Brisbane Souths, with another four Warriors playing, lost their first game of the season, to Brisbane feeder Toowoomba.