Rugby League: Warriors name finally fits

By Peter Jessup

No Pongia, no Kearney, no Ridge, no Hoppe, no Eru. Two internationals sold, three others injured and three more regular first-graders on the sideline.

But the Warriors are finally living up to their moniker. They turned up to Brookvale yesterday with enough new stuff to stuff the Sea Eagles well and truly, the 36-10 scoreline flattering a flat-footed home side.

The Warriors' second away win matched their record in Australia for all of 1998 (Canterbury and Melbourne).

They played like professionals, while Manly looked like a schoolboy side.

There were a number of heroes, but you couldn't go past skipper Stacey Jones, told on Saturday night that Matthew Ridge's groin haematoma had not healed sufficiently to allow him to play.

It was Jones who made the breaks, placed the kicks with cruise missile accuracy, scored the first of the Warriors' seven tries, beat attackers back to loose balls over their own goal.

It is a wonder his drop kick attempt missed on a day when everything else he touched turned to gold.

The Warriors went out with a plan from co-coach Mike McClennan to target the shaky Manly halves and bomb flaky-under-the-high-ball Albert Torrens. Both strategies paid dividends. So did working the big forwards in the backline.

The Warriors forwards beat Manly's up. They beat them on yardage, on completed sets of six, on tackling, on ball skills.

Coach Mark Graham, after conceding it was "the Stacey Jones show for a while out there," lauded the pack's effort. Terry Hermansson got 10m every time it was needed, 22 hit-ups for a total 107m gain. And Jason Death gave good variation at dummy-half.

Logan Swann and Tony Tuimavave led the defence that produced many of Manly's numerous turnovers.

If you had to name a best forward maybe it was Brady Malam, who made 22 tackles by halftime and a game-topping 29, along with off-loads and quick play-the-balls.

And out back Shane Endacott was solid, winger Odell Manuel big and hard on attack, while Gene Ngamu backed up from a win with Auckland North over Waikato on Friday night with a performance that might prompt Graham to threaten him with the axe every weekend.

Rookie Cliff Beverley passed his first-grade test with flying colours, snaffling an early high ball that arrived with kicker Craig Field's shoulder a split-second behind, cleaning up a grubber to save a try and keeping his composure on the Manly line to set up Death for a deserved try.

Graham said that should Ali Lauitiiti's ankle strain not repair for the next assignment against Sydney City back home next Sunday, he will go back to the local competition to seek further talent.

Graham was his usual staunch, stoical self afterwards, and if the team take his lead they will go back to work this week heads up with confidence but noses to the grindstone, full of the knowledge it's three down and 23 to go.

But it was a great win, one that deserves another 20,000-plus backing at Ericsson for Quentin Pongia's welcome home.

Why mention the bad refereeing?

Auckland 36 (Stacey Jones, Jason Death, Joe Vagana, Odell Manuel, Logan Swann, Nigel Vagana, Bryan Henare tries, Jones 3, Ngamu con) Manly 10 (Andrew Frew, Jim Serdaris tries, Frew con). Halftime 18-4.