Warriors drop out of the top eight

SYDNEY - The New Zealand Warriors blew a chance to move to sixth place on the National Rugby League standings with an 18-35 loss to the besieged North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville last night.

The Warriors instead dropped out of the top eight following a disappointing effort against the last-placed Cowboys.

The home side put aside uncertainty over their coaching future and played with far more enthusiasm and fewer errors than the Warriors in their six-tries-to-three win, their first in five matches. It was only their second-ever victory over the Warriors.

A 10-minute period of solid Cowboys attack early in the first half seemed to drain the Warriors of their energy on a warm evening.

They trailed 10-18 at halftime and never looked like closing the gap in the second spell.

The Cowboys gained an edge up front and consistently looked more dangerous when they went wide. They did not make as many basic mistakes as the Warriors' outside players.

The Warriors played best in the first five minutes and went ahead when Henry Fa'afili was put over the tryline by halfback Stacey Jones after a long build-up which involved breaks by fullback Motu Tony and hooker Monty Betham.

However, poor option-taking left them hard on defence for a long spell. After twice holding Cowboys' attackers up over the line, the Warriors finally cracked when Tony let a bomb bounce and opposite Trent Leis gladly snapped up the loose ball to run 30m and score.

Second-rower Logan Swann put the visitors back in front after a horrendous error by Leis, who failed to pick up a long kick.

However, halfback Nathan Fien and lock Glenn Morrison both took advantage of Warriors' defensive mistakes to score before the break.

Tries early in the second half to Cowboys second-rower Michael Luck and centre Paul Bowman put them in control at 28-12.

Richie Blackmore pulled a try back for the Warriors after a sizzling Clinton Toopi break but Toopi, who was shifted back to fullback in place of Tony, failed to claim a bomb which resulted in a Cowboys penalty.

A Nathan Fien field goal and Leis' second try in the final minute put the icing on the cake for the home side.

Stand-in coach Murray Hurst, who has taken over from Tim Sheens under controversial circumstances, was a happy man. "It's total elation, I'm so pleased for the players. The last two weeks have been so tumultuous."

Warriors co-captain Kevin Campion was placed on report for a high tackle on prop Michael Luck.

Warriors coach Daniel Anderson revealed his players had undergone a nightmare journey across the Tasman on Saturday.

They arrived at Auckland Airport at 10 am, but a four-hour delay there, followed by a 2 1/2-hour stopover in Brisbane, saw them arrive in Townsville at 9 pm (local time), six hours later than planned.

But he refused to use the travel hiccup as an excuse.

"We were basically outplayed in the ruck area. And our one-on-one tackling was very disappointing."

He admitted his side paid for their long period without possession early in the match and his fired-up opponents took full advantage.

Meanwhile, the Brisbane Broncos stayed within sight of leaders the Newcastle Knights after thumping the Northern Eagles 24-8 yesterday.

In slippery conditions an upset looked on at halftime when the Eagles led 6-0.

However, tries to young guns Ashley Harrison, Carl Webb and Chris Walker in the first 15 minutes of the second spell made the game safe as the home side controlled possession.

Defending champions Brisbane are second on 19 points, two behind the Knights, who were victorious 19-12 over the Penrith Panthers on Saturday.

North Queensland Cowboys 35 (Trent Leis 2, Nathan Fien, Glenn Morrison, Michael Luck, Paul Bowman tries; Leis 3 goals, Julian O'Neill 2 goals, Fien field goal) New Zealand Warriors 18 (Henry Fa'afili, Logan Swann, Richie Blackmore tries; Ivan Cleary 3 goals). Halftime: 18-10.

- NZPA