League: Frustrating farewell with three no tries

Stacey Jones is farewelled from the playing field for the last time at Ericsson Stadium on Saturday night. Picture / Kenny Rodger

Knights 16 Warriors 4

Ericsson Stadium was the Heartbreak Hotel for the Warriors after defeat by the Newcastle Knights but oddly there was something more like a sense of relief afterwards from departing hero Stacey Jones and under-pressure coach Tony Kemp.

Jones had crossed the Knights' line twice, only to have the touchdowns disallowed by the video referee Steve Nash while a third chance was called short.

That had Kemp vowing to take up with the referees boss Robert Finch today the officials' habit of dissecting Warriors tries but not studying those of others so closely.

Jones played a huge hand in his last game on Ericsson turf but after setting up first points for big wing Manu Vatuvai with a chip kick at the 17th minute he couldn't win a trick.

And in the end it was his opposite, Andrew Johns, of course, who cut up the Warriors to set up three tries in the space of seven minutes in the last quarter of the game to turn a 4-0 deficit to convincing victory.

A cool, dew-free night belonged to the team's star and the pre-match build-up included midgets games from his old juniors clubs Pt Chevalier and Ponsonby and former schoolmate Che Fu performing a specially Jones-altered set. While the Knights warmed up on the field, the big screen showed clips of some of Jones' 74 tries for the Auckland club.

He thought it should have been at least 76. He thought he'd scored under the posts in the 57th minute - but Nash thought Awen Guttenbeil had interfered with a tackler attempting to get to Jones and disallowed it. Just prior to that referee Jason Robinson thought Jones had been tackled short, a decision the halfback accepted. But in the first half there'd been another 50/50 call when opposing centres Simon Mannering and Dustin Cooper wrestled for the ball and it sprang free, Jones scooping it up and scooting over near the posts. Nash thought Mannering had tackled Cooper early and a penalty was awarded to the Knights.

More galling was a touchdown to Louis Anderson just before the break, when a high ball from Sione Faumuina went loose.

After replays of the contest for the ball in the air and acceptance it was touched by the Knights, Nash went on to check the grounding several times then denied the points in what appeared to be the classic case of death by slo-mo: If you look hard enough for long enough, you'll find something.

For the Warriors, who were fired up to give Jones a winning send-off, it was a repeat playing of the script that has haunted them all year - points up, decisions and plays going against them, then mistakes coming into their game and the opposition building to kill them off in the last 20 minutes.

Both teams played nervously in front of the 17,356 at Ericsson and there were plenty of mistakes, balls passed over the sideline, kicks out on the full, knock-ons and bumbled plays from both.

It was the Warriors' 10th loss by 10 or fewer points, which is said by some to be sign they are improving because they don't give up and get thrashed, but by others that they still do not know how to finish off.

Jones was frustrated but not despondent afterwards. He'd enjoyed the week of celebrity status in the build-up despite the onerous task of media and public appearances.

"It's been a busy week but it was really enjoyable. I thought the boys were ready to play, we so wanted to win this game. It's a little bit sad to go out on this note but I've really enjoyed playing at this club."

Kemp said he'd wake up with a smile because Jones had paid him the ultimate compliment during the build-up, in saying that the 2005 season was the most enjoyable of his 11 at the Warriors.

And he'd also wake up with a smile regardless of what happened in his coaching future because he felt he had put the club back on the rails. He understood the frustration of the public because they had not made the playoff eight. But steps had been made towards an improved record no matter who led the team next season.