League: Little men walk tall but brave Warriors fall short once more

Cowboys 24 Warriors 16

The Warriors' top eight hopes took a tumble when they lost to the Cowboys last night. The Auckland-based team are known for being inconsistent but took it to the extreme, going from the sublime to the ridiculous in a matter of one set of six to lose this crucial clash at the death.

After playing their best football against the Broncos last weekend, the Warriors struggled to get early momentum against the Origin-depleted Cowboys.

Five frontline Cowboys backs, Matt Bowen, Ty Williams, Paul Bowman, Matt Sing and Johnathan Thurston, were in camp with the Maroons but the home side's forward pack got their finals campaign back on track after losing their last two.

While most of the Warriors side were lacklustre, it was the little men - Nathan Fien, Lance Hohaia and Stacey Jones - who led the effort to keep the finals hopes alive.

The Cowboys began in helter-skelter fashion, with hooker David Faiumu dancing through flimsy defence from several of the Warriors forwards to score under the posts.

Faiumu, a former Junior Kiwi in his debut NRL season at North Queensland, took the ball to the line before delivering a deft chip kick for flier Rod Jensen to pounce on for the Cowboys to lead by 10-0 in as many minutes.

Some razzle-dazzle brought the Warriors back into the match. Fien, against his old team-mates, shrugged off a couple of tacklers and then threw a brilliant pass that Manu Vatuvei gathered to score in the corner.

Fien continued to cut capers, only to be ankle-tapped in open space. A repeat set followed and the elusive stand-off, through great sleight of hand, put Wairangi Koopu over the line.

Hohaia made a ghosting run that freed a rampaging Ruben Wiki to score.

Backing up Wiki, in Iafeta Paleaaesina's customary impact role, was Richard Villasanti, who gave the visitors some much needed go-forward ball.

The arm wrestle up front continued and Cowboys pressure stretched the Warriors until Josh Hannay cleverly tipped on a pass for Neil Sweeney to score. Hannay missed the kick for the Cowboys to trail by two points at 16-14.

Back on attack, the Warriors dropped possession and Maroons fullback Matt Bowen's cousin, Brenton Bowen, broke out and found Jensen inside for a double to regain the lead.

With only two points in it, the final 10 minutes were frantic. The Warriors were unlucky to have a try disallowed by the video referee at the death, before Sweeney bagged a double and the match for the Cowboys.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs' mini resurgence halted last night as the Melbourne Storm came home strongly to beat the reigning premiers 33-6 in their NRL clash at the Sydney Showground.

Centre Greg Inglis and Queensland reject Billy Slater each scored doubles as the Storm remained in the top eight, while the Bulldogs continue to sit on the fringe of the playoffs with their first loss in four weeks.

Another top-eight contender, the Roosters, beat the Knights 28-14 to strengthen their chances of finals football. The Warriors' hopes seem to be fading.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY