League: Second half surge carries Warriors to first home win

A dominant second half carried the New Zealand Warriors to a 46-14 win over South Sydney in Auckland today and their first home victory of the National Rugby League season.

In a sometimes scrappy encounter, the Warriors showed strong defence and glimpses of sparkling attacking play on the way to notching up five tries to nil in the second spell.

The result maintained the Warriors' winning run against the Rabbitohs, with the sequence now at eight in a row since 1999.

It was also the Warriors' first home success since they beat the same opponents at Ericsson Stadium last July.

Souths scored first through winger Brad Watts picking up the scraps after Warrior Jerome Ropati dropped a bomb.

Ropati was the subject of a late pre-match positional change, moving from his favoured five-eighth spot to fullback for the second weekend in a row because injury to Brent Webb.

The home side hit back with a dummy half's try from hooker Nathan Fien, but paid for another mistake straight the restart.

Prop Iafeta Paleaaesina dropped the ball in a tackle and from the ensuing possession, Rabbitoh lock Ashley Harrison went through some weak tackling to dot down.

The Warriors then produced a rare dash of razzle dazzle, with a length-of-the-field attack ending in skipper Steve Price's well-timed pass to send lock Monty Betham over.

Stacey Jones' conversion put them in front 12-10 and they went further ahead when a break by five-eighth Lance Hohaia handed second rower Wairangi Koopu an opening.

Koopu, who turned 25 yesterday, gave himself a belated birthday present with a sharp turn of speed over 40m to score by the posts.

However, late in the first half, South came back with a try to Luke MacDougall that featured a bizarre moment.

MacDougall scrambled over in the corner before losing the ball, which was picked up by Ropati, who ambled unopposed to the other end of the field to dot down.

Referee Russell Smith, not certain if MacDougall had grounded the ball properly, had allowed play to continue before consulting video official Mick Stone for a decision on which try should stand.

Up 20-14 halftime, the Warriors took a grip on the game 10 minutes into the restart when another long-range attack was finished off by Jones.

There was more for the 9751 crowd to shout about three minutes later when interchange winger Manu Vatuvei pulled in a Fien bomb for his first try for the Warriors.

Next, it was the turn of another bench player, forward Awen Guttenbeil, to slice through a big hole to score.

Winger Todd Byrne and centre Clinton Toopi, in his 100th first-grade appearance, also crossed for the Warriors to blow out the scoreboard.

Souths finished the stronger of the two sides but the Warriors' defence didn't buckle in the closing stages.

The Warriors had earlier had to reshuffle their line-up after the withdrawal of teenage centre Simon Mannering, as well as Webb, through injury.

Mannering, 18, missed out on making his NRL debut because of a foot problem, while Webb was sidelined with a continuing back complaint.

- NZPA