KEY POINTS:
Warriors 31
Roosters 31
The Warriors and Roosters fought to an extra-time stand-still draw in the NRL's match-of-the-year in Sydney yesterday.
The ball was hardly ever dropped, and both sides employed high speed attack, producing top-quality, heart-stopping football.
In the lead-up to the playoffs, both teams would have
worried the other 14 with their clinical ability to score and their outstanding defence.
And their stamina.
The Warriors drop a place to fifth on the competition ladder, but can look with confidence to their remaining games, against the Titans at Mt Smart next week, then the Raiders, Eagles and Panthers.
At Aussie Stadium yesterday, they proved their ability to come from behind, to compete with a team on a roll, to respond to changes of momentum and to tough out for not only 80 minutes but 90.
It was just the test they needed.
There were scintillating support-play tries and hard-grafted set-play ones.
There were dubious refereeing calls, which damaged both teams. The penalty count was questionable - the Roosters getting eight against the Warriors' two - as was the late send-off of Simon Mannering.
But the outcome was just, as Roosters star Craig Wing agreed afterwards: "As disappointing as it is, I suppose a draw is the fair result."
It was the NRL's seventh tie after 90 minutes since the two extra periods of golden-point time were introduced in 2003.
In their three games before this, the Warriors have streaked away to a big lead and not been headed.
This time they were the ones pressured early - the Roosters held all the ball and scored at six, 12 and 20 minutes as they worked holes in the Warriors' defence.
At 16-0 down, the Warriors retained composure beautifully. Epalahame Lauaki came off the interchange bench like a human wrecking ball, flinging tacklers around and taking a big hand in a change of lead through tries to Wade McKinnon - scooting away for try seven from seven games - Jerome Ropati and Lauaki himself.
The home crowd was drowned out by a "Warriors" chant, and a Michael Witt goal sent the team into the interval 18-16 ahead.
At quarter-time the Roosters had enjoyed 14 sets of six to seven.
By the break, each team had had the ball 14 times.
The Roosters had made only one mistake and the Warriors two - a perfect advert for daytime football.
This was one of the best 40 minutes of the season. Surely it couldn't continue at this pace?
It did, and for all 90 minutes.
THE STATS
Warriors
Penalties - 2
Completed sets - 30/34
Tackles - 335
Missed tackles - 26
Line breaks - 6
Off-loads - 15
Errors - 12
Roosters
Penalties - 8
Completed sets - 31/36
Tackles - 331
Missed tackles - 29
Line breaks - 8
Off-loads - 6
Errors - 12
