NRL: Big four praised by coach after Warriors victory

Sam Rapira. Photo / Greg Bowker

Their value to a rugby league team can be unsung but Jacob Lillyman, Sam Rapira, Ben Matulino and Russell Packer were lauded by coach Ivan Cleary as instrumental in the Warriors win over the Bulldogs in slippery home conditions on Friday night.

The quartet drove up the park relentlessly - all but Packer notched up well over 100m with the ball in hand and there was barely an error between them - as the rain streamed into Mt Smart Stadium. Likewise the four divvied up 90 tackles evenly between them as part of a Warriors unit that gave up just a single line break.

Cleary said the work of his big men was noted. He said: "I thought that was Jake Lillyman's best game for a while, especially after the Origin series where he's done a lot of travelling and hasn't trained with us much. He's been neither here nor there. Another highlight was Sam getting some strong time in the middle [after his run of injuries]. They were excellent alongside similar performances from Rusty and Ben."

Their efforts left Bulldogs and Kiwis second-rower Frank Pritchard impressed, too. "They're hard to stop, especially Matulino and Lillyman, and they've even got another forward on the wing in Manu Vatuvei. That's a lot of big boppers to lay a platform for backs like Maloney to run the game better."

Lillyman, who seems to constantly sport a couple of drying lahars of blood across his nose, said he and Rapira spurred each other on from the bench at kickoff.

"It wasn't the best of starts when they got so much pill in the first 20 minutes but Sam and I spoke and agreed to try to bring a bit of extra energy to the mix.

"We've got a good little rotation here; we back ourselves to get on top in an arm wrestle and I can't give my three mates a big enough rap. We keep it nice and tight, allowing the boys out wide to shine.

"It helps when the back three are catching the ball ... and running it back hard."

Another area Cleary was pleased with was kick chases where the Warriors forced six line drop outs.

"It's a hard part of the game; there's not a lot of glory in it. Kevin Locke was excellent at that, forcing three himself. Nobby [Locke] hasn't always been known for his high work rate off the ball but he's getting there these days."

The Warriors also demonstrated composure to come back from being down 12-0 after 13 minutes.

Feleti Mateo and Manu Vatuvei are expected to recover from injury to play South Sydney away this week followed by Canberra at home next week.