Knights 24
Warriors 22
A third straight loss for the Warriors should give no great cause for concern, given the way they improved against the Knights, the speed of the game in Newcastle yesterday and the fact they can expect significant firepower back from injury next weekend.
Down 14-6 and then 24-12, they never
stopped trying.
Their completion rate was good, the kicking game was longer and the chase better. They seized their opportunities as they came.
There was just one area of concern - the way they dropped off at the back end of the first half, allowing the Knights to score two tries through right wing James McManus simply by moving the ball quickly.
There was a bright light for the Kiwis. The Newcastle centre Junior Sau may have only 17 NRL games behind him but he shapes as the likely replacement for Steve Matai should the Manly star be unavailable for the test against Australia in Brisbane on May 9.
Sau, 22 and Auckland born, played for Logan Brothers in the Brisbane competition before shifting to coal town and has been playing with strength and power that make him hard to stop and vicious on defence, much like Matai. He scored twice on debut against the Bulldogs in mid-2008, ended the season with seven tries in 12 games and has been a regular this season.
Warriors coach Ivan Cleary was disappointed at the down swing in momentum when his starters were replaced, and the lack of concentration that allowed the Knights to score tries on the last tackle yesterday, especially late in the first 40 minutes.
"We had good periods of the game, but there's a few guys dropping off at vital times. That's what cost us last week and it cost us again here and that's what we need to address," Cleary said.
"We're not playing the full 80 minutes - or not everyone is - and when we slip up we get punished."
The Warriors again faced a side that kicked long and preferred to kick dead than let Wade McKinnon run the ball back at them.
The fullback is their only injury concern, going off with a hamstring twinge late in the game, but in first diagnosis it was not thought to be serious.
Both teams turned on great attack and defence through the first 30 minutes and each scored through one chance, a chance created by the genius playmaker in each. It was Newcastle fullback Kurt Gidley who turned what appeared to be a right-side attacking move inside, sending hooker Isaac De Gois in.
When Joel Moon made a big break to clear field and Gidley was forced up to tackle him, Stacey Jones kicked to the empty space at the back and McKinnon was first to the ball.
Then the Warriors drifted off and the score drifted out to 14-6 at the break.
"I was very disappointed with that," Cleary said. "We should have gone into half-time just two points down."
Ben Matulino made an earlier-than-expected return from an ankle problem and stood out for his flying hit on Matt Hilder and a kick and regather that led to a try for Nathan Fien two plays later.
Perhaps fatigue played a part when Stacey Jones knocked on a perfectly good pass, a very rare event. After the turnover the Knights scored through wing Keith Lulia, who had been targeted by the Warriors all afternoon and certainly looked shaky but was never breached.
Jones was rested before coming back on in the last 11 minutes to drive them to within two points.
"Definitely there was a fatigue factor out there. It was hot and the ground was heavy," Cleary said. But they had made too many errors all round.
When Ian Henderson took a quick tap from a penalty the Knights were caught napping and Russell Packer got his second try this season after scoring last weekend. Inexplicably, Denan Kemp missed the easy conversion.
Cleary said: "We're making errors and we're not getting any luck. We need to make our own luck."
He is hopeful captain Steve Price and big wing Manu Vatuvei will have recovered from injuries before next weekend's game against the Roosters at Mt Smart.
Utility Lance Hohaia, who extended his contract through 2012 at the weekend, is expected to take longer for his knee to repair.
