NRL: Stacey Jones field goal tops off Warriors fightback

The Warriors congratulate Stacey Jones after kicking the winning fled goal. Photo / Getty Images.

A Stacey Jones field goal allowed the New Zealand Warriors to snatch a 17-16 golden point victory in a National Rugby League match against the Sydney City Roosters today.

The Warriors looked set for a fourth consecutive loss after they were down 0-16 at halftime after conceding three tries.

But they dominated the second half, scoring three tries of their own to level the scores after 80 minutes, and a Jones field goal with 35 seconds left in the first period of extra time got his home team through.

Warriors utility Lance Hohaia twice went close to scoring in the first 10 minutes before the Roosters who recorded the first points after 18min when Sia Soliola strolled over the tryline on the right.

Five minutes later the Roosters were 10-0 up after loose forward Shane Shackleton ran on to a pass from Braith Anasta which looked forward.

The Warriors had a couple of opportunities before the break but bad handling let them down, and the Roosters made them pay 4min from halftime when Mitchell Pearce strode through some weak defence to score.

Craig Fitzgibbon's conversion made it 16-0 to the Roosters.

The Warriors did not look to have much spark at the beginning of the second half but they got on the board 12min into the spell when Jones completed a simple double-around move with Jacob Lillyman to score near the goalposts.

Denan Kemp's conversion made the score 16-6, and the margin came back to six points when Jerome Ropati dived on a ball after Manu Vatuvei had contested a bomb with 19min remaining.

The Warriors went back to the bomb with 10min to go, Vatuvei this time scoring in the left corner after the ball came loose.

Kemp could not convert, but he was able to level the match with a penalty 5min before the end of regulation time.

Hohaia narrowly missed a field goal attempt with 2min remaining but he helped get his team on attack in extra time when forcing Roosters fullback Sam Perrett over the sideline and Jones made no mistake with his field goal attempt from close range.

New Zealand Warriors 17 (Stacey Jones, Jerome Ropati, Manu Vatuvei tries; Denan Kemp 2 goals, Jones field goal) Sydney City Roosters 16 (Sia Soliola, Shane Shackleton, Mitchell Wallace tries; Craig Fitzgibbon 2 goals) after extra time. Halftime 0-16. Fulltime 16-16.

- NZPA