The Vodafone Junior Warriors will have to beat Brisbane in Townsville on Saturday to keep their 2015 NYC finals campaign on track.
The seventh-placed Vodafone Junior Warriors stayed alive with a deserved 32-22 elimination final win over the Sydney Roosters on Friday night, earning them a week two semi-final against the loser of the qualifying final between top four sides North Queensland and Brisbane.
The Cowboys prevailed 36-24 to advance to week three.
The venues for the week two NYC finals are determined by the results in the NRL play-offs.
The Cowboys, beaten by the Broncos, will host one NRL semi-final against the Cronulla Sharks – who eliminated South Sydney today – and the Roosters, who lost to Melbourne on Friday, stage the other one against Canterbury-Bankstown which ended St George Illawarra’s campaign.
In the NYC semi-finals, the Broncos take on the Vodafone Junior Warriors at 1300SMILES Stadium in Townsville on Saturday (5.00pm kick-off local time) while the other all-Sydney match-up between Manly and Wests Tigers kicks off at 5.15pm local time at Allianza Stadium.
The Vodafone Junior Warriors met the Broncos only once in the regular season, winning 40-14 in Auckland in March but Brisbane went on to finish the regular season in third spot.
Last week’s win over the Roosters was the Vodafone Junior Warriors’ 16th in 21 finals games since 2008.
NRL AND NYC FINALS SERIES
Friday, September 18
Allianz Stadium
NRL Semi-final | (1) Sydney Roosters v (5) Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, 7.55pm
NYC Semi-final | (4) Manly Sea Eagles v (5) Wests Tigers, 5.15pm
Saturday, September 19
1300SMILES Stadium
NRL Semi-final | (3) North Queensland Cowboys v (6) Cronulla Sharks, 7.40pm
NYC Semi-final | (3) Brisbane Broncos v (7) Vodafone Warriors, 5.00pm
VODAFONE JUNIOR WARRIORS – NYC FINALS RECORD
2008
St George Illawarra | Won 47-20
Penrith | Won 38-4
Brisbane | Lost 26-28
2009
St George Illawarra | Lost 24-48
2010
Manly | Won 25-22
Canterbury-Bankstown | Won 23-16
South Sydney | Won 42-28 (grand final)
2011
Newcastle | Won 54-6
Canterbury-Bankstown | Won 64-0
North Queensland | Won 31-30 (grand final)
2012
Canberra | Lost 38-39
Sydney Roosters | Lost 10-26
2013
South Sydney | Won 20-18
Sydney Roosters | Won 58-6
Canterbury-Bankstown | Won 54-38
Penrith | Lost 30-42 (grand final)
2014
Sydney Roosters | Won 44-30
Newcastle | Won 23-16
Parramatta | Won 29-26
Brisbane | Won 34-32 (grand final)
2015
Sydney Roosters | Won 32-22
