Another dose of drama has carried the One New Zealand Warriors to a last-gasp great escape win in the Jersey Flegg Cup (under-21) competition.
Last week they recovered from a 6-22 halftime deficit to floor the Bulldogs 40-28 following a scarcely believable 34-6 second half spree.
Fast forward six days and another comeback was needed to beat the Rabbitohs today, only in far more desperate circumstances.
After making a dominant and controlled start to take a 12-0 lead in the opening stanza, the Warriors flirted with danger for much of the contest thereafter.
Match: Rabbitohs v Warriors
Round 13 -
home Team
Rabbitohs
12th Position
away Team
Warriors
8th Position
Venue: Redfern Oval, Sydney
So much so the Rabbitohs had a 26-24 lead entering the final minutes of a battle the Warriors ought to have been in control of but, with a minute to go, they found a way out of the jam they were in.
It came as South Sydney conceded a scrum 18 metres out from its line after failing to clean up a Warriors kick.
The Warriors took the ball right on the first tackle, headed towards the posts on the second and then shifted beautifully to their left edge on the third to give winger Harry Tauafiafi-Iutoi room to dash over for the go-ahead try.
Jett Cleary, perfect off the boot, made it five from five to give his side a four-point lead with time almost up, the Warriors seeing out the final few moments to secure their fourth win of the season lifting them to 12 points and into eighth spot.
The way the Warriors opened up it seemed they were primed for a commanding performance.
Captain and hooker Jaydee Auloa exploded out of dummy half from 43 metres out, breaking clear and linking with Kahu Capper backing up to score, staggering as he neared the line.
Minutes later Cleary explored a short side down the right, poking through an angled grubber with Capper again in the action as he collected and fed inside for centre Caelys Putoko to score for a 12-0 lead.
More points seemed certain such was the Warriors’ start but instead they were checked as the Rabbitohs engineered a try to be just 6-12 behind at halftime.
It was the forerunner to a struggling phase for the Warriors as they conceded two tries in the opening minutes of the second half to find themselves 12-18 behind.
They soon rectified that with their third try, standoff Jack Thompson bombing high to the right where the impressive Capper was again in the thick of it, climbing superbly to claim the kick and off load inside for Auloa to race in between the posts.
Having put themselves in position to back it up and regain the lead, the Warriors lapsed immediately, not just once but twice as South Sydney went out to a 26-18 lead.
There was plenty of time left, though, and in the 63rd minute the Warriors were right back in contact, Harry Durbin feeding Jason Salalilo who moved off his left and then rocketed towards the line. At 24-26 with more than 15 minutes to play the contest was there for the taking.
The Warriors took the difficult route, though, turning the ball over at inopportune moments although defending resolutely. Scoring chances were frittered away, too, but just when it seemed time might beat them they seized the final opportunity.
Since falling to a heavy defeat to the highly-ranked Storm, the Warriors have had an encouraging spell losing by four points to the Raiders followed by victories over the Bulldogs and now the Rabbitohs.
