Previously winless Balmain stunned the One New Zealand Warriors 24-22 in Sunday’s round six Harold Matthews Cup (under-17) encounter at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney.
A last-minute Steve Luatua try gave the Warriors the chance to sneak a point from a 24-24 draw but Keanu Simpson’s sideline conversion was astray leaving the Tigers to rejoice after picking up their first win of the season in five attempts.
The result was a bitter disappointment for the Warriors who were desperate to win to put their campaign back on track after three losses in their first four games.
Ultimately it was a case of another missed opportunity.
After going into halftime with a tight 12-10 lead, the Warriors began the second spell ideally when elusive hooker Agelu Malaesilia exploded out of dummy half from 10 metres out to score. With Simpson’s conversion they had an 18-10 lead and were in position to go on with it.
Match: Tigers v Warriors
Round 6 -
home Team
Tigers
away Team
Warriors
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
It wasn’t to be as they conceded back-to-back tries to trail 18-22 with 11 minutes to go, which then became 18-24 when Balmain kicked a penalty with five to play.
The Warriors didn’t want for opportunities to score before some frantic ball work ended with Luatua’s last-gasp try.
The result leaves the Warriors to reflect on another contest they couldn’t finish off.
Earlier they responded quickly to a second-minute Balmain try when prop Kenny Lafituanai drove over from close range and went 12-6 ahead when Lafituanai’s front row partner Shannon Pai did the same thing.
The One New Zealand Warriors remain on four points sitting 13th four points out of the playoff zone with three games to play.
Next up is their third consecutive trip to Sydney next Saturday when they face the sixth-placed Parramatta Eels.
