Disappointment struck again for the One New Zealand Warriors when they were unable to convert a withering comeback into victory as they were pipped 26-24 by the Storm in Saturday’s round six Jersey Flegg Cup (under-21) clash at Gosch’s Field in Melbourne.
The Warriors went into the contest bent on rectifying their wrongs after back-to-back defeats including a galling 12-36 loss to the Sharks in round five.
In the Storm they faced a team without a win in four starts but it was difficult to believe that as the home side charged to a commanding 20-4 lead in the opening minutes of the second half.
The Warriors had started strongly with fullback Joseph Ratcliffe slicing through on the right for a nice try in the seventh minute before falling off the pace – but not out of touch.
Match: Storm v Warriors
Round 6 -
home Team
Storm
10th Position
away Team
Warriors
8th Position
Venue: Gosch's Paddock, Victoria
So it proved. In the space of just 11 minutes they turned the match on its head running in four tries and 20 unanswered points to lead 24-20 with 19 minutes to play.
The recovery was sparked by right winger Brandon Norris producing a Dallin Watene-Zelezniak-esque leap and incredible putdown in the 50th minute.
Four minutes later Ratcliffe dropped off centre Taipari Wikitera who ran into a huge hole to score, Harry Inch converting to cut the margin to 14-20.
From in front of the posts, the Warriors went left with Inch’s long ball giving Harry Tauafiafi a shot at the corner, the hard-charging winger taking defenders with him to make it 18-20 after 58 minutes.
The Warriors looked unstoppable and three minutes later, after the Storm failed to handle a bomb, Inch picked up the loose ball and arced down the left-hand touchline to score and convert for a 24-20 lead.
They couldn’t find the follow-up, though, as the match settled into a grind. It was the Warriors who blinked, the Storm taking a 26-24 lead with 11 minutes to go and resisting all the Warriors threw at them to pick up their first win of the season.
The Warriors are now 3-3 for the season, lying eighth on the ladder.
They create history this Saturday becoming the first One New Zealand Warriors side to play on school grounds when they face the Sea Eagles at the Dilworth School Senior Campus.
