The Junior Warriors couldn't stay with the Auckland Vulcans in yesterday's trial at Toll Stadium in Whangarei, losing 10-48 to last year's New South Wales Cup grand finalists.
It was a graphic example of young players being tested by a line-up comprising far more seasoned players, although the Vulcans didn't have any Warriors players in their squad for this outing.
By halftime the Vulcans were well ahead 28-6 after a period in which the Junior Warriors were rarely able to apply any pressure due to a succession of errors. They weren't helped either by the loss of big prop Toka Likiliki with a knee injury after he had made a big bust.
Ultimately, though, the Vulcans were not only too experienced but were also well organised as they profited from a healthy supply of the ball.
Winger Niuvao Taka was unstoppable as he grabbed three of his side's 10 tries while four of the other try scorers were former Junior Warriors Agnatius Paasi, Rusty Bristow, Henry Chan-Ting and Daniel Palavi. Coming on the field late and kicking two conversions was DJ Collier, who scored 312 points for Junior Warriors last year when he led all scorers in the competition.
