League: Finals farewell for the Warriors

Dejected players leave the field after the Warriors' loss to the Eels last night. Picture / Fotopress

Warriors 20 Eels 38

Although the mathematicians will point to their calculators and still say it's possible, the Eels hammered a decisive nail into the Warriors' coffin last night.

If the equation wasn't already as difficult as understanding calculus, the chances of making the top eight took another turn for the worse after the Eels bounced back from two losses in their last two games to put their own season back on track.

The Warriors can still achieve their goal of venturing to the promised land that awaits top-eight sides but they must do it by winning all three of their remaining games, against the Storm (away), Knights (home) and Sea Eagles (away), together with the bye, and hope other games go their way.

While this is plausible, it needs to be remembered that Tony Kemp's side has failed to win more than two games in a row all season.

The Warriors opened with an intensity befitting the desperation of their situation. They ran with determination, defended aggressively, kicked intelligently and dominated the opening 25 minutes of the match.

Although they were the beneficiaries of some questionable refereeing from Shane Hayne (how many times has that been said before?), they certainly deserved to build an 8-0 lead on the back of a Wairangi Koopu try, when arguably the Warriors most consistent player of the season burst over in the 11th minute.

The Eels, however, slowly got into their work and found some gaps around the rucks and in virtually their first raid on the Warriors line crafted together a try to Luke Burt, who collected a clever kick from John Morris.

Nathan Fien crossed soon after to open the gap to 14-6 when he slipped through two Eels defenders but the work was undone when Burt crossed for his second courtesy of a brilliant behnd-the-back pass from Timana Tahu.

New boy Simon Mannering, for all his enthusiasm and potential, was caught out on both occasions for drifting in too far from his marker.

The Warriors invited the Eels back into the gap with some reckless play inside their own half in a style reminiscent of a side chasing the game. Although the scoreboard is not the biggest in the world, it still clearly read Warriors 14, Eels 10.

A group of fans sitting at one end of Ericsson last night were resplendent in bright orange construction vests - perhaps they could've told the Warriors how to build pressure, because it doesn't come from making mistakes in your own half.

It was like finals football in the opening minutes of the second half - intensely contested with high stakes. The question was, who would crack first?

Much to the disappointment of the majority of the 19,211 fans who turned out to a chilly Ericsson Stadium last night, it was the home side. Rather than a crack, however, it proved to be a gaping hole.

Wade McKinnon popped up on the shoulder of Glenn Morrison to go over in the 57th minute to give his side their first lead of the evening.

Ben Smith, Glenn Morrison and then Tahu all crossed within eight minutes to bury the Warriors as they found space attacking the right-hand defence of Mannering and Jerome Ropati. Mannering in particular was dreadfully exposed but he found little help from his more senior team-mates.

It's no disgrace to be beaten by the Eels, who are among the favourites to claim the 2005 NRL title, but the Warriors simply made too many mistakes and at one stage failed to complete their set of six four times in a row.

Fans started streaming for the exits 10 minutes from time and they missed a second Smith try when he finished off a Burt run that started only five metres from his own line.

Fien grabbed a second 30 seconds from time but it was scant consolation.

The real prize had escaped the Warriors' grasp and they had only themselves to blame.

Warriors 20 (N. Fien 2, W. Koopu, tries, S. Jones 4 goals). Eels 38 (L. Burt 2, B. Smith 2, W. McKinnon, G. Mosrrison, T. Tahu tries, L. Burt 5 goals).

- HERALD ON SUNDAY