KEY POINTS:
An error-ridden New Zealand Warriors blew their chance to join the National Rugby League's top-eight as South Sydney pipped them 18-16 in a thriller here tonight.
Both sides scored three tries but Roy Asotasi's Souths defended desperately against a late-charging Warriors at Sydney's ANZ Stadium to keep their slim top-eight hopes alive.
The Warriors dropped plenty of ball but still had a chance to score the winning try with back-to-back sets of six, but Nathan Fien and Sonny Fai were both held up just short.
With centre Brent Tate inspiring Warriors' attacks, a final bomb from Fien was knocked on inside the final minute and Souths held on to make it two from two against the Auckland-based side this year.
It ended the Warriors' four-match winning streak as they eyed a royal chance to enter finals calculations, with losses to top-eight rivals Penrith, St George-Illawarra and Gold Coast.
A crowd of just 9276 turned out at the cavernous stadium. The Mad Butcher, Peter Leitch, offered 5000 free tickets for Warriors fans but only about one-quarter of the allocation was taken up in the northern corner.
Both sides welcomed back key players, Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei after a six-week absence with a leg fracture and Souths' veteran Kiwis forward David Kidwell.
Vatuvei's recall meant coach Ivan Cleary changed his 17 for the first time in four weeks.
Two magnificent long-range Warriors tries locked the scores 12-12 at halftime but the visitors should have been well clear as their errors kept Souths in the match.
Warriors fumbles led to the Rabbitohs' first two tries, the first after just five minutes.
Fai had his chance to be the Warriors' opening tryscorer for a fourth consecutive match, but he knocked on from a chargedown with the line open.
From the scrum 70m out, Souths lock John Sutton hoofed the ball downfield with fullback Lance Hohaia up in the line, and speedster Nathan Merritt won the race to the ball.
Then Micheal Luck made a rare blunder with a simple knock-on, and Souths playmaker Craig Wing sent Ben Lowe through a yawning gap to score.
But the Warriors were lethal, when they finally held on to the ball.
Jerome Ropati scored their first, a 90m effort from a Souths fumble as Ruben Wiki pounced and fed an ever-alert Hohaia who sent Ropati on a 45m dash.
Warriors hooker Ian Henderson was again prominent in gaining easy metres, and the Warriors attacked down the left through Simon Mannering, Fai and Vatuvei.
Vatuvei's involvement finally paid dividends three minutes before the break when Fai sent him on a 40m bullocking run, sending tacklers flying, and Hohaia held the final pass to score.
The Warriors struggled to crack the home defence early in the second half and it was some brilliance from halfback Chris Sandow which broke the deadlock.
He fooled Vatuvei with a 40-20 kick, then grubbered through from close range as a jubilant Kidwell touched down beside the posts.
The game seesawed again when Hohaia capped a strong game to score his second from a simple run-around, shoving Sandow aside.
Hohaia hit the post with the conversion attempt, leaving Souths 18-16 up.
Then came a crucial moment when Merritt looked to have scored his second from a Sandow cut-out, but Warriors halfback Grant Rovelli screamed his objection and video referee Graeme West ruled the pass went marginally forward off Wing's arm.
- NZPA
