Warriors 8
Storm 6
KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand Warriors caused a National Rugby League (NRL) boilover today by downing defending champions Melbourne 8-6 in wintry conditions in Auckland.
The contest was marked by strong defence by both sides and, with wet and cold weather at Mt Smart Stadium making handling difficult, Melbourne were hampered by regularly turning the ball over.
The result, sealed by a late penalty, continued the Warriors' revival of the past month, and they have now won four matches in a row.
They made light of having to play into the wind in the first half as they dominated terrority and possession.
They opened the scoring after 10 minutes after a turnover in Storm territory and then a penalty.
From good field position, they worked the ball to centre Sonny Fai, who forced his way over despite the attention of two defenders.
It was the third match in a row that the 20-year-old had scored a try and it was his fourth touchdown of his rookie NRL season.
The crowd kept on referee Jared Maxwell's back, alleging that the Storm were slowing down the play-the-ball with their tackling technique.
Maxwell kept his whistle away from his mouth until late in the half when the Storm were penalised three times in quick succession for holding down.
After the third occasion, the Warriors appeared to have scored again with two minutes to go before the interval.
But hooker Ian Henderson's dummy-half try was ruled out for marker obstruction from teammate Evarn Tuimavave.
Continued solid ground defence by both sides meant last-tackle kicks were the primary means of trying to get behind the defensive lines.
But it was a different type of kick that helped the Storm to draw level midway through the spell.
In a piece of quick thinking, Melbourne skipper Cameron Smith managed to find touch in Warrior territory from a restart from his own 20m.
It meant the Storm fed the ensuing scrum and they then worked the ball towards the opposition line for interchange forward Sika Manu to score under the posts for a try Smith converted.
However, with nine minutes to go, Storm second rower Michael Crocker was penalised for not being square when playing the ball and Hohaia landed the decisive goal from 40m.
- NZPA
