NRL Nines: Roosters defeat completes worst ever Warriors performance

Isaiah Papali'i is dejected after a second defeat. Photo / Getty

The Warriors have achieved probably their worst performance at an NRL Nines competition, after a second loss on Saturday.

The Auckland club lost 14-8 to the Roosters in their final pool match, after a 34-0 thrashing at the hands of the Knights on Friday.

The short format competition wasn't high on the list of priorities for coach Stephen Kearney and the brains trust at Mt Smart, but they would still be disappointed with the overall outcome from the tournament, especially the defeat to the Roosters.

The Warriors left most of their big guns in Auckland — rather than make the long trip to Western Australia — but the Tricolors had even less NRL experience, fielding a mix of Under-20's players and reserves.

But they were too good for the Warriors, who lacked structure and organisation and took poor last-play options.

A Paul Turner try gave the Auckland team an early lead, but the Roosters responded with two tries to McKenzie Baker to lead 8-4 at halftime.

Selesitino Ravutaumada of the Warriors is tackled by two Roosters to stop a try. Photo / Photosport

An opportunistic try to Rocco Berry levelled the scores at 8-8 with four minutes to play, before the Warriors had one of their familiar brain fades.

They attempted a short kick off, which didn't travel 10 metres, leading to a Roosters penalty.

The Sydney team had all the momentum, after Baker completed his hat-trick in the next set, the Roosters were good enough to hang on.

In another setback for the Warriors, centre Taane Milne suffered a broken nose after a nasty collision towards the end of the match.