NRL: Relief as Little General soldiers on

Stacey Jones carried a groin strain through the win over the Knights. Photo / Getty Images

Stacey Jones will be fit to play in the Warriors' next big matches against three of the four NRL front-runners this season - the Titans, the Broncos and the Bulldogs - after carrying a groin injury through the gutsy 13-0 win over the Knights.

The value the Warriors place on Jones, who has come in for some misguided criticism lumping much of the blame for their poor form on his shoulders, was seen as he soldiered through the second half with a groin injury, marking his 250th NRL match in an unexpectedly painful way.

But Warriors' medical staff said the injury was not as bad as first feared. Jones should be available for selection for what shapes as a season-defining run after the Warriors enjoy their much-needed bye this week.

"We were in a bit of trouble because Stacey hurt his groin and we had to get him back out there," said coach Ivan Cleary of the Knights match. "He came in a bit of a passenger and we struggled to come up with the right option at times and got a bit frazzled - but we defended well.

"Stacey wasn't looking good at halftime but he went back out and, typically, we didn't hear another thing about it, to his credit."

The Warriors will go into their second bye grateful for the break but also buoyed by a performance which, if not top drawer, at least drew strongly on discipline and determination. For once, they started well and had a young Newcastle team back on their heels for much of the first half - more so when Origin winger James McManus left the field with what could be a season-ending injury.

The Warriors' defence was consistent and committed and was the rock around which this win was built. In truth, Newcastle offered little on attack, particularly in the first half, and missed their inspirational captain Kurt Gidley. The rain and damp conditions also did little to help the game into any kind of colour.

But they can take other forms of encouragement from this match into the next rounds.

Makeshift five-eighth Lance Hohaia lent weight to his army of fans demanding that he play a starting role every week, particularly in the first half. He had a strong 40 minutes, scoring the Warriors' first try with a determined surge to the line, carrying two defenders on his back and slipping through a third.

He took the pressure off Jones nicely, with his kicking game and got involved from dummy half, taking on the line and in organising affairs on the side of the field where Jones was not.

It gave Newcastle plenty to think about and it was a Hohaia kick which would have yielded a try had Manu Vatuvei managed to get a hand on the slippery ball in the race over the goal line. Hohaia also coolly slotted the field goal which took the Warriors out to 7-0, a lead which the Knights looked unlikely to retrieve.

Up to this point, Hohaia has been used as an impact player off the bench. The rationale goes that a player of such instinctive elusiveness is best used when the opposition defence starts to fade a little. It is also felt that such a free-spirited player loses a bit of that spirit when slotted into an organising role.

That didn't seem right in the first half but Hohaia did drift out of matters in the second half - although there was enough promise in his performance to suggest that the Warriors might benefit from starting him some more.

"I thought he competed really hard," said Cleary. "He was certainly very busy but it was a little tough this week because he hardly trained. That means there is always a risk that players won't be prefect in terms of execution..."

But, while neither Jones nor Hohaia could be said to have enjoyed a "perfect" game, they did successfully direct a disciplined, efficient Warriors effort. Even if they did not find the penetration they sought in attack, they at least set the stage for more progress.

Other standouts included rookie winger Kevin Locke whose runaway try at the end settled matters.

Hooker Ian Henderson had a good first half where his direct running from dummy half worked well. But he had a less effective second half, coloured by his "brain explosion" - so termed by the usually affable but less than amused skipper Steve Price - when Henderson tapped a penalty in a highly kickable position with the Warriors only 6-0 up, meaning Hohaia had to step up with his field goal to make the Knights score twice to win.

They didn't look like scoring once in the final 20 minutes and that was as much due to the Warriors defence and ability to run down the clock as anything.

New forward Lewis Brown also did well, with some more direct running and plenty of tackling but the highest praise of the night went to Locke, who seemed one of the few players on the field with a bit of X-factor. "He's very fast and elusive and he's got a big future, I think," said Knights' captain Steve Simpson while Cleary said: "He's got something, hasn't he?"

The Warriors play the Titans next and will have a "mini-tour" of the Gold Coast when they stay in Australia that week to take on the Broncos the following Friday.

That match will be make-or-break, as the Warriors' top eight chances will depend on getting through the tough trio of the Titans, Broncos and the Bulldogs with enough points to be competitive. They have a fine record against the Broncos and will be hopeful that side's post-Origin and swine flu malaise will linger.