Warriors' lifeline extinguished by Penrith

Penrith 36 NZ Warriors 6

SYDNEY - The New Zealand Warriors' slim chances of making the National Rugby League finals evaporated tonight as Penrith cruised to a 36-6 victory to keep their own hopes of making the top eight alive.

The Warriors were competitive in the first half and unlucky to go to the break 6-12 down, but their second-half performance was woeful as their defence leaked four tries within the space of 10 minutes midway through the spell.

They had few answers as the fleet-footed Penrith backs ran amok, with fullback Rhys Wesser at his ebullient best to score three tries himself.

The Warriors began the match with intent, knowing they had to win six successive games to have any chance of making the finals.

They made their mark in the third minute when halfback Grant Rovelli directed a high kick towards the left touch.

Winger Manu Vatuvei leapt high to claim it and crashed over for the try, with Tony Martin converting from wide out.

In a bright, entertaining half, both sides were willing to throw the ball around and while the Penrith backs posed problems, the Warriors defence was up to the task until the 20th minute.

That was when Kiwis forward Tony Puletua crashed through some ineffectual tackles after cutting inside halfback Craig Gower to take a slip pass. Preston Campbell converted.

Penrith made more of the play but they only broke the deadlock through a lucky try three minutes before the break, after a messy play-the-ball by halfback Craig Gower resulted in hooker Luke Priddis kicking through to the goal line and fullback Rhys Wesser claiming it as Rovelli lost his footing. Campbell again converted and it was 12-6.

Campbell extended the margin further in the second half with a penalty in front of the goalposts.

The game got away from the Warriors in the 55th minute when their defensive pattern fell to pieces as Penrith spun the ball wide to winger Michael Gordon, who made ground up the right flank before cutting infield to Wesser, whose footwork did the rest.

Four minutes later left winger Luke Rooney scored, followed by Matthew Cross and Wesser again, as Gower and Campbell asserted their authority with frequent switches in attack direction.

Warriors five-eighth Jerome Ropati ran 60m to dot down late in the match only to be penalised for fielding the ball in an offside position, while Wairangi Koopu was also denied a try on a call from the video referee.

Adding to the Warriors woes, vice-captain Ruben Wiki was placed on report for an alleged high tackle, after opposing prop Joel Clinton got up groggily from their clash.

Penrith 36 (Rhys Wesser 3 Tony Puletua, Luke Rooney, Matthew Cross tries; Preston Campbell 6 goals)
New Zealand Warriors 6 (Manu Vatuvei try; Tony Martin con)
HT: 12-6.

- NZPA