Warriors captain Tohu Harris is tackled against Manly. Photo / Photosport
Warriors 22
Sea Eagles 22
Just when you thought the hype around the Warriors couldn’t get any greater, watch what happens this week.
Okay, this wasn’t a win – but the 22-22 draw sure felt like one.
After being thoroughly outplayed for most of the match, the Warriors looked dead and buried, trailing by eight points with less than a minute to play.
But they produced a remarkable comeback – aided by a controversial penalty on the hooter – to take the game to golden point.
They had the better chances in the extra time period, with a crucial fumble at one point and another Shaun Johnson attempt sailing wide, but couldn’t quite complete the job.
But they’ll take the point, a reward for a never-say-die mentality.
After being almost flawless last week, they completely misplaced the instruction manual for most of Saturday night.
They were strangely off-key, riddled by errors and poor decisions.
The Sea Eagles were excellent, superbly marshalled by Daly Cherry-Evans along with a brutal forward display, but the Warriors were their own worst enemies.
They spent most of the match in a hole and whenever they had some impetus, they seemed to lose it again.
It felt like one of those nights, while the loss of Jazz Tevaga (ankle) just before halftime didn’t help matters.
But they found a way back, after trailing 16-0 after 35 minutes, then 22-14 with a minute to play.
Then came the unforgettable passage, as Johnson’s sleight of hand put Dallin Watene-Zelezniak across, before the halfback nailed the sideline conversion, then the last-second penalty.
Manly had opened the scoring with a scrappy try in the ninth minute, as Cherry-Evans was first to a loose ball, after a couple of kind bounces. The Warriors put themselves in a hole in the first quarter with three simple drops, as either the pass or the focus was wide of the mark.
With an excellent kicking game from Cherry-Evans, the Warriors were fighting for yardage. The sense of messiness was compounded when the Warriors burned their captain’s challenge early, though it looked a confusing call.
The home side couldn’t get anything going, while the Sea Eagles were flawless and skinned the Warriors on their right edge, with Cherry-Evans collecting Tommy Talau’s astute crosskick to finish off. Their dominance was confirmed with their third try to Talau, which was set up by a savage hit on Watene-Zelezniak.
The Warriors didn’t have their first chance until the 33rd minute – which came after Manly finally made a mistake – but Marcelo Montoya was bundled into touch. They desperately needed something though, and got it with Tevaga’s try, running off a clever Tohu Harris pass, to make up for his spill in a similar scenario last week. But Tevaga’s night ended moments later, limping off with a leg injury.
There was a bonus seconds before halftime, as Watene-Zelezniak snatched an ambitious Luke Brooks pass, before sprinting 60 metres to score in front of the packed south stand.
But Manly popped the balloon soon after halftime, with Cherry-Evans producing a superb face ball for Ben Trbojevic.
The Warriors’ third try was the best of the match, as Johnson rolled back the years with a dazzling 40-metre run, including a show and go and a step of Tom Trbojevic, following good lead-up work by Mitch Barnett and Te Maire Martin. But perhaps still full of adrenalin, Johnson missed the simple conversion.
The Warriors worked hard to find a way back – with a tremendous bulldozer tackle to force a goal line dropout before another unforced error two plays later.
The pattern continued, as Chanel Harris-Tavita and Barnett got their wires crossed on halfway. There didn’t look like any room for a miracle before the Warriors manufactured an improbable revival.
Johnson created a try for Watene-Zelezniak with 50 seconds left, then the Warriors marched over halfway on the next set. Then came the moment of controversy, with a penalty in front of the posts after Johnson was tackled in the air attempting a Hail Mary two-point field goal with three seconds on the clock.
Golden point was high drama, with a rare Tohu Harris error as the Warriors looked to set up for the shot before a later Johnson attempt from 35 metres went wide.
Warriors 22 (Jazz Tevaga, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 2, Shaun Johnson tries; Shaun Johnson 2 cons, pen)
Manly Sea Eagles 22 (Daly Cherry-Evan 2, Tommy Talau, Ben Trbojevic tries; Cherry-Evans 3 cons)
Halftime: 16-10
All the key NRL fixtures for the Warriors.