Warriors wrangle battered Bunnies

Mount Smart Stadium was treated to quality contest between the Warriors and Rabbitohs which saw a resurgent home side convincingly account for their visitors with a 44-22 victory.

The first half made for an intriguing contest with points coming early and frequently. A third minute John Sutton line break helped South Sydney into the position to post first points and did just that when an Adam Reynolds boot found a barnstorming Dave Taylor to claim a try.

Post try, the pendulum well and truly swung and the hone side absolutely dominated the middle 30 minutes of the first half with superb work from young halves Shaun Johnson and James Maloney. Maloney and Johnson set up two tries a piece for the Warriors' 20 first half points.

The first Warriors points came in direct response to the Souths try with Johnson putting Lewis Brown in to score in the ninth minute. By the 15th minute the Warriors had a six point lead when Ropati collected a Johnson grubber to put on the Warrirors' second.

Next it was Maloney's turn to create some tries and almost did that in the nineteenth minute but it was called back for a forward pass. In the 22nd minute he replicated the play exactly with a legal pass which found Tupou for a four pointer. In the 34th minute he helped captain Mannering find the line.

Maloney's feet weren't proving quite as good as his feet with only a 50% first half conversion rate. This helped South Sydney get within 8 by half time after Reynolds put Everingham in late in the half. The Warriors went into the interval with a 20 to 12 lead.

The half time break was kind to the visitors and not so good to the home side who appeared to have forgotten how to hold on to a ball post break. Souths collected the first points of the half in the 51st minute after a Vatuvei bomb bat back found Souths hand who streaked the length of the field and within two plays got Dave Taylor in for his second of the match.

Souths began to look likely to fight their way back into the match, but Warriors weren't quite ready to let it go and hit back through a team effort putting Mannering in for his second in the 57th minute. Thee Warriors kept the momentum going and minute later a Johnson boot found Tupou for Warriors' try number 6.

Against the tun of play, Souths gave themselves another sniff at clawing the game back when Dave Taylor put Andrew Everingham in for his second in the 65th minute. Souths were then, just 12 points behind, but with the crowd at their backs, the Warriors refused to let go.

The Warriors' forwards took an opportunity to create points with a superb play involving Russell Packer and Nathan Friend to put Ukuma Ta'ai in to score. The Warriors' scoring finished where it began, with Shaun Johnson brilliance creating points, this time Inu was the beneficiary.

The Warriors convincingly did away with the Bunnies handing them a 44-22 defeat to put themselves back in contention for the eight. Many Warriors players put themselves in contention for the test spots up fro grabs. This set ups a tonne of interest in the round 8 clash between the Warriors and Storm with the teams set to have their first meeting since the Warriors denied the Storm a grand final berth last season.

Match Details
New Zealand Warriors 44 defeated South Sydney Rabbitohs 22
National Rugby League - Round 7 - Sunday April 15, 2012 12:00pm
Venue: Mt Smart Stadium
Referee: Shayne Hayne and Alan Shortall
Video Referee: Steve Clark
Touch Judges: Nick Beashel and Clayton Sharpe
Crowd: 15,378
Halftime: New Zealand Warriors 20 South Sydney Rabbitohs 12

Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 Points - Shaun Johnson
2 Points - Simon Mannering (2 Tries)
1 Point - Dave Taylor (2 Tries)

New Zealand Warriors (44)
Tries: Simon Mannering (2), Jerome Ropati, Krisnan Inu, Ukuma Ta'ai, Lewis Brown, Bill Tupou, Ben Henry
Conversions: James Maloney (6/8)

South Sydney Rabbitohs (22)
Tries: Dave Taylor (2), Andrew Everingham (2)
Conversions: Adam Reynolds (3/4)

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary Good afternoon and welcome to Mount Smart stadium where the New Zealand Warriors are about to go into combat with the South Sydney Rabbitohs. With 2 competition points as well as test and city country jerseys up for grabs, this should be an intriguing contest.
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If you love Twitter, you'll love @LeagueUnlimited! Today's official NRL match hashtag is #NRLwarsou In the Toyota Cup Warriors smashed the Rabbitohs 48 points to 14.
TEAM NEWS: Kevin Locke is out of the Warriors line up, so Jerome Ropati will slot into the fullback position and Krisnan Inu in jumper 21 will fill his vacated centre position. Sione Lousi will drop to bench, with Russel Packer in jumper 14 starting at prop, Feleti Mateo will also drop to the bench with Lewis Brown in jumper 18 starting in the back row. Konrad Hurrell will also sit out this game. The Rabbitohs have no changes.
1 min: The whistle blows game on and the Warriors will have the first use of the football.
3 min: Sutton creates an opportunity for South Sydney with a line break.
6 min: TRY
TRY to the Rabbitohs
Very smart kick from Adam Reynolds and Dave Taylor is all over it, flying in to collect first points. Reynolds converts.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 6-0
7 min: Warriors chance their arms and start to looking good before knocking on and handing Souths a scrum.
8 min: Inglis attempts to collect a Johnson bomb and knocks it on.
10 min: TRY
TRY to the Warriors!
Inu collects the crumbs and gets it onto Lewis Brown to collect the Warrior's first points.
6 all
11 min: The first PENALTY of the day goes the way of South Sydney, but they fail to capitalise on it, making an error and giving the Warriors a chance to take the lead.
14 min: TRY
TRY to the Warriors
Again a smart kick pays dividends, this time it's a Johnson grubber that is perfectly chased down by Ropati who collects 4 points for the Warriors. Maloney with the boot collects an additional two.
New Zealand Warriors 12-6
19 min: The Warriors appear to be in again, this time courtesy of a long pass, but referee Shayne Hayne calls the pass forward.
20 min: Accidental offside from Souths at the kick on halfway and this match has been all Warriors since the Rabbitohs' try.
22 min: PENALTY Warriors and they have another six tackles ten metres out from the South Sydney line.
24 min: TRY
TRY to the Warriors!
Maloney has another go at his long, double cut out pass out wide and this time it's legal and Tupou is in for Warriors' third try. Conversion attempt from Maloney unsuccessful.
New Zealand Warriors 16-6
25 min: VIDEO REFEREE for a possible Warriors TRY.
25 min: After 150 viewings, video referee Steve Clark decides it is not a try and as the first knock on is against Souths, Warriors have the scrum feed.
27 min: A Warriors error gets Souths out of trouble.
27 min: PENALTY South Sydney out help them out of their own territory.
29 min: Souths earn a repeat set forcing a line drop out for their first attacking opportunity since the opening minutes.
31 min: Superb Warriors last ditch defence forces a change over.
32 min: Vayuvei knocks on going on a blindside raid.
33 min: Souths coughed up possession then proceeded to concede a PENALTY.
35 min: TRY
TRY to the Warriors!
Maloney's passing out wide is again golden, he dummies finds captain Mannering who goes on a bolstering run over the try line. Maloney's conversion attempt is again unsuccessful.
New Zealand Warriors 20-6
36 min: Forward pass, South Sydney scrum 37 out from the Warriors' line.
37 min: VIDEO REFEREE for a possible South Sydney TRY.
39 min: TRY
TRY to the Rabbitohs!
Reynolds puts a smart little kick in, Everingham is on side and flies in to collect it, then advances his position to give Reynolds an easy conversion attempt.
New Zealand Warriors 20-12
39 min: PENALTY Rabbitohs to give them a chance for one more strike in the half.
40 min: HALF TIME. Warriors lead Rabbitohs 20 points to 12.
41 min: Second half under way.
43 min: This match is being played at a very fast pace and the Warriors still appear to be on top.
44 min: Taylor attempts to offload, but King cannot take it cleanly.
45 min: Inu loses control of the ball and hands possession back to South Sydney.
45 min: Warriors compound the error by conceding a PENALTY for a strip.
46 min: Great defence from the Warriors again and Vatuvei bundles Everingham into touch.
48 min: Ropati comes off the field and is having his left ham string treated on the sideline.
50 min: Maloney puts up a cross field bomb, Vatuvei bats it back and Luke pounces on it and dashes up field, he finds support in Inglis but he is superbly stopped by Vatuvei.
52 min: TRY
TRY to the Rabbitohs!
Issac Luke gets a short pass onto Taylor from dummy half. Dave Taylor is too big, too strong for the Warriors defence and just monsters over. Reynolds fails to convert.
New Zealand Warriors 20-16
53 min: PENALTY South Sydney for a chance to take the lead.
54 min: South Sydney knock on ten out to let the Warriors off the hook.
55 min: PENALTY Warriors, here is an opportunity for them.
58 min: TRY
TRY to the Warriors!
A real team try this one, with beautiful outside inside passing and Mannering is in for his second. Conversion attempt from Maloney successful.
New Zealand Warriors 26-16
60 min: Vatuvei bats back a bomb again and the wields some interesting results.
60 min: VIDEO REFEREE for a possible Warriors TRY.
62 min: TRY
TRY to the Warriors!
Johnson puts an accurate little boot in, Tupou collects and passes it to Ben Henry to score. Conversion attempt from Maloney successful.
New Zealand Warriors 32-16
64 min: Good dart out of dummy half is undone when Lewis Brown throws a forward pass.
67 min: TRY
TRY to the Rabbiitohs!
Against the run of play, Taylor puts Everingham in to score another TRY. Conversion attempt from Reynolds successful.
New Zealand Warriors 32-22
68 min: Souths are really chancing their arm here and out on a great play but it is id undone by a knock on 20 out from the Warriors' line.
70 min: Clever toes to a loose South Sydney ball from Tupou creates an opportunity for the Warriors.
71 min: And now South Sydney gift the Warriors a scrum 20 out from their line.
73 min: TRY
TRY to the Warriors!
Superb charge from Packer and a perfect offload to Friend finds him shift the ball to Ukuma Ta'ai who goes in to score.Conversion attempt from Maloney successful.
New Zealand Warriors 38-22
74 min: South Sydney go for the short kick off and regather the ball.
75 min: Warriors offer Souths another opportunity with an error 30 out from their own line.
80 min: TRY
TRY to the Warriors!
Beautiful run from Shaun Johnson, dummies and explodes through on an angled run before finding Inu in support who he puts in for the four points. Conversion attempt from Maloney successful.
New Zealand Warriors 44-22
80 min: There goes the hooter and the Warriors have taken the game 44 points to 22.