The New Zealand Warriors are still in the hunt for the top 8, beating the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24-10 in a sloppy affair at Dolphin Stadium in Redcliffe.
The Warriors showed their intentions early, spreading it right with their first possession of the game to Josh Curran, who found open space and eventually passed to Sean O'Sullivan, who was tackled for a gain of about 50 metres. The duo would link up again later in the set, with O'Sullivan passing Curran through a gaping hole to score the first try of the match.
The right edge was again the focal point of the Warriors attack in the next set, however it ended catastrophically, with O'Sullivan's pass this time intercepted by Aaron Schoupp, who outran Reece Walsh to score and level the scores.
The evenness of the scoreboard didn't last long however. Averillo's kick from inside his own half was caught on the full in goal by Montoya. The Warriors streaked down the field and Josh Curran set up the try this time, poking his head through the line before offloading to an open Jazz Tevaga, who dived over untouched.
The Warriors would get into good field position through their defence this time, with Edward Kosi putting huge pressure on Falakiko Manu, who knocked on. In the ensuing set, Reece Walsh made the money play, throwing a cutout ball to put Edward kosi over untouched.
It looked as though the Dogs had given it everything for the first half, but a set restart just before the break gave them a second wind. Nick Meaney slotted into the attack to create the extra number and execute the overlap to perfection, sending Jayden Okunbor over right on the siren to make it 16-10 at half time.
Early in the second half, a wayward offload from Averillo was dived on by Josh Curran, giving the Warriors great field position. Chanel Harris-Tavita put a kick in on tackle 2 and it paid off, with Reece Walsh winning the race and grounding it before the dead ball line.
The Warriors did well to turn the Bulldogs away for at least 5 consecutive attacking sets, however it looked to have all counted for naught when Edward Kosi knocked on on tackle 2 and the Dogs spread it left to score immediately. Upon review it was found that illegal contact was made on Kosi after the knock on and a penalty was awarded to the Warriors instead.
Off the ensuing set, Kosi looked to be over for sure, but lost it over the line, keeping the Dogs in it.
In the next set off the kickoff, the Bulldogs stripped the ball illegally, giving the Warriors an opportunity to extend the lead to 14. Reece Walsh's kick was a beauty and they did exactly that, going up 24-10.
The rest of the game was a largely uneventful arm wrestle, with the Bulldogs giving away penalties for illegal 2-on-1 strips and occasionally getting them right.
The win for the Warriors means that they maintain touch with the top 8, and will look to keep the unlikely dream alive next week against the Broncos at Suncorp, while the Bulldogs will look for their 3rd win of the year against the Knights.