Warriors brain fade costs them victory in Naughty Napier

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Warriors v Brisbane Broncos

The Warriors have only left themselves to blame with a handful of blown opportunities costing themselves victory as they fell to a 26-22 defeat at the hands of an under-strength Broncos side in front of just over 16,000 wild fans in Napier.

Rocco Berry was the first Warrior denied when he was originally awarded a try when in the opinion of the on-field officials got the ball down but replays showed the ball was lost under Tristan Sailor's hand. The Warriors were then denied twice more before an error from the home side gifted Deine Mariner a free 90m run to score the Broncos opener.

The Warriors were then denied again multiple times including Freddy Lussick being held up and then DWZ standing on the touch ingoal line when trying to catch the cross-field kick. The home side finally got over just under three minutes shy of the break when DWZ finally was able to hold the ball and stay into score. Shaun Johnson levelled the scores with a conversion from the sideline.

An error straight from the kick-off for the Warriors put them back under pressure and it was taken advantage of by the Broncos when Jordan Riki went over off the back of a pass that looked as if it was forward but not ruled as one.

The Broncos struck first in the second half as Ezra Mam went through under the posts after Adam Reynolds put the Warriors defence into three minds showing the ball before breaking through the line before find Mam to score. Reynolds extended the lead beyond two converted tries after a Warriors dropout didn't go 10m.

Off the back of a penalty, the Warriors hit back when Shaun Johnson unconventionally got the ball out to DWZ for his second after the Warriors halfback juggled a pass before cleverly electing to tap it out to his winger for a much needed try.

Deine Mariner got a second for the Broncos when he chased through an Ezra Mam kick and the Broncos went out to a 26-10 lead.

Inside the final five minutes, the Warriors looked as if they needed to pull off something special and that's what they almost did when Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad went over from close range which after the conversion saw the margin back to 10 points. The Warriors then added another try when Marcelo Montoya got onto the outside of the defence to then just steamroll Tristan Sailor to score.

With the Warriors trailing by 4, they looked as if they had pulled off the miracle when Marcelo Montoya had gone over again and it was initially awarded by Gerard Sutton. It looked as if it was going to be the boot of Shaun Johnson that decided the result but replays showed the biggest piece of dumbness from Adam Pompey to grab a Broncos defender and hold him back.

The try was subsequently knocked back by the bunker and the Broncos held on for a 26-22 victory. Next week, the Warriors return to Auckland for a contest against the high flying Dolphins meanwhile the Broncos head to Cronulla for a clash against the Sharks.