In Sunday’s 13th-round New South Wales Cup match in Sydney, the One New Zealand Warriors defeated the Sydney Roosters 24–16 to win both the home and away games.
Three weeks earlier, at North Harbour Stadium, they overcame a 4–14 halftime deficit to defeat the Roosters 26–20.
In the rematch, they also found themselves in a similar situation when the home team’s lead at halftime (12–6) was increased to 16–6 in the first few minutes of the second half. At that point, the game took a different course.
Warriors teams have always been known for their resilience, and at Wentworth Park this season, it was evident in full.
Shortly after Demitric Sifakula, recovering from knee surgery, forcefully carried the ball to provide his team favorable field position, the comeback got underway.
Soon after, he came dangerously close to scoring himself. Then, the Warriors found their right side, with centre Moala Graham-Taufa (back in the NSW Cup following his heroics in the NRL last week) running a brilliant line against the grain to score off a ball from Ben Farr.
After Motu Pasikala’s convert cut the lead to 12–16, Graham-Taufa retaliated against his old team in the 61st minute.Shortly after Demitric Sifakula, recovering from knee surgery, forcefully carried the ball to provide his team favorable field position, the comeback got underway.
After Motu Pasikala’s convert cut the lead to 12–16, Graham-Taufa retaliated against his old team in the 61st minute.
He caught the Roosters off guard with a swift tap from a penalty 10 meters out, darting on an angled run through several defenders to get the ball down between the posts.
With eight minutes remaining, the Warriors had scored their way into an 18-16 lead from 10 points down.
Four minutes into the game, they had practically sealed the outcome with to concentrated pressure by standoff Caleb Laiman, who gave massive left winger Edward Kosi an open path to score in the corner following a short side play on the left. Pasikala added his fourth conversion to cap off a flawless day.
Leka Halasima and Jacob Laban began in the second row, while Eddie Ieremia, a second rower, was shifted into the centres by the Warriors, who made several alterations to their starting lineup.
The game’s first try came for the Warriors in the thirty-minute mark, when Farr made a breathtaking break from sixty meters out, dodging defenders and offloading near the Roosters’ line for Luke Hanson to score. While Kosi’s late touchdown and Graham-double Taufa’s crucial run were the keys to victory, this try was the highlight of the day.
The Warriors, who have now won seven games this season, are still seventh on the standings with 15 points, one point behind the Dragons (fifth) and Bulldogs (sixth).
