NRL round-24: Sea Eagles squeak one out against the Warriors
The Sea Eagles were able to come from behind in a narrow victory over the New Zealand Warriors, at home at the Brookvale Oval on Saturday.
The Sea Eagles were in tough against a desperate Warriors side, but were able to kick their way to victory late. The Warriors held a small four-point lead at half time, but the Sea Eagles were able to crawl back into the match and take a 19-16 win.
Recap
The Warriors opened the scoring with a penalty from James Maloney in the 11th minute, to make the game 2-0. However, the Sea Eagles quickly responded with a try from Steve Matai, and a conversion from Jamie Lyon, making the game 6-2.
The Warriors answered back in the 23rd minute with a try and conversion from Maloney, to give the away side back the lead at 8-6.
The Eagles again bounced back quickly as Tony Williams dashed over the whitewash, for his side’s second try of the day, but with a missed conversion from Lyon the Eagles were only able to take a marginal 10-8 lead.
The Warriors took advantage of the kicking gaff, with another try, courtesy of Simon Mannering in the 37th minute. The conversion from Maloney gave the visitors a 14-10 lead heading into the half.
The Warriors quickly added to their lead after the break, as Maloney hit his second penalty of the day in the 45th minute, to make the game 16-10.
However, the Sea Eagles answered back swiftly, with a second try from Williams, and a Lyon conversion to lock the game up at 16.
The two sides battled it out late, but it was a field goal from Trent Hodkinson that finally broke the deadlock in the 76th minute. Lyon put through a penalty in the 80th minute to extend the home sides lead to 19-16, and cement the victory.
The Sea Eagles found themselves in a tight contest against the New Zealanders, but were able to do just enough with their feet, as Hodkinson provided a rare game winning field goal.
The Warriors will be disappointed in the loss, as they left Maloney to record the majority of the points, registering a try, two conversion and two penalties for 12 points.
Analysis
The Sea Eagles continue to move their way up the standings late in the year. They will hope to continue tallying wins, in their attempt to obtain home field advantage.
The Warriors meanwhile, are sitting precariously in seventh spot. They will want to win the last two games of the season in order to cement a play-off spot.
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