Warriors end season on high with defeat of Manly

The New Zealand Warriors have finished their 2005 season on a positive note by defeating Manly 22-20 at Brookvale Oval in Sydney tonight, leaving the Sea Eagles in real danger of losing the battle for eighth spot.

Warriors stalwart Stacey Jones secured the match-winning try with four minutes remaining in his final appearance for the club, sending the supporters of five teams; his own and the four clubs vying for the last available spot in the finals; into raptures.

The Sea Eagles appeared to have booked themselves a place in the top eight when they fought back from an 18-6 first-half deficit to lead 20-18 with fifteen minutes to play. But the late heroics of Jones, who leaves the Warriors to play out his career in England, now means that the Bulldogs, Roosters, Panthers and Raiders could pinch eighth spot from Manly in the final week of the regular season.

Jones, who lead the Warriors to the 2002 Grand Final and scored a memorable individual try in defeat to the Roosters, finished his NRL career with another fine performance and was well supported by current skipper Steve Price. The loss of Manly back rower Ben Kennedy late in the match certainly assisted the Warriors' cause, the inspirational forward scoring twice and leading from the front before leaving the field after a heavy collision with Brent Webb.

Kennedy gave the home side the best possible start when he strolled over for the first try after only five minutes. A Warriors mistake 30 metres out handed Manly possession and Kennedy tore his way through some flimsy defence to score, Luke Williamson's conversion establishing a 6-0 lead.

The errors continued to flow from the Warriors when in possession of the ball but were holding up well defensively, the Eagles unable to consolidate despite a number of attacking opportunities. But two tries in three minutes to Sione Faumuina and Ruben Wiki put the visitors in front and a third try in the 29th minute, Wairangi Koopu capitalising on a Manly blunder on the changeover, saw them out to an 18-6 lead.

Two minutes before half time, Eagles captain Michael Monaghan caught the Warriors unawares with a well-weighted kick for winger Paul Stephenson to score. Down 18-10 at the break, Manly needed to strike early in the second half to stay in the contest and after surviving an early onslaught, managed to score through an unstoppable Kennedy charge at the line.

Playing the better football and benefiting from an error-prone opposition, the Sea Eagles looked to have wrapped up a finals spot when Chris Hicks crossed for a 20-18 lead in the 64th minute. But the Warriors lifted in the final minutes, opening the way for Jones' last-minute heroics.

Manly now must travel to Canberra next Saturday night in order to qualify for the finals. If the Bulldogs defeat Penrith on Sunday, the winner of the Roosters-Bulldogs clash next Sunday will jump ahead of the Sea Eagles if they fail to bring home the two points from Canberra. The Raiders and Panthers would also be in line to overtake Manly should they win Round 25 matches tomorrow.

•  Have a view on this story? Send us your feedback!