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Full-time: Penrith Panthers 27 (Tyrone Peachey 3 & James Maloney tries; Nathan Cleary five goals; Maloney field goal) NZ Warriors 12 (Issac Luke & David Fusitu'a tries; Shaun Johnson two goals)
78th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 27
The Panthers faithful are celebrating, as the final rites are read on this one.
It's the end of the Warriors' season and the end of Mannering's career - not the way he would want to go out.
77th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 27
Maloney kicks long and the ball stops just over the goal-line, just before the touch-line. Fusitu'a has plenty of time to run it out, but that's a perfect illustration of what's killed the Warriors tonight.
75th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 27
Johnson puts Beale through a half-gap, but he's pulled down. On the last, Green puts up a high kick, it spills loose, but the Warriors can't gather the ball before it dribbles into touch.
73rd minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 27
Luke kicks to the line, but Mansour scurries back to knock it dead. Warriors had numbers outside.
72nd minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 27
Johnson kicks high on the last, Mannering is called offside, but Fusitu'a is run off the ball and wins a penalty.
70th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 27
Warriors mount an attack, but the pass from Hiku to Beale is spilled - kinda sums up their night.
68th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 27
Luke kicks off short and Penrith knock on.
68th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 27
Cleary weights the ball into the in-goal and Green has to tap it dead. Johnson's short dropout doesn't go 10 metres, so Penrith have a penalty in front of the posts.
Cleary takes the shot at goal to soak up time - he takes his time and makes no mistake.
64th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 25
Tevaga is penalised in a tackle and Penrith clear to halfway. They're maintaining the pressure and the Warriors are tired.
63rd minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 25
Cleary kicks long and Hiku almost trips over himself, trying to gather the ball. He eventually does, but he needs attention from the trainer.
62nd minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 25
Johnson kicks high on the last and DWZ is there again, climbing high
61st minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 25
That's a great stat - the Warriors' best final quarter this season is 12 points. That goal made the margin 13.
60th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 25
Maloney gets the ball in midfield, stops and drops a goal to put his team beyond two converted tries. Smart.
59th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 24
Green kicks early and long, but DWZ is there again. The Warriors are making no ground.
57th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 24
Green kicks high and DWZ slides in to claim it before it hits the ground.
57th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 24
Cleary kicks high and Hiku leaps to take it. Warriors are deep in their own half.
56th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 24
Johnson tries an early, flat kick and it's deflected straight into the arms of Mansour - not a good result.
55th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 24
Cleary recovers a slap back from a kick, but his pass to Peachey is miles forward.
53rd minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 24
Warriors need a spark immediately to get back in the hunt. Johnson bombs on the last and Mansour is safe.
50th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 24
TRY to Peachey, who dives over in the right corner. The Warriors were facing their sixth consecutive defensive set and had to crack eventually.
There was some suspicion that the last pass went forward, but in the end, Cecchin sent it upstairs to check for obstruction - there was none.
Cleary converts from the sideline. That's a killer blow.
49th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Maloney kicks again and Hiku almost air-kicks it, but it just dribbles dead for another dropout.
Johnson kicks short again and again Harawira-Naera claims it.
48th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Johnson kicks short for Fusitu'a this time, but Penrith are onto it again.
47th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Panthers forced a goal-line drop-out, when Hiku spills a high kick backwards and then can't stay in play. Johnson attempts the short kick, but Harawira-Naera soars high to claim it for Penrith.
Maloney kicks to the line and Hiku can't make the field of play - another dropout.
45th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Warriors are throwing the ball around like it's the last tackle of the set - but it's only the third. Eventually, Mannering spills the ball and coughs up possession.
44th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Penrith are backpeddling and conceding penalties in rapid succession. Warriors are hot on attack with a full set.
42nd minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Luke buries Maloney in a tackle, driving him headfirst into the ground. Maloney is penalised for offside, but Luke is lucky to still be on the field.
40th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Luke to kick off for the second half - he's kicking more conservatively, after that costly mistake earlier.
Penrith earn an early penalty, with Afoa and Tevaga lying too long in a tackle.
40th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Considering how momentum turned in the middle stages of that first half - including the loss of captain and star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck - the Warriors have shown some resilience to stem the tide.
But they do need to score first after the restart. There's still enough firepower to turn this around, but they need to strike first.
Half-time: Penrith Panthers 18 (Tyrone Peachey 2 & James Maloney tries; Nathan Cleary 3 goals) NZ Warriors 12 (Issac Luke & David Fusitu'a tries; Shaun Johnson 2 goals)
Biggest stat of the first half = Warriors 35 percent possession.
39th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
There's no real structure to the Warriors attack, but Tevaga straightens and heads towards the posts. On the last tackle, Johnson kicks for Maumalo, but the big wing is penalised and that ends the half.
After the melee, Cleary is hobbling towards the dressing room.
38th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Peachey is penalised for offside in a tackle on Hiku and the Warriors tap on the 20.
36th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Cleary puts in a huge kick from his own half and Maumalo isn't close to catching it cleanly. Luckily, the Panthers chasers were all off-side - a massive let-off for the Warriors.
35th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Ref Henry Perenara is trying to set a scrum, but neither team is really co-operating. Warriors put in a push, but Panthers keep possession.
34th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Johnson gets a shaky pass on the last, but finds touch inside the Panthers 20. They look rattled and just need to stay close through these middle stages.
33rd minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
Beale chips ahead on the last tackle and DWZ looks to spark a counterattack.
Maloney tries for another 40-20, but doesn't have the angle this time.
30th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
The Panthers have scored 18 unanswered points. Cleary kicks long on the sixth and Hiku is there to run it back.
Diagnosis from Doc John Mayhew is RTS has a strained medial ligament and won't be back. That's a huge blow.
29th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 18
TRY to Peachey. Panthers go on the attack from Kata's mistake and when the ball spreads right, Maumalo tries for the intercept and comes up empty-handed.
Peachey dives over untouched. Warriors are starting to fall apart here.
Cleary's conversion drifts right.
27th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 14
Tuivasa-Sheck is carried off the field by trainer and physio, Beale comes into the centres and Hiku to fullback.
26th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 14
Maumalo has to turn to tidy up a grubber kick at the end of a set. He passes to RTS, who is tackled and comes up lame.
Remember, he had a dodgy ankle all week, but this looks like a knee.
Meanwhile, Kata makes another error at the play-the-ball and coughs up possession.
25th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 14
TRY to James Maloney. Katoa runs from dummy half and sets Watene-Zelezniak loose.
When he's challenged, DWZ finds Maloney open and he's under the posts. Cleary converts and the Warriors are suddenly behind.
Hate to say I told you so, but that kick-off...
22nd minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 8
Cleary grubbers towards the posts on the last tackle, but RTS is there to tidy up and make a few metres.
21st minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 8
Luke puts the kick-off out on the full, so Penrith have a penalty on halfway. This should hurt the Warriors again.
20th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 8
TRY to Tyrone Peachey. Cleary puts a nice kick through to the try-line, Maumalo is slow to turn and cover, allowing Peachey to force down before the dead-ball line.
Blair's mistake at the other end of the field costs the Warriors dearly. Cleary converts.
19th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 2
Panthers are pressing, but Katoa's pass is behind the receiver and they scramble back.
18th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 2
Blair charging towards the line and looking for the offload, but loses the ball in the tackle. He's struggling back on defence.
Maloney kicks a 40-20 - that's typical Maloney opportunism!
17th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 2
Johnson kicks high again at the end of the next set, Watene-Zelezniak safe underneath.
Maloney spills the ball in a tackle and Fusitu'a recovers.
15th minute: Warriors 12 Panthers 2
TRY to David Fusitu'a. Some brillient interpassing, involving an offload from Gavet, then Hiku, Johnson and finally Fusitu'a in the corner.
That equals the Warriors record for most tries in a season, matching Francis Meli. It was vintage Warriors.
Johnson converts from the sideline.
11th minute: Warriors 6 Panthers 2
On the restart, Gavet loses the ball in the tackle, but draws the penalty. From the tap, Kata plays the ball incorrectly and hands possession to Penrith.
Ninth minute: Warriors 6 Panthers 2
TRY to Issac Luke - maybe. Luke dives over from dummy half close to the line, referee Matt Cecchin sends it upstairs as a try, but they're checking the grounding.
The bunker cannot find enough evidence to overrule the ref's call, so it's a try. Johnson converts.
Seventh minute: Warriors 0 Panthers 2
Kikaw tries to offload, but it goes loose and Johnson hares away upfield. He's run down by Blake and when the ball spreads left, Maumalo is bundled into touch.
Penrith are penalised for off-side.
Sixth minute: Warriors 0 Panthers 2
Johnson kicks high again on the sixth tackle and Mansour is safe underneath.
Fifth minute: Warriors 0 Panthers 2
Penrith get a roll on and kick on the Warriors 40 - easily defused by RTS at the back.
Third minute: Warriors 0 Panthers 2
Nathan Cleary slots the penalty goal to open the scoring.
Second minute: Warriors 0 Panthers 0
Paasi takes Maloney low in the act of kicking. It will be the opening penalty of the game and the Panthers forwards rush in to tell Passi that's not acceptable.
First minute: Warriors 0 Panthers 0
Nope, Gavet stays on and Johnson bombs at the end of the first set.
First minute: Warriors 0 Panthers 0
James Gavet is taken awkwardly in a tackle and is still on the ground. He ran headfirst into Campbell-Gillard's shoulder and looks like he'll come off for an HIA.
First minute: Warriors 0 Panthers 0
Penrith set to kick through ex-Warrior James Maloney. Paasi takes the first hit-up for the Warriors.
*****
Looks like wet conditions for the Warriors vs Penrith clash. Remember, the Warriors women were diverted from Sydney by a lightning storm last night.
Who will this favour?
*****
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live updates of the long-awaited NRL playoff return of the NZ Warriors.
It's taken seven years for the Auckland-based club to earn a post-season appearance, after their lost visit to the 2011 Grand Final.
Although they scraped into the eighth and final playoff spot, they could so easily have finished higher and bring the league's best road record into the knockout stage.
Tonight, they face Penrith Panthers in Sydney - a side they split the regular-season series with. Panthers won at home in July and Warriors prevailed at Mt Smart Stadium last month.
- Warriors veterans thrilled at finals shot
- Shaun Johnson will lead Warriors to title - Graham Lowe
- All Blacks vs Warriors: The official guide to what to watch
After a variety of injury concerns over recent weeks, the Warriors will be at full strength, although captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (ankle) and retiring veteran Simon Mannering (sternum) had to pass late fitness tests to take their places in the starting line-up.
Most importantly, half Blake Green returns, after missing the previous two wins through injury.
Plenty of NZ interst in the Panthers team too, with Kiwis Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and James Fisher-Harris in the starting 13, and former Warrior James Maloney likely to play a key role in this encounter.
Of course, Nathan Cleary learnt everything he knows as a Mt Smart ball-boy too ;-)
The respective line-ups are:
Warriors: 1-Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 2-David Fusitu'a, 3-Pete Hiku, 4-Solomone Kata, 5-Ken Maumalo, Blake Green, 7-Shaun Johnson, 8-James Gavet, 9-Issac Luke, 10- Agnatius Paasi, 11-Adam Blair, 12-Tohu Harris, 13-Simon Mannering
Interchange: 14-Jazz Tevaga, 15-Isaiah Papali'i, 16-Bunty Afoa, 17-Gerard Beale
Panthers: 1-Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 2-Josh Mansour, 3-Waga Blake, 4-Tyrone Peachey, 5-Christian Crichton, 6-James Maloney, 7-Nathan Cleary, 8-Trent Merrin, 9-Sione Katoa, 10-Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 11-Viliame Kikau, 12-Isaah Yeo, 13-James Fisher-Harris
Interchange: 14-Tyrone May, 15-Moses Leota, 16-Corey Harawira-Naera, 17-James Tamou
Newshub.
