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Warriors – 10 Storm - 32
FULLTIME - 30 unanswered points. Enough said.
78 mins - TRY STORM - Off the back of yet another NZ error. Smith orchestrates again, simple draw and pass in the end and it's Marion Seve who strolls in unimpeded. Smith misses his first kick of the evening. (Storm 32-10)
75 mins - Penalty Storm. Smith takes the opportunity to slow things down and give his boys a break, points to the posts then does the rest off the tee. (Storm 28-10)
73 mins - NZ defence holds out but Luke fumbles at tackle two. Storm with a new set from 30m out.
69 mins - Lost ball Nikorima, Storm take a fresh set from 40m out.
67 mins - Asofa-Solomona crashes towards the line, come sup claiming a try. Referee wants to check it. Looks to be short, and The Bunker confirms that. Handover.
66 mins - Munster kicks on the last from 40m out and the bounce is a tough one for RTS, chasers pull him down in the in-goal. Storm back on the attack...
64 mins - TRY STORM - Cam Smith with another perfect grubber out of dummy half, Bromwich is the chaser and it's all too easy as the big Kiwi regathers and dots down next to the left-hand upright. Conversion's simple. (Storm 26-10)
63 mins - Hughes hits the line flat and hard, just a metre short...
61 mins - Smith pins RTS deep in his in-goal, can't escape. More attacking football for the Storm.
60 mins - Wide they go, Beale in a one-on-one but the tacklers swarm and edge him into touch. Storm nab a 2nd tackle penalty, tap and go quickly.
59 mins - Five penalties in a row! Storm holding out, NZ attack a tad predictable.
58 mins - Make that four penalties in a row. Have to get some points here, NZ.
57 mins - Third penalty in a row sees Welch binned. NZ with a fresh set 10m out...
55 mins - NZ penalty late in the count, they tap at halfway. Smith penalised again, NZ take the tap at the Storm 30m.
53 mins - TRY STORM - Classic Storm play executed to perfection, second man play to Kaufusi creates the overlap and it ends with Vunivalu diving and dotting down comfortably in the corner. Smith nails the conversion from the sideline, again. (Storm 20-10)
52 mins - Penalty Storm, here they come again...
51 mins - Nikorima skips away from one, finds room on the short side but a stray hand from the defence strips the ball free, Storm regather near the NZ 30m.
50 mins - Penalty NZ to relieve some pressure. They restart from halfway.
49 mins - NZ defnece clinging on here. Poor Smith pass costs the Storm 10m, and he follows that up with a grubber straight into touch. NZ survive.
48 mins - Burr pinged for an incrrect play of the ball. Another great attacking chance for the Storm, 30m out now...
47 mins - Hughes spinning out of tackles at the NZ 30m, he's been a constant threat.
46 mins - Harris finds some room, shifts it to Beale in space but he was caught in two minds on the last, ends up flicking backhanded pass directly into touch.
44 mins - Strom threaten immediately from the restart, Smith inside ball put down 30m out from the NZ line.
42 mins - TRY STORM - Smith to Smith, straightforward ball to Hughes on the angle and he waltzes under the posts untouched. Conversion an easy one. (Storm 14-10)
41 mins - Storm collect the restart. Great first set, bomb goes up and they regather after an NZ touch. NZ under the pump early...
Second half underway...
HALFTIME - Two tries to one at the half for NZ with a strong wind at their backs. Encouraging first 40 mins, join us back here shortly.
39 mins - Storm with energy from the restart, RTS eventually cleans up just metres out his posts. Luke puts in another effective kick from dummy half to pin the Storm deep, and that will do us for the first 40.
37 mins - TRY STORM - Vintage Smith on the shortside to engineer a slither of space for Jahrome Highes to crash over. Can't give the Storm second chances from that close. Conversion is over from the sideline.
36 mins - NZ defence has been solid so far, can they hold out here? Kaufusi goes very close.
34 mins - Beale comes out of the line early to make a critical tackle. High tackle on Addo-Carr from Satae on the kick, silly stuff. They go again 10m out...
32 mins - Storm on top in the territory game, just 42m on that last set from NZ. Penalty Storm, Burr too busy in the tackle. Storm take tackle one at the NZ 40m.
30 mins - RTS under the high ball, links with Fusitu'a. Luke out of dummy half launches a touch-finder that is just metres short of a 40/20. Storm scrum at their 20m.
28 mins - Full sets completed both ways, fast pace to this one.
27 mins - NZ defence holds firm, RTS on the spot to collect the grubber.
25 mins - Ah Mau right in the thick of it, some effective ball carries. RTS' kick is straight to the defender, and the Strom grab another penalty. Chambers with a great run, 2nd tackle on NZ 30m.
24 mins - Smith grubbers early in the count, too much heat on that one. NZ restart from the 20m.
22 mins - Warriors follow that with a 70m set from the restart. Storm earn a penalty after the kick reception. They'll go from halfway with a fresh set.
21 mins - TRY WARRIORS - Blake Green comes up with yet another perfectly weighted grubber to find some space behind the Storm posts, Nikorima bolts through to dot down despite an early tackle from Croft. Conversion's good. (Warriors 10-2)
20 mins - Nikorima threatens again, finds Maumalo who's wrapped up wide.
18 mins - Maumalo with a bulldozer kick return, bumps Brodie Croft all the way to Greenlane. Penalty NZ again, they restart from the Storm 40m.
17 mins - Penalty on the first tackle and NZ are right back into the Storm half. Green with a well measured grubber, Vunivalu just gets back into the field of play.
14 mins - TRY WARRIORS - Nikorima makes up for his early gaffe by sparking a slick try, taking the ball at first receiver, drawing two defenders with a step and acceleration, then throwing a laser skip pass to Hiku. He does well to flick it quickly to Maumalo, and the big wing runs it in untouched. Conversion is wide. (NZ 4-2)
13 mins - Another sturdy set from NZ. Luke with some good metres from dummy half.
12 mins - RTS off that left foot step, beats one in an excellent return. Paasi carries tacklers 15m on his back. Green bombs buy Hughes is up to the task.
9 mins - Paasi sparks a break with an offload to Luke, Nikorima in space with plenty of support but his pass misses all of its targets and rolls into touch. Ouch.
8 mins - 60m set on the restart for the Storm, bomb goes up and RTS is under it comfortably. Solid metres on the return, then the Storm cop a penalty for arms in the play of the ball. NZ launch from halfway.
6 mins - Smith opts to take the easy two points, could be that kind of night in these blustery conditions at Mt Smart. (Storm 2-0)
5 mins - Blair penalised for taking out a chaser of the fifth tackle Storm bomb. Great chance for the visitors now, metres out with a set up the sleeve.
4 mins - Shocker on the reception of the dropout, Hiku attempts to reel it in running backwards and clashes with RTS, ball spills and it's a Storm scrum.
3 mins - Maumalo on the cut, picks up some good metres. Blair taken metres out on the last....Luke grubbers from dummy half and it's well weighted, chasers wrap up Hughes to force the dropout.
1 min - Promising first set fron NZ until a Blair offload is put down by Luke late in the count. Ref calls it knocked out by Syrom, NZ tap and go.
We're underway...
4:49pm - The teams are on the paddock, let's get into it.
Kia ora and welcome to live updates as the Warriors look to get back in the win column against the Melbourne Storm in Auckland.
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Commentary will start from around 5pm (NZT). In the meantime check out the video above for a preview of tonight's game.
Betting odds
Warriors - $2.43 Storm - $1.54
Pre-match banter:
Warriors give Luke 'kick up the backside'
Stephen Kearney says "a kick up the backside" has revived Issac Luke's Warriors stocks, while it may have also extended the hooker's test career.
Luke concedes he is fortunate to still be in the first-grade team, after a clunky start to 2019.
Dropped to reserve grade for last month's Magic Round win over St George Illawarra, the 32-year-old was thrown a lifeline, when Nathaniel Roache suffered a back injury that sidelined him from the win over Penrith and the loss to Brisbane.
A typically pragmatic Kearney said Luke was "pretty good" against the Panthers and "OK" against the Broncos, which represented an improvement on his earlier struggles.
"Sometimes, that's what it takes - a bit of a kick in the backside to get yourself going again," Kearney said.
"Has it worked for him? The last couple of games there has been improvement.
"The real strength of his is his running game and I thought prior to then, it wasn't quite at the level that we expect from him and he expects from himself."
Roache has recovered from injury, but will miss Saturday's match against Melbourne in Auckland with what Kearney described as a "personal issue".
Luke's form will be closely monitored by Kiwis coach Michael Maguire, who couldn't take his former South Sydney premiership-winning rake on last year's tour of England, because of off-season surgery.
Brandon Smith owned the New Zealand number-nine jersey on that tour, but has once again had to settle for a bench role at the Storm this season.
It adds a fascinating subplot to the Mt Smart Stadium clash, with both hookers on show vying for a test berth against Tonga - a match that will be staged at the same venue two weeks later.
Veteran Warriors forward Adam Blair - another dumped to reserve grade for a spell, because of modest form - will start in his 299th NRL appearance.
Prop Agnatius Paasi returns after suspension, bringing mana in the middle third that Kearney valued early in the campaign, while Blair struggled and the Warriors came to grips with the absence of retired club great Simon Mannering.
AAP
