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Warriors 18 Dragons 19
Warriors - Egan, Afoa & Katoa tries; Townsend 3 conversions
Dragons - Hunt, Bird, Ramsay & Beale tries; Norman penalty & drop goal
Golden Point 2
Fourth minute - Warriors run off the scrum, but RTS drops the ball and the Dragons have another chance to win.
This time, Norman is accurate and the Warriors lose another heartbreaker. They can sure find ways to lose games this season... sigh!
Third minute - McCullough's pass to Hunt is better, but it's charged down and Dragons knock on.
Second minute - Bird runs towards the posts, but MCullough's pass to Norman is terrible and he can't kick for goal. Hunt grubbers and the Warriors gather, but they are offside.
First minute - Dragon skick off and Afoa charges off the back fence. Fonua-Blake backs his way upfield, but a woeful pass finds Hunt.
Golden Point 1
Fifth minute - Warriors trying to get out of their half and Fonua-Blake gets there. Townsend drops for goal, but it's not close.
Siren sounds and we have another five minutes of Golden Point.
Fourth minute - Warriors just outside their own 30 and O'Sullivan kicks.
Dragons look for position to drop kick and they have it. Norman hooks his kicks.
Third minute - Hunt kicks long, but DWZ eventually smothers the ball, under pressure from Ramsay.
Kosi reels away from a crusher tackle.
Second minute - Afoa reaches halfway, Katoa straightens. Townsend kicks high, Dufty lowered.
First minute - Dragons have first use of the ball and cross halfway, Norman bombs DWZ.
Second half
40th minute - Try to Ramsay
Dragons run right, then left and Ramsay crosses untouched. Norman will have a sideline conversion to win...
He hits the post and we have Golden Point, 18-18
39th minute - Dragons in Warriors half. Kicked ahead and Kosi kicks the ball back towards his own line, before falling on it.
RTS is smashed in a tackle behind his own line, so Warriors dropout.
38th minute - Warriors trying to get clear of their line. Fonua-Blake kills some time, after getting smacked in the jaw by McGuire.
Townsend kicks downfield, caught by Dufty, who sets his team on a break.
37th minute - Dragons stream into Warriors half. Kerr looks for an offload on the last tackle, but loses the ball, ruled forward.
36th minute - RTS kicks off and Kerr charges upfield.
35th minute - TRY to Bird
Dragons into Warriors half. Bird kicks behind the defence, and RTS and Kosi make a hash of kicking it dead.
Norman misses another conversion, WAR 18-14
33rd minute - Sironen lopes towards the line, O'Sullivan jinks towards the posts, but Townsend's attempted pot is low and wide, and concedes a seven-tackle set. Dumb.
32nd minute - RTS kicks off and the Warriors must tackle up now. Vaughan rumbles forward.
Burns spills the ball in a tackle, so the Warriors have a chance to put this away.
31st minute - Try to Beale
More pressure form the Dragons and McGuire is tackled short. Ball goes right and Beale has plenty of space to cross in the corner.
Crucially perhaps, Norman misses his conversion from wide right, WAR 18-10
30th minute - Kerr offloads and Hunt cuts a swath, but his loose pass is knocked away by the Warriors.
29th minute - Fonua-Blake tries to offload in a tackle, but spills the ball and Dragons can bust out.
28th minute - Murdoch-Masila angles towards the posts, O'Sullivan tries to kick behind the line, but Dufty gathers and threatens to bust upfield. He trips over before halfway, but no-one is there for the play-the-ball and the ball goes into touch.
27th minute - Dragons fumbled the ball in their own half and Warriors go on attack again.
26th minute - Fonua-Blake reaches halfway, Afoa rumbles on and they run on the last, but Kosi runs out of room, tackled into touch by Hunt.
25th minute - Katoa is apparently cleared to rejoin the game. Hunt kicks on the last, Kosi catches safely.
24th minute - Warriors over halfway, Townsend and RTS run on the last, but Pompey kicks and Dufty easily controls.
23rd minute - Sironen makes halfway and Townsend finds Dufty with his kick. Wiliame crosses halfway and Bird's poor kick is gathered by RTS.
22nd minute - Warriors get six more tackles, as they try to barge their way upfield. RTS makes metres.
21st minute - Wiliame goes close out left, Norman jinks back towards the corner and is gang-tackled into touch.
20th minute - Dragons stream onto attack and get a set restart. Kerr is over the line, but held up - six more tackles for offside though.
RTS is down with a head cut.
19th minute - Norman kicks on the third tackle and it bounces behind the goal-line. Hunt chases hard and RTS has to kick dead - great result for the Dragons.
18th minute - Townsend kicks from halfway and Ramsay gathers on his 10.
17th minute - Townsend kicks to the posts, but Dragons tidy up. Katoa leaves the field after that tackle.
Untidy possession from the Dragons, but Dufty and Beale regather, and Warriors control the kick.
16th minute - Katoa cuts Fuimaono down in a tackle just a few metres out from the line and DWZ sparks an attack.
15th minute - Warriors drop out to halfway and Dragons forwards rumble upfield.
14th minute - Hunt makes halfway and Vaughan offloads. Hunt runs on the last and Norman kicks behind RTS, who kicks it dead.
13th minute - Norman kicks off and Kosi barely stops the ball bouncing into touch. Katoa is a beast!
O'Sullivan kicks early and puts Dufty under pressure.
11th minute - Try to Afoa
Egan teases from dummy half, Evans goes close and Afoa is the next runner, bouncing off a defender as he crosses under the bar.
Townsend converts, WAR 18-6
10th minute - Warriors making good metres, but O'Sullivan is tipped in a tackle and De Belin is on report.
Townsend kicks to the corner and Afoa punches up the middle.
Ninth minute - Dragons reach halfway through McCullough and Norman bombs to DWZ.
Eighth minute - Katoa runs strongly again and Katoa makes halfway. Townsend kicks expertly to the corner.
Seventh minute - On the last tackle, Dufty throws a long pass and Beale is over in the corner, but the pass is called forward. Lucky for the Warriors.
Sixth minute - Hunt draws a penalty and Dragons make halfway.
Fifth minute - Warriors now deep inside Dragons half. Ball goes right, but Montoya taken down.
Townsend kicks towards the posts, but Hunt rises high.
Fourth minute - Dragons make halfway and Norman kicks high to DWZ. McGuire tackles dangerously on Kosi and is penalised for a cannon ball.
Third minute - Ah Mau offloads and Warriors are deep in Dragons territory. O'Sullivan kicks towards the corner and finds touch only a couple of metres out.
Second minute - Apparently Harris has also picked up a shoulder injury. Dragons kick long and Kosi throws a long pass to RTS, who jinks past a couple of tacklers.
First minute - Warriors receive the kickoff and rumble upfield. Katoa has had a case of the dropsies lately, but looks a different proposition tonight.
First half
40th minute - Townsend kicks high towards Beale, who is safe.
Burns makes halfway, but loses the ball, as the halftime siren sounds. Great comeback from the Warriors over the dying stages of that half, so let's hope they can continue that after the break.
39th minute - Warriors field the kickoff and rumble upfield.
37th minute - TRY to Katoa
Another restart for the Warriors on the Dragons line... they must score.
Egan finds Townsend from dummy half and Katoa runs an inside line towards the posts. He grounds short and just manages to retain control as he slides over.
Townsend slots the conversion, WAR 12-6
36th minute - Harris won't be back from his HIA, bugger.
Set restart for the Warriors and Tevaga gets an offload.
35th minute - Dragons on halfway, but Dufty floats a pass forward, under pressure from Montoya.
34th minute - Warriors deep inside Dragon territory, but Townsend is smashed in a tackle and spills the ball.
33rd minute - Dragons struggling to get out of their half, Norman kicks from his 30 and RTS eventually gathers to send DWZ away.
32nd minute - Fonua-Blake charges upfield from the kickoff and somehow offloads from inside a scrum of tacklers.
RTS makes a long break, Townsend kicks to the line, but Dufty gathers and gets back into play.
30th minute - Try to Egan
Katoa charges at the line and when he's tackled, Egan is at dummy half, sending the defenders the wrong way to duck over.
Townsend has kicking duties on his return and slots the conversion, 6-6
29th minute - Bird spills the ball in a tackle in his own half, so the Warriors have a chance to build pressure here.
Townsend links with Pompey.
28th minute - Warriors go left, looking for a way out of their half, O'Sullivan kicks to touch inside the Dragons 10.
27th minute - Wiliame coming off for his HIA. Dragons go right again, Vaughan kicks to the line, but RTS controls the ball.
26th minute - Katoa charges into a tthree-man tackle and Wiliame stays down, after colliding with Lawrie, who leaves for an HIA. Wiliame stays on, but that may yet change.
O'Sullivan kicks long to Dufty.
25th minute - Hunt runs on the last and Kerr eventually chips, but the ball is gathered expertly by RTS.
24th minute - RTS kicks behind the goal-line and Dragons run it out. Sims sends Townsend reeling with a fend and Beale races across halfway.
22nd minute - Try to Hunt
More tackling facing the Warriors, but Vaughan charges at the posts and offloads to Hunt, who ducks under a tackle to score.
Norman misses the conversion, but Harris has gone off for that head exam, STG 6-0
21st minute - Warriors kick off and Dragons bring the ball upfield. Harris falls badly in a tackle, with a shoulder to the head and than gets buried under the tackled player, Sims.
He will likely need an HIA.
Warriors are trying to get out of their own half, but Murdoch-Masila drops the ball again.
19th minute - Dragons opt to kick for goal and Norman slots it to give them the lead, STG 2-0
18th minute - Norman kicks towards the posts and Pompey rises high to claim it, but ref has called an escort on O'Sullivan. RTS challenges, but O'Sullivan clearly changes his position to block the chases.
17th minute - Dragons back on attack from another dropout. They're testing the left defence.
16th minute - Dragons charge back on attack from the dropout and go right. Kerr goes close again, Hunt grubbers towards the posts and Townsend knock the ball dead again.
15th minute - Hunt kicks behind DWZ, who is forced to bat the ball dead, under pressure from Ramsay.
14th minute - Set restart to the Dragons, which will help them clear their territory. Vaughan reaches halfway.
13th minute - Warriors trying to run out from their own line and Fonaua-Blake obliges. Townsend kicks early and long, and Dufty is rounded up inside his own 10.
12th minute - Warriors must tackle strong here. They conced a set restart, but Kerr bursts through a gap and spills the ball over the tryline in O'Sullivan's tackle.
11th minute - Murdoch-Masila gets a floating pass from Townsend and drops it cold on his own 10. Dragons have great attacking position.
10th minute - De Belin reaches halfway, the Dragons forwards drive forward and Norman chips towards RTS, who catches under pressure.
Ninth minute - Evans takes the long dropout, but tries to offload and O'Sullivan can't gather cleanly for a knock-on. Errors like that usually lead to tries...
Eighth minute - RTS kicks behind the line and Ramsay can't escape his goal area. Dragons dropout.
Seventh minute - Hunt kicks high to DWZ, who links with RTS. Murdoch-Masila makes metres.
Sixth minute - RTS threatens on the left and puts a little kick ahead, gathered by Kosi, who also grubbers, but ends up falling on the ball for a handover.
Fifth minute - Townsend makes halfway, Fonua-Blake charges forward and Warriors go on attack.
Fourth minute - Townsend kicks to Beale. Vaughan barely reaches halfway on the last tackle and Hunt's kick goes dead for a seven-tackle set.
Third minute - De Belin makes halfway, Norman kicks to RTS. Ball goes left and Pompey makes good ground.
Second minute - Katoa runs an angle off Townsend, who kicks long to Dufty on his goal-line. Sims smashes Townsend in a tackle, who is still down.
First minute - Pretty empty ground tonight, as NSW reels under another wave of COVID-19. Warriors kick off and Vaughan carries first for Dragons.
Vaughan reaches halfway and Norman kicks high to DWZ.
7:47pm - Most interest tonight will surround the arrival of reinforcements Chad Townsend and Dallin Watene-Zeleniak, with injuries taking Kodi Nikorima and Reece Walsh out of the line-up.
They will need to hit the ground running.
Also in the Dragons line-up are a couple of players that called the Warriors home last season - Gerard Beale and Daniel Alvaro.
*****
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the NRL clash between NZ Warriors and St George Dragons from Central Coast Stadium, Gosford.
The Warriors hope to snap a three-game losing streak and come up against a team that has also staggered through the current season, while still maintaining a shot at the top-eight playoffs.
St George actually sit in the eight, two points clear of the Warriors, and pulled off a 22-20 thriller over Canberra Raiders in their last outing two weeks ago. They began the season with four consecutive wins from their first five games and have ridden that brief surge this far.
Ironically, that run ended with 20-14 defeat by the Warriors.
Before their most recent victory over the Raiders, the Dragons became Canterbury Bulldogs' second victims of the season - a graphic illustration of their inconsistent form.
While they sit only two points outside the eight, the Warriors seem like a team with an eye on next season already, with a plethora of recent mid-season signings.
They are yet to string consecutive wins together and have dropped winnable games to North Queensland Cowboys and Newcastle Knights - two teams also battling to make the playoffs. A loss tonight could be the last straw.
With Chad Townsend returning to the club for the rest of the season and former NZ Kiwis captain Dallin Watene-Zelezniak signing on for an extended stay, tonight's line-up has a new look about it.
Teen sensation Reece Walsh will miss the contest, with a hamstring injury suffered in Origin camp, while half Kodi Nikorima is a late scratching, replaced by Sean O'Sullivan.
Warriors: 1-Roger Tuivasa-Shck, 2-Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3-Adam Pompey, 4-Marcelo Montoya, 5-Edward Kosi, 22-Sean O'Sullivan, 7-Chad Townsend, 8-Addin Fonua-Blake, 9-Wayde Egan, 10-Kane Evans, 11-Eliesa Katoa, 12-Ben Murdoch-Masila, 13-Tohu Harris
Interchange: 14-Jazz Tevaga, 15-Leeson Ah Mau, 16-Bunty Afoa, 17- Bayley Sironen
Dragons: 1-Matt Dufty, 2-Cody Ramsey, 3-Brayden Wiliame, 4-Jack Bird, 5-Gerard Beale, 6-Corey Norman, 7-Ben Hunt, 8-Blake Lawrie, 9-Andrew McCullough, 10-Paul Vaughan, 11-Josh Kerr, 12-Tariq Sims, 13-Jack De Belin
Interchange: 14-Josh McGuire, 15-Billy Burns, 16-Daniel Alvaro, 17-Tyrell Fuimaono
TAB Odds: Warriors $1.87, Dragons $1.87
'It happened in the past': Warriors CEO dismisses concerns over controversial new signing Lodge
NZ Warriors chief executive Cam George is confident new signing Matt Lodge's chequered past is firmly behind him, insisting his addition is all about "forward thinking".
The 26-year-old prop has agreed to terms on a two-year deal, effective immediately, after being granted an early release from his contract with Brisbane Broncos.
The signing has caused considerable conjecture among the Warriors fanbase. While Lodge's on-field talent is undeniable - a blockbusting front-rower with a relentless motor - he brings some dark baggage with him to the Warriors.
In 2016, the Australian was arrested and charged with assault in New York City, after threatening two German tourists, then forcing his way into their apartment building, where he assaulted a man who had come to their aid.
He then broke into the man's apartment, where he destroyed furniture and attempted to smash down a door to a bathroom, where the victim's wife and son were hiding.
Charged with felony burglary causing injury, Lodge entered a guilty plea and avoided a jail sentence by completing 200 hours of community service in Australia, receiving treatment for alcohol abuse and anger, and abstaining from drugs and alcohol.
The incident saw Lodge sacked by his Wests Tigers team, before he made a return to the NRL on a one-year deal with the Broncos in 2017.
The NRL was widely criticised for allowing Lodge to rejoin the competition, as more allegations emerged from his former partner, who accused him of being abusive during their relationship.
George says he and club stakeholders had done their due diligence on Lodge, and believe the Sydney native has clearly turned over a new leaf in his life, pointing to his incident-free tenure with the Broncos.
"At the end of the day, it happened in the past," George tells Newshub. "We're very aware of the circumstances and understand the history, but we're a forward-thinking club.
"We're not trying to give Matt a second chance, he's already had that. The NRL deemed him a fit and proper person to come back into the NRL back in 2017.
"He's been playing with the Brisbane Broncos for the last three years and hasn't put a foot wrong.
"You've got to look forward... we're trying to build a winning footy team. We're trying to build a club that's going to have high standards and be competitive at the highest level.
"We're very comfortable with our decision. Our stakeholders, sponsors, we've all had these discussions with them.
"Everyone's embracing the opportunity to help Matt enhance himself and his young family in New Zealand."
George dismisses any suggestion Lodge doesn't fit within the Warriors' proud family-centric culture, which he thinks will only result in further positive growth.
"Everyone talks about culture. What we can do is know him and back our culture to do what's right for people when they come to our club, and I think Matt will benefit very much from being in our club.
"But also I just want to reiterate that we're a forward-thinking club and it's about the future for us."
The Warriors have often struggled to compete with rival clubs to secure elite Australian talent and securing a player of Lodge's calibre on a deal George describes as "very salary-cap friendly" could be seen as a coup for the Auckland club.
The Broncos are believed to be covering almost half of Lodge's $850,000-per-season contract for its remaining three years.
That represents superb value for the Warriors, with relatively minimal impact on its salary cap for a forward who will add plenty of starch to its rapidly growing pack.
Lodge has averaged 129 run metres and 25 tackles per game in 12 appearances for the struggling Broncos this year in a stellar comeback from an knee-ligament (ACL) tear that sidelined him throughout 2020.
"Whatever deal he's done with [the Broncos] has certainly aided us in doing a very attractive deal for our club," says George. "It's very salary-cap friendly and we're really comfortable with the decision we've made in that respect.
"When you look at the make-up of what we've got there now, there's some really good footy within the forward pack. There's size, there's aggression, and that's something that our young backs and speed we've put into the squad now will certainly benefit from over time.
"It's about seizing the opportunity when they become available in the best interests of your club."
As it stands, there are already some familiar faces to Lodge at the Warriors. Recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan is the father of his partner, Jessica, whose brother, Sean O'Sullivan, is a contracted player.
George rejects the implication of a conflict of interest in acquiring Lodge, claiming O'Sullivan had played no part in the deal.
"I did the whole negotiations," says George. "Peter O'Sullivan is here to build a club to win footy games, that's what he'll be measured on... and he's doing a great job.
"There's no way shape or form that a player of Matt's quality should be disadvantaged by his family connection to our club. In fact, conversely, you could say that'll probably help him.
"We're trying to build a club and there are plenty of examples at other clubs that family connections can work in your favour."
Not named in the game day squad on Tuesday, Lodge isn't eligible to play for the Warriors against St George Illawarra Dragons on Friday, but should make his club debut the following weekend against Cronulla Sharks.
He joins a growing list of recent acquisitions that includes former Warriors star Shaun Johnson, former NZ Kiwis captain Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, temporary halves reinforcement Chad Townsend and promising Melbourne Storm forward Aaron Pene.
More to come
