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Warriors 42 Bulldogs 18
Warriors - Vailea, Kosi 2, Fonua-Blake, Johnson, Katoa & Watene-Zelezniak tries; Walsh 7 conversions
Bulldogs - Averillo, Addo-Carr & Flanagan tries; Burton 3 conversions
Fulltime
39th minute - TRY to Fonua-Blake
Harris crosses halfway. Asi kicks high and Averillo pulls out of the catch. Vailea bats the ball back and Fonua-Blake gathers to score his first try of the season.
Walsh converts and the Warriors have won, breaking their drought. Probably their best performane of the season...
38th minute - TRY to Kosi
Warriors shift left, where Walsh enters at speed. He dummies a defender and then finds Kosi, who cuts back against the grain to score his second for the night.
Walsh keeps his perfect kicking record from wide, WAR 36-18
37th minute - Bulldogs kick short and the ball appears short, confirmed prematurely by the referee. Kiraz catches the ball on the 40, but is called back and Bulldogs challenge the decision.
Replays are inconclusive (although the Bulldogs are a little unlucky on that call) and Warriors will have the ball in Bulldogs half.
36th minute - TRY to Johnson
Johnson takes the ball from Fonua-Blake and dummies through a gap... then dummies Averillo to score a vintage Johnson try. Walsh converts from in front, WAR 30-18
35th minute - Dockar-Clay kicks and Walsh returns. Burton was at dummy half for that kick...
34th minute - Johnson's stabkick is blocked and Faitala-Mariner falls on the ball.
33rd minute - Vailea charges and offloads, but he is called held. Warriors shift left and Asi ghosts through a halfgap.
32nd minute - King is wrapped up in a tackle and Burton kicks towards the posts, where Curran slides to claim it and then runs 10 metres to clear the danger. Warriors win a clearing penalty.
31st minute - Bulldogs have the ball on the Warriors 30 and King runs hard. They shift left and Schouppe offloads.
30th minute - Bulldogs try to clear their territory and Schouppe charges over halfway. Warriors are penalised in the tackle, so they must defend now.
29th minute - Johnson puts another high kick towards the tryline and Averillo is pressured by two Warriors. Lussick comes up with the ball and finds Curran running support to score. Replays show DWZ knocked on in the challenge, so no try.
28th minute - Bulldogs shift right and into Warrios half. Flanagan kicks high and Walsh is safe. Burton seems to have disappeared from the kick attack.
Harris on halfway again...
27th minute - Harris to halfway again and Afoa charges forward. Johnson kicks ahead, but Averillo defuses the threat.
26th minute - King is eventually dragged down on halfway and Flanagan's kick is easily gathered by DWZ.
25th minute - Johnson's kick is batted back and he tries to open something up on the last, but can't.
24th minute - Harris crosses halfway - how many times have we said that tonight? - and Warriors go deep into Bulldogs half. Warriors shift right and Vailea has a big fend.
23rd minute - Addo-Carr takes a high kick from Johnson and has Vailea on top of him. King rumbles over halfway and Burton kicks too deep, as Walsh takes dead on the full.
22nd minute - Marshall-King kicks from dummy half on halfway and Walsh runs it back.
Harris is back on the field after a short spell.
21st minute - Fonua-Blake offloads and Curran makes more metres. Johnson kicks high to Averillo, who is safe.
20th minute - Burton crosses halfway and then kicks high. Asi claims the catch with a juggle.
19th minute - Warriors shift left, then Katoa nears halfway. Asi kicks high, but short, and Averillo runs forward to claim it.
18th minute - Bulldogs kick off and Fonua-Blake rumbles forward.
17th minute - TRY to Katoa
Curran storms the line and and from the quick play-the-ball, Johnson finds Katoa running hard off his shoulder to cross near the posts. Walsh slots the conversion, WAR 24-18
16th minute - From the scrum, Johnson runs right and finds Vailea. Egan darts from dummy half, but is held up.
Fonua-Blake charges towards the line and Averillo is injured stopping him.
14th minute - Fonua-Blake is over halfway, Egan snipes from dummy half and offloads to Curran. Johnson's high kick is deflected forward by Bulldogs - accidental offside - but the ball falls to Kosi, who is tackled into touch in goal.
13th minute - Burton puts up another high kick and Walsh is taken out, as he tries to get underneath. Bulldogs have knocked on and Walsh is dazed.
12th minute - Warriors kick off and the Bulldogs have momentum...
11th minute - TRY to Addo-Carr
Curran offloads near the tryline, Asi floats a pass to Montoya, who cuts back against the traffic. When the ball shifts right, Addo-Carr pounces on a loose pass from Johnson and races away... Johnson tries to ankle tap him, but has no show.
Burton slots the conversion from wide to lock up the scores, 18-18
10th minute - Egan taps and Katoa rumbles towards the posts. Aitken runs hard again, but Vailea's quick pass his deflected by Addo-Carr, gathered by DWZ.
Eighth minute - Bulldogs try another short dropout, but Asi rushes forward to take the ball. Warriors are on the tryline and Egan finds Aitken running a hard line.
He's smothered by three tacklers, but appears to force the ball. It's awarded a try, but replays show he loses the ball - Flanagan is offside, so Warriors have a penalty.
Seventh minute - Warriors deep inside Bulldogs half and Johnson kicks high. Kosi gathers it and Egan's kick into the goal area forces a dropout.
Sixth minute - Vaughan is driven back in a tackle and Flanagan's kick doesn't cause as much drama for Walsh.
Fifth minute - Walsh kicks off and Patolo is smothered by three tacklers. Schoupp is writhing in agony on the ground, after being tackled.
Fourth minute - TRY to Flanagan
Walsh tries to dart from dummy half near his own line, but the ball is knocked out in the tackle and Flanagan pounces to score. Burton slots the conversion, WAR 18-12
Third minute - Burton kicks high for the Bulldogs and Walsh can't gather it. Bulldogs stream through on the loose ball, but Burns is dragged down short.
Second minute - Curran reaches halfway for the Warriors in their second set of the second half and Johnson's high kick is taken by Averillo.
Halftime
40th minute - Warriors shift left and Aitken looks for an offload, but the Bulldogs defence smother the threat and the siren sounds for halftime, with the home side ahead.
39th minute - Bulldogs tap near their 40, but Asi closes down Flanagan inside their half. Burton's pass is behind his teammate, Johnson hacks ahead and eventually falls on the bobbling ball.
38th minute - Addo-Carr is all over DWZ in the ruck, Harris reaches halfway and Averillo doesn't want a piece of Asi's high kick. The ball goes loose and Johnson forces, but he's offside at the kick, so no try.
37th minute - Burton kicks short and Bulldogs reclaim the ball. Egan is down hurt. Marshall-King kicks ahead, but it pulls up short of the tryline and Walsh brings it back.
36th minute - Warriors are shifting the ball at every opportunity and Murchie runs off Johnson. Johnson kicks to the line and Bulldogs are forced to bat it dead, with Walsh chasing.
35th minute - Marshall-King kicks early and long, and Kosi runs it back. Montoya takes it next, then DWZ , as the forwards make their way back.
DWZ takes a shoulder from Burton and is stunned. Burton goes on report for no arms and Warriors can kick into Bulldogs territory.
34th minute - Johnson kicks to the corner for DWZ, but he can't gather cleanly and Bulldogs come away from their redzone.
33rd minute - Warriors go right from the scrum and Vailea fends off a couple of tacklers. An offload gives Aitken some momentum up the middle and Katoa is held up on the line.
32nd minute - Bulldogs try to break out of their territory, but Faitala-Mariner drops a pass and Warriors get it back on the 30.
31st minute - Warriors shift right and they seem to have an overlap, but Asi's pass is behind Vailea and it goes loose.
30th minute - From the scrum, Warriors go left again and Walsh finds Kosi with too much to do this time.
29th minute - Warriors move right, but Asi has to give himself up, as teammates impede defenders. Johnson puts a stab kick ahead, but it's lost forward by the Bulldogs.
28th minute - Jackson offloads, but his teammate can't gather it and Warriors have the ball on the Bulldogs 30.
27th minute - Warriors tap on halfway and Harris puts Curran through a gap. Warriors get a set restart, but Asi throws a balloon pass to Montoya, who has to reach for it and is tackled into touch.
26th minute - Kosi makes another strong run and wins a penalty... they call that a make-up call.
25th minute - Bulldogs get another set restart, their third, and Edwards is upended. Marshall-King tries to dart from dummy half, but Walsh is awake to that.
Flanagan grubbers behind the goal-line, but Montoya retrests and reaches the field of play.
23rd minute - Burton kicks early from inside his 40, but it never has the angle to reach the Warriors 20. Kosi looks for work up the middle, but he doesn't complete the play-the-ball, so Bulldogs get the ball inside Warriors half.
22nd minute - Harris reaches halfway, Asi kicks high and Kiraz is met with a tackle, as he lands. Bulldogs go left and Faitala-Mariner makes good ground.
21st minute - Afoa takes the hitup from the kickoff...
20th minute - TRY to Kosi
From the midfield scrum, Warriors go left and Walsh runs at two defenders, leaving his winger open down the sideline to score. That response didn't take long...
Walsh's sideline conversion is straight and true, WAR 18-6
19th minute - Walsh's kickoff goes deep ingoal and Bulldogs have to scramble back into the field off play. King knocks on in a play the ball and Warriors have a great attacking chance.
16th minute - TRY to Averillo
Walsh's dropout bounces over halfway and is returned by King.
Burns goes close to scoring and Burton is dragged down just short by Murchie, set reset called, but not needed, as Averillo can't be stopped from close range. Burton converts, WAR 12-6
15th minute - Flanagan puts an early kick into the goal area and Walsh has to give up a dropout.
14th minute - Warriors can't reach halfway and Johnson kicks to the Bulldogs goal-line, where Averillo catches it, then a high tackle from Vailea. Another penalty will put the Bulldogs on attack again.
13th minute - Kosi and Afoa team up from the kickoff again.
11th minute - TRY to Watene-Zelezniak
Bulldogs get a set restart, so Warriors are on the backfoot, but as the ball shifts left, DWZ picks off a pass from Burton and sprints the length of the field to score.
Walsh converts, WAR 12-0
10th minute - Harris clears halfway, Egan sets Fonua-Blake away on a run and Johnson kicks high - it's allowed to bounce, but Burns eventually claims it.
Warriors are penalised and the Bulldogs find touch inside their half...
Ninth minute - Kosi takes the kickoff and lets Afoa loose at the chasers.
Seventh minute - TRY to Vailea
Walsh taps and Afoa dents the defensive line. Fonua-Blake goes close on the second tackle.
Asi keeps the ball and heads towards the posts. When the ball shifts right, Johnson finds Vailea in space and the young centre scores.
Walsh's conversion from wide out is over, WAR 6-0
Sixth minute - Egan runs from dummy half and offloads on the ground. Asi kicks high and is smashed in the tackle - the ball is claimed by Averillo, but the no-arms tackle is penalised and Warriors have a great attacking chance here.
Fifth minute - Marshall-King runs from dummy half and finds Burton. He passes on the last and Burton's grubber kick is charged down and fallen on by Harris.
Fourth minute - Harris takes Addo-Carr high and the Fox is stunned. Harris is penalised and Bulldogs will restart inside Warriors half.
Third minute - Walsh darts from dummy half and Egan wrestles over halfway. Johnson kicks hight, but Averillo is safe. A few Warriors chases left sprawled on the ground...
Second minute - Vaughan reaches halfway for the Bulldogs and Burton kicks long to DWZ, who claims it safely and runs.
First minute - Burton kicks off for the Bulldogs and Kosi keeps the ball for the first hitup.
Harris reaches halfway and Asi kicks high towards KIraz, who jumps to claim the ball.
7:58pm - A late change sees Harrison Edwards injected into the Bulldogs starting pack, replacing Jackson Topine, who falls to the bench.
A moment's silence for former North Queensland and Queensland Origin coach Paul Green, who died this week.
*****
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the NRL clash between NZ Warriors and Canterbury Bulldogs at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium.
This is the third fixture scheduled for the Warriors' spiritual home, since the trans-Tasman borders opened up from the COVID-19 pandemic. You may also recall, this was the match-up that should have taken place in Auckland last season, before the borders closed down again for omicron.
It was billed as Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's farewell to Warriors fans, but when it was transferred back to Australia, the club captain checked out early to begin his rugby re-education and he is now in South Africa with the All Blacks.
At that time, the bottom-of-the-table Bulldogs were regarded as an easy win for the Warriors, who were still battling to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Although new coach Trent Barrett didn't last his first season with the club, Canterbury have experienced a late-season revival that has carried them above the Warriors on the ladder. Victory for the home side would see them draw level, but still far below post-season contention.
The Wayde Egan five-eighth experiment is over after one week, with Daejarn Asi returning to the starting line-up to partner Shaun Johnson, while Euan Aitken returns to the forwards and Viliami Vailea takes his place at centre.
Interim coach Stacey Jones has tweaked his line-up from the one he named earlier in the week, with Bunty Afoa replacing Josh Curran in the starting line-up and Tom Ale coming onto the interchange for Jackson Frei.
TAB Odds: Bulldogs $1.57, Warriors $2.35
Warriors: 1-Reece Walsh, 2-Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3-Viliami Vailea, 4-Marcelo Montoya, 5-Edward Kosi, 6-Daejarn Asi, 7-Shaun Johsnon, 8-Addin Fonua-Blake, 9-Wayde Egan, 10-Tohu Harris, 11-Euan Aitken, 12-Jack Murchie, 15-Bunty Afoa
Interchange: 13-Josh Curran, 14-Freddy Lussick, 16-Eliesa Katoa, 22-Tom Ale
Bulldogs: 1-Jake Averillo, 2-Jacob Kiraz, 3-Aaron Schoupp, 4-Braidon Burns, 5-Josh Addo-Carr, 6-Matt Burton, 7-Kyle Flanagan, 8-Max King, 9-Jeremy Marshall-King, 10-Paul Vaughan, 11-Josh Jackson, 12-Jackson Topine, 13-Raymond Faitala-Mariner
Interchange: 14-Zach Dockar-Clay, 15-Joe Stimson, 16-Harrison Edwards, 17-Chris Patolo
'Not going to change how we play': Jones blames Warriors' attitude for failings
Reece Labuschagne
Interim NZ Warriors coach Stacey Jones has blamed his players' attitudes and not their approach for their shortcomings in their last few NRL matches.
The Warriors are coming off a disappointing 46-10 defeat to South Sydney Rabbitohs - their fourth loss on the bounce.
They will look to avoid their fifth straight defeat against Canterbury Bulldogs, but will have the bonus of playing in front of a home crowd at Mt Smart Stadium.
Jones trusts their gameplan, but wants to see a marked improvement in intensity, as they welcome the 12th-placed Bulldogs.
"Last week was hugely disappointing," he said. "I think the week before back here at home, there were some real positive signs, but on the weekend, it was very disappointing.
"We addressed it, that our attitude was poor, our attitude to defend was poor. You have that mindset, that's what can happen to you.
"For the last couple of months, we've been on the road, we've tried to keep things short and sharp, and make sure the energy levels are there first and foremost.
"Last week, there were obvious signs that we were down in energy and this week, we've had to make sure we're going to turn up on Friday with energy.
"We're not going to change any structure or how we play, or how we attack or defend. It's got to be a shift in our intensity to play the game at a high level."
The game against the Bulldogs will be the penultimate game at Mt Smart Stadium this season, with the Warriors hosting Gold Coast Titans in their last match.
Jones believes the home crowd support will make a difference, but knows they face the daunting prospect of seeing off a Bulldogs outfit on the up.
"It certainly does, but that's not going to be the thing that's going to turn it around for us," he said. "It certainly does help playing back here at home, in front of our crowd.
"We're coming up against a team that's playing some good footy, but the focus for us has been on us.
"Michael Potter has got them going really well. Their key players are playing really good footy and they're playing with confidence.
"They're defending really well, so it's going to be a really tough battle for us."
