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The young guns of the One New Zealand Warriors are once again grand final-bound after their stellar performance in the Harold Matthews Cup (under-17) preliminary final. The Warriors claimed a decisive 28-8 victory over South Sydney this past Sunday at Redfern Oval in Sydney, thanks largely to fullback Jeremiah Lemana, who scored a hat-trick.
Coming off their premiership win in their debut campaign last year, the Warriors will now be defending their title against the Newcastle Knights. The Knights had a narrow win over the Central Coast Roosters 26-20 in the other preliminary final. The grand final will be held at Leichhardt Oval next Sunday.
Lemana was the star of the day, scoring the Warriors' first, third, and fifth tries. In the fifth minute, he expertly ran a hole after hooker Dreytin Marriott linked with halfback Alapati Soagia, coming off his right to score. The Rabbitohs managed to level the scores, but the Warriors' second try, a powerful display right on halftime, tilted the scales back in their favour. Marriott skirted out left, dropping second rower Bishop Neal underneath with the big man steaming straight ahead through and over defenders to score, making it 10-4.
The score became 10-8 soon after halftime with a second Feltham try, but that would be the last time the Rabbitohs would score as the Warriors took control of the contest. The influential Marriott made a good surge from dummy half and two tackles later, the champions were back in strike mode.
A cleverly worked short side play saw Soagia go out to the back to Hinckley Ioka who offloaded inside to the electric Lemana. Cutting through South Sydney’s defence on a run against the grain, Lemana scored his second try, extending the Warriors' lead to 16-8.
The Warriors continued their onslaught with strong carries by Ioka and Neal bringing them within three metres of the South Sydney line. Marriott then fed Ronan Byford who drove between defenders to score under the crossbar, making it 22-8 with nine minutes left in the game.
The Warriors were then within sniffing distance of the grand final and sealed their spot with an exhilarating long-range try. After South Sydney attempted a chip kick over the line, an alert Ioka quickly gathered the ball. Centre Parekaahu Keepa popped up a pass from dummy half, and Lemana, hitting it at pace, left four defenders behind on a 70-metre run to the line. His triumphant touchdown behind the posts was a fitting end to a dominating performance, securing the Warriors' place in the grand final.
For the latest updates on the Warriors' journey in the Harold Matthews Cup, stay tuned to warriors.kiwi.
Coming off their premiership win in their debut campaign last year, the Warriors will now be defending their title against the Newcastle Knights. The Knights had a narrow win over the Central Coast Roosters 26-20 in the other preliminary final. The grand final will be held at Leichhardt Oval next Sunday.
Lemana was the star of the day, scoring the Warriors' first, third, and fifth tries. In the fifth minute, he expertly ran a hole after hooker Dreytin Marriott linked with halfback Alapati Soagia, coming off his right to score. The Rabbitohs managed to level the scores, but the Warriors' second try, a powerful display right on halftime, tilted the scales back in their favour. Marriott skirted out left, dropping second rower Bishop Neal underneath with the big man steaming straight ahead through and over defenders to score, making it 10-4.
The score became 10-8 soon after halftime with a second Feltham try, but that would be the last time the Rabbitohs would score as the Warriors took control of the contest. The influential Marriott made a good surge from dummy half and two tackles later, the champions were back in strike mode.
A cleverly worked short side play saw Soagia go out to the back to Hinckley Ioka who offloaded inside to the electric Lemana. Cutting through South Sydney’s defence on a run against the grain, Lemana scored his second try, extending the Warriors' lead to 16-8.
The Warriors continued their onslaught with strong carries by Ioka and Neal bringing them within three metres of the South Sydney line. Marriott then fed Ronan Byford who drove between defenders to score under the crossbar, making it 22-8 with nine minutes left in the game.
The Warriors were then within sniffing distance of the grand final and sealed their spot with an exhilarating long-range try. After South Sydney attempted a chip kick over the line, an alert Ioka quickly gathered the ball. Centre Parekaahu Keepa popped up a pass from dummy half, and Lemana, hitting it at pace, left four defenders behind on a 70-metre run to the line. His triumphant touchdown behind the posts was a fitting end to a dominating performance, securing the Warriors' place in the grand final.
For the latest updates on the Warriors' journey in the Harold Matthews Cup, stay tuned to warriors.kiwi.
