League: Warriors maintain winning run

Konrad Hurrell.
Konrad Hurrell.
What was four has now become five as the Warriors beat the Broncos 18-16 to continue a winning streak the rest of the league will now be taking considerable notice of.

Matt Elliott's side were being written off on both sides of the Tasman six weeks ago but they are now one of the form teams and one few sides will want to play.

They achieved it today against an excellent Broncos side keen to atone for the 56-18 hammering they received to start the Warriors' streak.

They had their State of Origin players back this time and they made a significant difference and one, Corey Parker, had the chance to send it to extra time with a 42m penalty as the hooter sounded in the background.

It brought to an end an enthralling contest and the Warriors will test their resurgence next weekend when they head to Perth to take on the table-topping Rabbitohs.

Their fifth straight win equalled their third-best run in the club's history and was only the first time Elliott had achieved the feat as a coach.

It was a high quality game with both sides completing close to 90 percent of their sets. It's not the only measure of efficiency but six times this season the Warriors have completed more than 70 percent and gone on to win five of them.

They played with patience and intelligence in the first half, often content to force a repeat set rather than push a play and they opened the scoring through Manu Vatuvei in the 10th minute after enjoying a third-consecutive set.

The Broncos, however, were just as efficient and in a tit-for-tat half the two sides traded a brace of tries each which saw the Warriors head to the sheds leading 12-10.

But the home side looked a little flat early in the second spell as they went through the motions rather than force the game. In contrast, the Broncos were playing with energy and intensity and they were rewarded with a try to Josh Hoffman in the 45th minute. They displayed some good ball movement as they attacked down the left edge but the Warriors were guilty of ball watching.

What was even worse was the sight of Vatuvei hobbling off the field in the 54th minute with a knee injury.

Neither side were making mistakes but it was almost as if the Warriors were playing it too safe because the Broncos were controlling the tempo as well as territory.

They needed to start playing the ball at the line to try to breach what was a very stout defence. At least no damage was being done at the other end as only four points separated the sides as it entered the last 10 minutes.

That was when Konrad Hurrell struck. The Broncos looked certain to score as they created a huge overlap but Hurrell snaffled a long pass and sprinted 90m to score under the posts.

Scott Prince probably didn't need to try the cut-out pass as Broncos players queued up for the try but it was a welcome sight for most in the 15,515-strong crowd.

The Broncos pushed for a match-winner in the closing stages but the Warriors held on for another crucial win.

Warriors 18 (Manu Vatuvei, Elijah Taylor, Konrad Hurrell tries; Shaun Johnson 3 gls), Broncos 16 (Lachlan Maranta, Peter Wallace, Josh Hoffman tries; Scott Prince 2 gls). HT: 12-10.

- Michael Brown

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