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Warriors 16 Sharks 38
Warriors - Walsh, Watene-Zelezniak & Egan tries; Walsh 2 conversions
Sharks - Katoa 3, Moylan, Kennedy, Mulitalo 2 & Talakai tries; Hynes 3 conversions
Fulltime
40th minute - Johnson puts Walsh away in midfield and he throws a backhanded offload to DWZ, who kicks ahead, but the ball beats everyone into touch.
The siren sounds to put the Warriors out of their misery - their sixth straight loss, with defending champions Penrith looming next week. Sigh!
39th minute - Rudolph reaches halfway, but loses the ball and Tevaga falls on it.
38th minute - Walsh kicks off and Hunt is forced back.
37th minute - TRY to Katoa
From the scrum, Walsh throws a pass behind his target (Johnson) and Katoa gathers inside his own half, racing 60 metres to score his third. Hynes leaves his conversion right, CRO 38-16
36th minute - Sharks win a penalty and restart on their 40, but Rudolph knocks on in a tackle.
35th minute - Harris heads towards the posts again. Tevaga tries to put Afoa over, Johnson kicks along the ground, but Kennedy gathers easily.
34th minute - Warriors take a short dropout and win the ball back. Johnson tries to weave some magic, but is wrapped up in midfield.
Egan winces, as he's tackled. Trindall is placed on report for the tackle and Warriors have another attacking chance.
33rd minute - Hynes kicks long on the second tackle and Katoa chases. Walsh wins the race, but has to take it dead for a goal-line dropout.
32nd minute - Johnson tries to dummy his way over, but doesn't fool anyone. Harris offloads, Curran kicks ahead and Sharks cover the threat.
31st minute - From the 20m tap, Afoa takes the first run, WArriors go right and get a set restart.
30th minute - Curran offloads to Pompey and DWZ scampers. Walsh gives himself up on halfway, as he runs behind a teammate.
Johnson kicks deep to Mulitalo and is forced into touch by a couple of tacklers. Warriors have a royal chance here.
29th minute - Moylan crosses halfway and Hynes kicks towards Walsh, but he's safe again.
28th minute - Tevaga wrestles through a couple of tackles, Johnson shifts right, but Berry again dies with the ball.
27th minute - Murchie reaches halfway for the Warriors and makes an extra 10 metres.
26th minute - Nikora tries to offload in a tackle and the ball goes forward.
25th minute - From the kickoff, Talakai runs powerfully and Hynes crosses halfway on the third tackle.
23rd minute - TRY to Kennedy
McInnes crosses halfaway and the Sharks are throwing the ball around. They shift right, Ramien kicks ahead and Walsh juggles on his goal-line.
Kennedy forces the loose ball to score and Hynes slots the conversion, CRO 34-16
22nd minute - Walsh runs across the field and Berry looks for a way through. Harris-Tavita kicks deep to Kennedy.
21st minute - Moylan crosses halfway, but Talakai slips over. Hynes kicks high and Walsh is brave in the air.
20th minute - Warriors kick off and Rudolph brings the ball back.
19th minute - TRY to Mulitalo
Sharks shift left and Mulitalo dives over in the corner, but the review raises some question over the try. A forensic examination confirms the try, but Hynes misses another conversion, CRO 28-16
18th minute - From the scrum, Kennedy races over halfway on the first tackle.
17th minute - Warriors win a penalty and Johnson finds touch towards halfway. Lui reaches Sharks territory, Aitken puts the ball down, Sharks gather and then lose it, and Harris-Tavita races away to score.
But no advantage has acrued to the Sharks and a captain's challenge fails to overturn the knock-on ruling.
16th minute - Moylan reaches halfway and Hynes kicks to Walsh, who throws another hospital pass behind his goal-line. Pompey barely reaches the field of play.
15th minute - Curran is driven back by two tacklers, but Lui reaches halfway on his second run. Johnson kicks high to Mulitalo.
14th minute - Hynes kicks off and Lui charges into the hit-up.
13th minute - TRY to Watene-Zelezniak
ON the last tackle, Johnson finds Sironen and he passes to DWZ, who leaps at the corner and touches down. Walsh's sideline conversion drifts left, CRO 24-16
12th minute - Hynes kicks early and Walsh has retreat quickly to cover the threat. Berry puts Sironen away and is there to take a return pass on halfway.
11th minute - Harris heads to the posts again, Warriors head right and Walsh finds Berry, but he can't get the ball to DWZ on the last tackle.
10th minute - Harris carts the ball towards the posts, Egan darts and the Sharks are offside, so set restart.
Ninth minute - Lui reaches halfway and Warriors have another penalty for an illegal steal.
Eighth minute - Katoa is penalised for the high tackle on CHT and Johnson finds touch towards the 40.
Seventh minute - Hynes threatenes to bust loose, but is just brought down. ON the last Sharks shift left, Graham puts a kick in, Walsh fields on his goal-line and fires a pass, before Harris-Tavita is nailed by Katoa.
Sixth minute - Harris-Tavita straightens up and crosses halfway. Johnson kicks deep to Mulitalo.
Fifth minute - Sharks pass goes loose, but Fifita offloads and Mulitalo crosses halfway. Hynes kicks ahead, but Walsh has it covered.
Fourth minute - Hynes chips towards the posts, but Walsh is high and safe. Walsh kicks long from his 30 and Kennedy is under no pressure.
Third minute - Moylan reaches halfway on the fourth tackle. Hynes finds Nikora running straight.
Second minute - DWZ offloads and Afoa reaches 40. Harris is at halfway and Warriors enter Sharks half.
Johnson kicks towards the sideline and the ball bounces into touch.
First minute - Walsh kicks off and Fifita charges back upfield. Graham reaches halfway on the fourth tackle and Hynes kicks to the corner, but Montoya rises above the chasers.
Halftime
40th minute - TRY to Katoa
Sharks run amok and go right, where Kennedy finds his winger with a long pass and Katoa spins over through Walsh's tackle. Hynes' conversion hooks left, CRO 24-12
39th minute - Warriors are penalised in the Sharks half and Hynes kicks to the Warriors 40.
38th minute - Warriors shift left and Aitken takes a gap, offloading to Montoya, who almost puts Pompey over. They go right and Johnson kicks towards DWZ, but he can't get his hand to it, as it sails into touch.
37th minute - Afoa wins a penalty for a crusher tackle from Graham. JOhnson finds touch inside the Sharks 40.
36th minute - Warriors kick off and Fifita charges back. NIkora takes on the line and Fifita passes halfway.
Walsh takes Moylan's kick in centrefield.
34th minute - TRY to Moylan
The Warriors rightside defence is pourous, and Moylan dummies to split Sironen and Johnson to score. Hynes converts, CRO 20-12
33rd minute - Hynes crosses halfway and Moylan feeds Fifita. Hynes kicks, but Walsh is under no pressure.
Aitken offloads, but Harris-Tavita isn't ready for it and drops it.
32nd minute - Harris-Tavita has passed his HIA and Murchie makes way for his return. Johnson kicks long to Kennedy.
31st minute - ON the last tackle, Ramien scrambles for the tryline and is held up short. Walsh has an injury in the tackle. Afoa tries to get clear of the red zone.
30th minute - Walsh chips into goal and chases, but the ball eludes him dead.
Sharks into Warriors half, McInnes finds space and offloads.
29th minute - Harris reaches halfway on the second tackle and Curran has his first run back from injury.
28th minute - Tolman enters Warriors half and DWZ is under a high ball for the Warriors.
DWZ tries to get up quickly and play the ball, but Rudolph is penalised for throwing him back down.
27th minute - Tevaga charges forward and Walsh kicks from his 40, caught by Kennedy, who slips over.
26th minute - Ramien reaches halfway, Hynes' high kick is knocked back and DWZ has to chase a second kick to his goal-line.
25th minute - Warriors kick off and Talakai hits up. Big tackle from Sironen on HUnt.
24th minute - TRY to Mulitalo
Sharks have the Warriors at their mercy and when they shift left, Moylan gets behind the defence and finds a wide-open Mulitalo out wide. Hynes converts, CRO 14-12
23rd minute - Warriors scrum on their 40, but Murchie plays the ball sideways and Sharks go hot on attack from the penalty.
22nd minute - Talakai reaches halfway on the first tackle, but Brailey's offload to Hunt is knocked on. Replays show Walsh had a hand on the ball, but not before Brailey released it, so captain's challenge lost.
21st minute - Katoa goes racing down the sideline, but the last pace from Kennedy is ruled forward. Meanwhile, Murdoch-Masila is holding his arm in agony, after hyperextending in a tackle.
He comes to the sideline, replaced by Afoa, but he's in big pain.
Warriors try to build from a scrum, but Tevaga's pass to Afoa is behind its target and he spills it.
20th minute - Harris-Tavita heads off for an HIA, after colliding with Nikora.
Warriors kickoff is long, but thankfully stays in play this time.
18th minute - TRY to Talakai
Sharks pour onto attack and Nikora threatens. Sharks get a set restart near the tryline, but they only need one chance, as Talakai beats his marker (Berry) for pace on the outside to score.
Hynes hooks the sidelind conversion left again, WAR 12-8
17th minute - Pompey kicks off and out on the full, putting his team on the backfoot.
15th minute - TRY to Katoa
Moylan crosses halfway and finds Katoa. Kennedy floats a pass left to Mulitalo and Hynes kicks right towards Ramien, who knocks it back and Katoa finds the corner to score.
Hynes hooks his sideline conversion left, WAR 12-4
14th minute - Johnson kicks from his own half and Kennedy is safe underneath.
13th minute - Egan has hobbled away from that try and receives attention for a leg injury.
Hynes kicks off again and Murdoch-Masile reprises his role.
12th minute - TRY to Egan
From a play-the-ball a couple of metres out, Egan darts from dummy half and streaches out in a tackle to score. Walsh converts, WAR 12-0
11th minute - Warriors tap on their 40 and Harris reaches halfway on the second tackle. Murchie makes a break and offloads to Berry.
10th minute - Big run from Talakai and Hynes kicks from halfway. His kick sits up in goal and Walsh has to slide back into the field of play.
Warriors win a clearing penalty.
Ninth minute - Harris takes the ball towards halfway and Walsh kicks to Katoa on the last tackle.
Eighth minute - Hynes kicks off again and Murdoch-Masila takes the hit again.
Sixth minute - TRY to Walsh
Warriors are deep in Sharks half and shifting left, where Pompey takes on the line. When the ball goes right, Egan fires a pass from dummy half and Walsh puts the defence in two minds, before taking the gap to score from close range.
Walsh slots the conversion, WAR 6-0
Fifth minute - Good defence from the Warriors has Sharks pinned inside their 30. Montoya fields the kick and is knocked over by Ramien, losing the ball, but Sharks are penalised for a strip.
Fourth minute - Johnson finds Murchie cutting back against the grain and Berry is held up on the tryline on the last.
Third minute - Another bruising run from Murdoch-Masila. Johnson dummies and takes the line on, Warriors get a set restart.
Second minute - Ramien bobbles the ball as he plays it and Warriors will have a scrum feed inside Sharks half.
First minute - Hynes kicks off for the Sharks and Murdoch-Masila takes the first hit-up. Harris reaches the 40 and Johnson kicks long to Mulitalo.
*****
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the NZ Warriors v Cronulla Sharks NRL clash at Redcliffe's Moreton Daily Stadium.
Just when you thought the Warriors season couldn't become any more bizarre - and pitiful - this week's instalment of the NRL soap opera saw the departure of coach Nathan Brown, after he revealed he would not make the shift across the Tasman next season.
His exits has seen club legend Stacey Jones elevated to interim coach, with very little prospect of him accepting the fulltime role next season.
He must somehow turn around a five-game losing streak and perhaps his best chance would be strapping on the boots himself in an effort to inspire some kind of fight among this players.
If their opponents look vaguely familiar, it's because they have already beaten the Warriors during this slump - they came out on top last month, despite being reduced to 11 players at one point.
Among all this bad news comes the return of standout forward Josh Curran, who has been missing since the record loss to Melbourne Storm on Anzac Day. Maybe he can turn this thing around...
Join us at 8:15pm for kickoff.
TAB Odds: Sharks $1.18, Warriors $4.60
Warriors: 1-Reece Walsh, 2-Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3-Rocco Berry, 4-Adam Pompey, 5-Marcelo Montoya, 6-Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7-Shaun Johnson, 8-Ben Murdoch-Masila, 9-Wayde Egan, 10-Jazz Tevaga, 11-Euan Aitken, 12-Tohu Harris (C), 13-Jack Murchie
Interchange: 14-Josh Curran, 15-Bunty Afoa, 16-Dunamis Lui, 17-Bayley Sironen
Sharks: 1-Will Kennedy, 2-Sione Katoa, 3-Jesse Ramien, 4-Siosifa Talakai, 5-Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6-Matt Moylan, 7-Nico Hynes, 8-Toby Rudolf, 9-Blayke Brailey, 10-Royce Hunt, 11-Briton Nikora, 19-Wayde Graham, 13-Cam McInnes
Interchange: 12-Teig Wilton, 14-Aiden Tolman, 15-Braydon Trindall, 17-Andrew Fifita
Warriors legend Jones reluctant head coach, after Brown's sudden departure
NZ Warriors legend Stacey Jones admits he's never aspired to be an NRL head coach, but will do his best in an interim role to right the club that launched his rugby career.
Jones, 46, has stepped into the Warriors leadership, after predecessor Nathan Brown dramatically left on Tuesday, citing a reluctance to relocate to New Zealand next year, when the club returns from its three-year COVID-19 exile across the Tasman.
Brown leaves a team on a five-game losing streak, mired near the foot of the competition table with four wins and nine losses. Jones must now stop the rot, with playoff contenders Cronulla Sharks (7-5) looming on Sunday.
But neither he nor Warriors chief executive Cameron George have made any commitments to him retaining the job past this season.
"It all happened really quickly and it's not an ideal situation," Jones said. "[Owner Mark Robinson] and Cam came to me last night, and said this could be happening... would you be available to take over?
"I said I'd do it - it's not an ideal situation for me or the team that we're in this position, but I accepted the role.
"It's the interim role for now and the club has been open about looking for the right person to take over. Whoever that person may be, they'll do their due diligence and I understand that.
"I've always wanted to coach, whether as an assistant coach, or U20s or reserve grade. I've certainly never had massive aspirations to be an NRL coach and it's come in this situation, which is not ideal, but I'll give it my best shot."
No-one understands the club culture and history better than Jones, who debuted for the Warriors as a teenager in their inaugural season, helping them to the 2002 Grand Final and amassing 261 appearances over 12 seasons.
In his first season as Junior Warriors coach in 2014, the club won the NRL U20 competition.
He's a member of the NZ Sports Hall of Fame and the NRL Hall of Fame. His appointment comes with instant credibility and he's clear on what needs to change immediately to turn his team around.
Stacey Jones in action for the Warriors. Photo credit: Photosport
"We certainly have to make some changes, whether they be positional changes, but right now, the group need to be stable," said Jones. "What's been evident the last month is our resilience, our effort, our steel is not there and that's a part of the game we have to sort out, before we sort anything else out.
"My message to the group is we need to get the simple things right first - our effort is way off the mark and we need to fix up small areas of our game to be better. We can't fix hundreds of things, but we can fix a couple of things that will make us a much better side."
George insists he has already had phone calls and messages from agents and coaches, inquiring about the fulltime role. As the Warriors regroup from Brown's departure, Wests Tigers have also parted company with NZ Kiwis coach Michael Maguire, while several other former head coaches are already on the open market.
Successful Tonga coach Kristian Woolf is another name pitched to George, who denies he was among those on his call list.
"We're not scared of a newbie," said George. "There's plenty of tremendous assistant coaches around the game that are learning in very good systems and have very good connections with players.
"To be honest, I want to see someone with a bit of a hard edge to them, a bit of a hard arse. We need to steal up our defence, we need to steel up our attitudes right across the board.
"I Just like the simple approach to footy. If someone comes to us not over-analysing it and has a very simple philosophy with effort-based areas really strong, they're really key attributes that could help our club with the playing roster we have coming."
