Two tries in each half carried the Vodafone Warriors to a solid 24-12 win over Melbourne in their opening 2009 NRL trial at a sodden Waikato Stadium in Hamilton tonight.
The match was only four minutes old when veteran halfback Stacey Jones, making his first appearance for the club in almost three and half years, provided a key pass under pressure to enable fullback Wade McKinnon to spear through for the opening try.
And World Cup-winning Kiwi winger Manu Vatuvei provided the finishing touch with his side’s final try just minutes from fulltime.
Earlier centre Aidan Kirk scored a stunning try while the other touchdown was manufactured by 20-year-olds – 2008 Vodafone Junior Warriors captain Daniel O’Regan touching down off a nice inside pass from his NYC team-mate Isaac John.
Tonight’s performance left coach Ivan Cleary pleased, especially with the defensive effort.
“I thought our work on defence was as good as we’ve seen from the club at this stage of the season,” he said.
“It was important for us to put together an effort like that. Our aim is to get more value out of our trials and to produce better performances than we have done in the past. We went a long way towards achieving that tonight.”
Heavy rain set in an hour before the game and never let up, forcing both sides to change their game plans after weeks of hot and dry weather.
It seemed to make little difference to the Vodafone Warriors with Jones immediately settling into the groove with telling kicks that kept the Storm in their own territory.
The 32-year-old was on for the first 20 minutes, teaming up in the halves with new signing and ex Bronco Joel Moon. The two were also reunited for the final 20 minutes when the Vodafone Warriors found the formula needed to close the game down.
In the middle stages of the match Liam Foran, who was facing his old club in his first match for the Vodafone Warriors, and John had stints at halfback.
John was one of several of the club’s young players who had their first outing for the club in a full NRL trial tonight. Others included Elijah Taylor, Aaron Heremaia, Herman Retzlaff, Leeson Ah Mau, Mataupu Poching and O’Regan.
Another feature of the display was the Vodafone Warriors’ excellent goal kicking. New winger Denan Kemp kicked three from three, including two from testing angles in difficult conditions, while Patrick Ah Van slotted the conversion of Vatuvei’s try from wide out as well.
This was the first time the Vodafone Warriors had played under the NRL’s new two-referee concept with Jason Robinson and Phil Haines operating in tandem. Neither the players nor Cleary had any concerns afterwards about having an extra referee on the field.
Despite the appalling conditions a crowd of 10,800 turned up for the match.
The night was also marked by players from the Vodafone Warriors NRL and NYC teams plus the Melbourne Storm wearing black armbands in honour of missing Vodafone Warriors forward Sonny Fai. There was also a moment’s silence for Fai as well as victims of the Victoria bush fires.
After the match the entire Melbourne squad visited the Vodafone Warriors’ dressing room where the Storm’s assistant coach and Kiwi coach Stephen Kearney presented a framed photo of Fai playing against Melbourne.
A coin collection at the ground raised more than $10,000 for the Victoria bush fire appeal.
Match details:
At Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Vodafone Warriors 24 (Wade McKinnon, Aidan Kirk, Daniel O’Regan, Manu Vatuvei tries; Denan Kemp 3 conversions; Patrick Ah Van conversion).
Melbourne Storm 12 (Dane Nielsen, Jade Williams tries; James Maloney conversion; Jade Williams conversion).
Halftime: 12-6 Vodafone Warriors.
Referees: Jason Robinson and Phil Haines.
Crowd: 10,800.
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