Stacey Jones wound back the clock to recreate a slice of history as the Vodafone Warriors produced a stunning recovery in the last 10 minutes to beat defending premier Manly 26-24 in today’s second-round NRL clash at Brookvale Oval.
It was at the same ground that Jones played his 238th and last game for the Vodafone Warriors three and half years ago before heading to France to play for Les Catalans Dragons in the English Super League.
On that night – August 27, 2005 – the then 29-year-old halfback scored with the last touch of the game and then kicked the conversion to give his side a 22-20 win.
Now 32, he was back at the same ground against the same opponent more than three and a half years later for his 239th appearance, coming into the game off the bench in the 30th minute.
He went into halfback with Nathan Fien moving to hooker and in the final stanza produced some critical plays to propel the Vodafone Warriors to a momentous victory as they entered the final stages trailing 16-24.
It was Jones’ dab close to the line in the 64th minute that caught Manly unaware and all but laid on a try, Fien juggling Jones’ pass, losing the ball and claiming a try in the belief he regained contact with the ball just before it hit the ground and forcing it. The video referee didn’t agree.
But Jones produced some more magic. He chipped on the last tackle, re-gathered and then went on a mesmerising run through the Manly defence. In the clear he had only Manly centre Steve Matai shadowing him with the goal line just ahead. He might have scored himself but shifted the ball right for centre Brent Tate to score his second try of the day. Denan Kemp missed the conversion leaving the score 20-24 with 10 to play.
Then with a minute left Jones hoisted a pinpoint bomb to the Vodafone Warriors’ left side, Manu Vatuvei soared to contest the ball, it went loose, Jerome Ropati swooped for the try (the 37th of his career) and the game was locked up at 24-24.
Kemp faced a far more testing conversion attempt from wide out with a difficult wind to contend with. Clearly kicking coach Frano Botica’s work has been paying off because Kemp coolly nailed the kick and seconds later he and his team-mates were able to celebrate a famous success, one that gave the premiers their second straight loss of the season.
While the Vodafone Warriors could boast a reasonable record at Brookvale Oval before today – winning four of the last seven matches there – they had savoured little joy against Manly in the last few years. In fact, Manly beat them four times last year.
For this encounter the Vodafone Warriors were also hindered by injuries that had eliminated three key players – Lance Hohaia, Ben Matulino and Micheal Luck – from the match.
Early on they were under the pump as they had been at Manly’s home on a forgettable night in round three last year.
In a blink the Sea Eagles had raced to a 10-0 lead through tries, both down the Vodafone Warriors’ left side, to winger Michael Bani and centre Jamie Lyon.
But the match took a turn in a dramatic five-minute spell as the Vodafone Warriors came right back at
the Sea Eagles.
Fien teased Manly’s defensive line, throwing a nice short ball for second rower Jacob Lillyman to hit a big hole. He surged through and found Tate on his right for the first of three hit-back tries.
From the restart, the Vodafone Warriors won a penalty and Joel Moon’s massive touch-finder had them aiming at Manly from close to their line. From the tap, a superbly executed set piece resulted in Price floating a brilliant wide pass on the short side to an unmarked Manu Vatuvei for another try.
Another restart, another penalty and a couple of plays later Price provided the try assist yet again, this time popping up a lovely off-load for former Newcastle prop Jesse Royal to score on his debut for the club. More remarkable was the fact he had literally just run on the field, loping downfield and steaming onto Price’s ball, swerving around Manly fullback Michael Robertson and scoring not much more than 20 seconds after entering the game.
That had the Vodafone Warriors leading 16-10, a margin they might have improved but for want of executing their plays increasingly sapping conditions.
They went to halftime with the six-point advantage but soon conceded it in the early stages of the second spell. In the space of 12 minutes winger Andrew Suniula, interchange forward Adam Cuthbertson and Lyon all crossed to fire Manly into what might have become a match-winning 24-16 lead.
But the Vodafone Warriors, battling through this period of the match, ground it out and stayed with the Sea Eagles, denying them on their line on a few occasions and shutting down threats at others.
Gradually they found some rhythm and began to complete some sets – and then Jones and others made it all happen in the final 10 minutes.
The quality of the overall performance didn’t satisfy the coaching staff but the effort and courage couldn’t be questioned as the Vodafone Warriors again fought the odds with several players battered and bruised.
None was braver than prop Sam Rapira who wore a heavy shot in the second half but stayed and showed yet again what a quality player he has become.
In a brutal confrontation up front, Rapira stood up time and again as did most of the forwards, especially captain Steve Price who had 58 minutes straight on the field before having a rest. His touches produced two tries, he made more than 130 metres from 17 runs and he also racked up 20 tackles.
It was a match that had grand final-like intensity about it producing a result that couldn’t have been more important for the Vodafone Warriors even though the season is just two weeks old.
It means they return home with two wins from two starts, only the second time in the club’s history that the two first matches of the year have provided victories.
Now they eye Brisbane at Mount Smart Stadium next Saturday night. Both teams are unbeaten and the Vodafone Warriors will have the chance of an unprecedented run of three wins to begin a season.
Match details:
At Brookvale Oval, Manly
Manly Sea Eagles 24 (Jamie Lyon 2, Michael Bani, Andrew Suniula, Adam Cuthbertson, tries; Matt Orford 2 conversions).
Vodafone Warriors 26 (Brent Tate 2, Manu Vatuvei, Jesse Royal, Jerome Ropati tries; Denan Kemp 3 conversions).
Halftime: 16-10 Vodafone Warriors.
Referees: Shayne Hayne and Steve Lyons.
Crowd: 16,307.
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