Match Details
Match Date	23rd Jun, 2017
Opponent	New Zealand Warriors
Result	Loss 14-21
Coach	Des Hasler
Captain	James Graham
Venue	New Zealand (Mt Smart Stadium)
Crowd	13,476
Referee	Ashley Klein Peter Gough

The Warriors shrugged off the late withdrawal of Kieran Foran to beat the Bulldogs, but the victory came at the cost of another key player after Issac Luke suffered a dislocated shoulder on Friday night.

Luke left the field 33 minutes into the match after falling awkwardly in a tackle but the Warriors responded well to grind down Des Hasler’s side and record back-to-back victories for just the second time this season. It was also their third win in the last four games to bring them up to 16 competition points, with only points difference keeping them out of the top eight.

Foran withdrew on the eve of the match after failing to recover from a quad injury from the previous win over the Titans. But while the star five-eighth is hoping to return for next week’s clash against Manly in Perth, Luke is set for an extended period on the sidelines.

While Luke’s injury took some of the gloss off the result, it was an impressive display from the home team. In the absence of two of their key players, Shaun Johnson controlled play well with a superb kicking game, was set up by a strong display in the middle.

After missing the Titans game due to a hamstring injury, James Gavet continued his brilliant season, running for over 100 metres off the bench and standing up to the big Bulldogs pack. The Warriors led 8-2 at the break and it should have been more.

Luke’s injury saw Nathaniel Roache enter the fray. The bench utility has had little game time this year but he quickly made an impact, splitting the defence through the middle to put Johnson away in the shadow of half-time.

While Johnson was dragged down before the line, Josh Jackson was sent to the sin bin for holding on too long, giving the Warriors a huge boost to start the second half.

It took them just two minutes to make the Bulldogs pay as Blake Ayshford pounced on a perfectly weighted grubber from Johnson.

Up until this point the Bulldogs had shown little in attack. But back-to-back errors from the home team in their own territory gave them a chance to hit back, which they did when former Warrior Raymond Faitala-Mariner wrestled over. That sparked them into action, with Greg Eastwood having a try ruled out by the bunker.

But with 11 minutes to go, Johnson landed his first field goal of the season for a seven-point buffer.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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