MATCH REPORT
The Warriors ended a season like no other with a 40-28 victory over Manly which showed the club have a healthy dose of point-scoring ability for incoming coach Nathan Brown
Perhaps this was the football gods’ way of saying ‘thank you’ to the team whose sacrifices helped keep the 2020 season afloat
The game was a perfect farewell for veteran forward Adam Blair Veteran 51-Test signs after 331 games for Melbourne, Wests Tigers, Brisbane and the Warriors
The crowd at Central Coast Stadium gave a standing ovation to the nominal home side as they raced onto the pitch and passed through an honor guard formed by Manly players
The Warriors spent months away from home, went through two head coaches, had to use four loan players from other NRL clubs and still had eight wins They completed two wins before play in the final
Players like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who missed the match due to injury, have not seen their relatives since early May
Sunday’s result at Central Coast Stadium – their home away from home – gives the Warriors two wins over the Sea Eagles in the same season for the first time since 2003
He also gave retired international forward Adam Blair his first kick on goal in 331 games in the NRL
Location:
Central Coast Stadium, Central Coast
As expected, it was a points festival All 14 tries were scored for the afternoon with three players securing doubles – Eliesa Katoa, Patrick Herbert (Warriors) and Abbas Miski (Manly) – while non-contract utility rear-end Adam Keighran scored a hat-trick
The Warriors were stunned by the energetic departure of the Sea Eagles, finding themselves lost 10-0 after tries against Reuben Garrick and Corey Waddell
But then they went wild to score 26 unanswered points before a little mastery from skipper Daly Cherry-Evans
But when that didn’t materialize in points, he sent a smart kick across the pitch for winger Abbas Miski to run 50 yards, fend off three potential tackles and plant the ball
The 26-14 halftime score gave a manly side severely in the doldrums a little more respect They had lost seven of their last eight games going up the motorway towards Gosford It’s one in nine now
In a matchless match for the 2020 Finals series, fans got their money’s worth with the match scarcely 20 minutes
Center Keighran then scored the Warriors’ third try in six minutes to give the home side a 16-10 lead
Not wanting to break the afternoon theme into side-to-side action, and another out of contract warrior in winger Hebert crossed to stretch the lead to 10 points (20-10)
Forward Katoa scored his second goal to provide an exceptional first half of entertainment with eight tries in total
The second half was just 41 seconds when Miski scored his second, but the momentum was still the Warriors
Keighran had his next two and the Warriors were looking for the goods even with 15 minutes left
Two more Warriors tries came in, but Manly had the last laugh with center Brad Parker scoring the last four points of the day
Something to consider during the offseason for Manly is that the Sea Eagles have now conceded an average of 34 points per game since the 12th inning.
Warriors vs Sea Eagles
World News – UA – Blair farewell in style as Warriors take down Sea Eagles
