The One New Zealand Warriors have blasted into the New South Wales Cup grand final by eliminating Parramatta 42-14 with a second half masterclass in tonight’s preliminary final at Jubilee Stadium in Sydney.
Rebounding from their upset loss to St George Illawarra last week, the Warriors made the most of their second chance producing a run of five tries and 26 unanswered points to seal a repeat clash with the Dragons in next Sunday’s premiership decider at CommBank Stadium.
With the week off they were out of sorts against St George Illawarra last week and were made to battle for a period of tonight’s encounter.
After leading 16-0 following an impressive opening 20 minutes, they conceded two tries before halftime and then another straight after the break to hold a slender 16-14 advantage.
But winger Edward Kosi’s 15th try of the season in the 49th minute proved to be the game changer.
Within a nine-minute window winger Setu Tu, centre Ali Leiataua – back from injury – and Tu again crossed to extend the Warriors’ lead to 36-14 and it was game over.
Five minutes from time standoff Luke Hanson iced it as he took an inside pass from fullback Taine Tuaupiki, dancing his way past defenders to dot down.
The Warriors went into the match showing two key late changes with Tanah Boyd starting at halfback and Leiataua making his long-awaited return.
The victory puts the Warriors into the third New South Wales Cup grand final in the club’s history after being beaten in the decider in 1996 and in 2011 (when they played as the Auckland Vulcans).