Red Lion New Zealand (+ a bit of Aussie) Sports News

Black Caviar 18th win is so easy.

2012-02-11T18:27:00.001+13:00

She had never run further than 1200 metres before, but the Orr Stakes [1400 metres] at Caulfield was simply a procession for Black Caviar today, as the $1.05 favourite posted an 18th successive win.

The undefeated champion mare settled perfectly for jockey Luke Nolen off the rail behind the leading pair of Danzylum and Midas Touch, with the tempo only moderate.

Nolen eased her out three wide around the turn and within 50 metres she had raced to the front, before cruising to a 3¼-length win over Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed [$16] and Playing God [$61].

"It's mind boggling. What she can do to good horses, it's just beyond belief," said an emotional trainer Peter Moody.

Moody is still to confirm where Black Caviar mare will have her next start and there is some chance that she will back up in the Group One $750,000 Lightning Stakes at Flemington next Saturday.

Lillyman injury mars Warriors preseason win

2012-02-05T06:08:00.001+13:00

An injury to frontline prop Jacob Lillyman has tempered satisfaction about the Vodafone Warriors' 26-10 NRL trial win against Gold Coast at North Harbour today.
The State of Origin forward lasted only 10 minutes before going to the sideline with an arm injury.

Head coach Brian McClennan confirmed afterwards that the tough North Queenslander faced some time out of action.

"Unfortunately it doesn't look good for Bull (Lillyman)," he said.
"He's going to be missing some games."

McClennan said more details about the extent of the injury would be confirmed in the next day or two.

Facing the prospect of being without Lillyman for a period will leave Sam Rapira, Ben Matulino and Russell Packer carrying the workload with McClennan looking for another player to fill the fourth front rower's duties.

While news of Lillyman's injury was a blot on the day it didn't completely detract from a display that provided plenty of encouragement for first-year coach McClennan and the team.

In the first half the Vodafone Warriors were highly impressive much of the time with new hooker Nathan Friend fitting in well and declaring himself thrilled after coming through his first hit-out since the shoulder operation that ended his season early with the Titans in 2011.

He played the first 40 minutes only as did captain Simon Mannering and halfback Shaun Johnson. Johnson was outstanding with his involvement in each of the Vodafone Warriors' first three tries.

He threw a sweet long ball wide to the left for an unmarked Konrad Hurrell to score in his first NRL trial and he also provided a critical link in Lewis Brown's try.

But the gem was his own touchdown in the opening moments of the second quarter when he dummied through the line and burnt the cover with his pace.

When fullback Glem Fisiiahi went 80 metres after picking up a loose ball just a few minutes later, the Vodafone Warriors were in command at 20-6.

The tempo changed after halftime, though, when McClennan made numerous changes, giving a lot of the younger players some time on the field.

During that third quarter the Titans grabbed the only try but, with James Maloney back as an organiser in the last quarter, order was restored to a degree.

The result was put beyond doubt when another loose Gold Coast pass was seized on, this time by left winger Bill Tupou who had also had an 80-metre run for his try.

McClennan later said it was pleasing all 25 players had been given some time on the field and he was especially encouraged the younger squad members had been given a taste of the NRL environment.

Thriving in his 80-minute effort was Hurrell who was heavily involved throughout.

Hurrell relished the opportunity.

"I loved it out there. I was having so much fun," he said.

The Vodafone Warriors return to training next week to prepare for their trial against South Sydney in Coffs Harbour next Saturday night.

They travel to Australia next Friday.

Match details:

Vodafone Warriors 26 (Konrad Hurrell, Lewis Brown, Shaun Johnson, Glen Fisiiahi, Bill Tupou tries; James Maloney 3 conversions).
Gold Coast Titans 10 (Joe Vickery, Jamie Dowling tries; Jordan Rankin conversion).
Halftime: 20-6 Vodafone Warriors.

Lydia Ko wins

2012-01-29T18:33:00.001+13:00

New Zealand 14-year-old Lydia Ko has created history at the women's NSW Open, becoming the youngest ever winner of a professional golf tournament.

Ko claims the honour from male Japanese Ryo Ishikawa, who won his first title aged 15 years and eight months, and the Gold Coast's Amy Yang, who won the Australian Ladies Masters aged 16 and 192 days.

Ko, who shot three under on the final day, earned a four-stroke victory from Becky Morgan of Wales, playing a nerveless and bogeyless final round to finish 14-under for the tournament.

The Korea-born, New Zealand-raised phenom held her nerve as Lindsey Wright made a blistering start on the front nine, picking up five birdies between holes two and nine.

Despite applying the pressure, it was Wright who cracked in the end - bogeying the 16th and 17th holes while Ko sank a birdie on 15.

NZ's Ko shoots eight-under to lead NSW Open

2012-01-29T05:41:00.001+13:00

This time last year 14-year old Lydia Ko came so close to creating women's golfing history. Twelve months later she may well write her name in the history books by winning the Bing Lee Samsung Women's NSW Open at Oatlands Golf Club in Sydney, tomorrow.

The World No. 1 amateur is poised to become the youngest female to win a professional tournament on one of the five recognised women's professional golf tours.

The child prodigy posted a remarkable 8-under par 64 to sit on 11-under-par. This sees her take a four shot advantage into the final round, with Victoria's Lindsey Wright on 7-under after a round of 66.

Ko's round was almost without fault on an overcast but dry day. It started with a birdie, and then par, before another birdie on the par-4 3rd hole, followed by an eagle on the par-5 fourth.

Ko, hit her second shot to 36-feet just in the fringe and holed her 9-iron chip. She commented, "I was thinking (about) whether I should put it or chip or or use a nine iron to just roll it up there.

I said "ok, I've made birdies two out of the last three holes, so OK let's just have a nine iron".

It was maybe a 12 metre chip.

I chipped it and I was like "oh, it's on a good line" and it went in and I was like "whoah". I didn't really expect it."

Another par on the fifth was promptly followed by three straight birdies to finish her opening nine holes in an incredible 7-under par 29.

It was her lowest nine hole total in a tournament.

Her back nine was a little more subdued; she started with three straight pars on three of the harder holes, and then made a great up and down on the 13th to keep her unblemished round on track.

A three putt from 20 feet on the 14th was her first and only bogey of the day but the minor hiccup didn't phase her as she hit straight back with back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes.

Her round of 64 wasn't an official course record due to the preferred lies rule being in place due to the wet conditions.

About her round she said "I played consistent like yesterday, not many mistakes. I think I was 99.9 per cent today. I'm really happy."

Wright is leading the chasing pack at seven-under par after carding a bogey-free 6-under par 66, her best round in the past 15 months.

Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera is outright third at six-under par, while West Australian Kristie Smith (67), New South Wales Wendy Doolan (68) and South Korean Hae-Rym Kim (70) are a further shot back.

Six players including first round co-leader Rachel Bailey (72) England's Melissa Reid (70) and New South Wales' Nikki Garrett (71) all share seventh position at four-under par.

Other notables in the field Queensland's Katherine Hull had a better day posting a 69 to shares 17th position at two-under par.

England's Laura Davies (72) is at one-over par and tied for 31st position .

First round co-leader Karen Lunn shot a disappointing 77 to also be at one-over par.Ko continues to be on track to finish the leading amateur.

The leading amateur at the conclusion of the tournament receives a $1,000 voucher managed through an HSBC banking account and administered by Golf NSW. The voucher will directly contribute to the reimbursement of the player's expenses.

The cut was made at 5-over par and 63 players will contest the last round for their share of the $125,000 on offer.

Cleary making his mark at new club

2012-01-21T07:15:00.001+13:00

Star centre Michael Jennings believes the influence of new Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has him on track to return to the top of his game after a largely forgettable 2011.

The 23-year-old speedster endured a frustrating NRL campaign, marred by injury, off-field indiscretions and a drop in form that saw him score only one try compared to 16 and 17 in seasons 2010 and 2009 respectively.

Jennings insists his life off the park is now more settled and says faith entrusted in him by Cleary since his arrival had already made an impact.

"I can see changes in me already since Ivan's been here," Jennings said on Friday as he joined a host of fellow Pacific Islands players for a three-day leadership camp in Sydney.

"He's made me more mature by putting a big role on myself within the club.

"We spoke about it, there is a big role for me to play at the club and even though I'm still young, it's a big responsibility.

"Hopefully that will help make me the player I want to be."

Jennings' patchy form on the park coincided with a difficult year off it.

He was sanctioned by the Panthers for drinking while injured and was ordered to hand out free tickets to fans during an NRL match after he turned up to a training session under the influence of alcohol.

A shining light in his 2011 season was two impressive performances for NSW in State of Origin but he failed to earn selection for the end-of-season Kangaroos tour.

With renewed enthusiasm and fitness, and a fresh approach under Cleary, Jennings is out to reclaim his status as one of rugby league's premier centres.

"Last year was up and down and obviously I could have done better," Jennings said.

"Injuries did slow me down a bit last year and obviously off-field stuff did slow it up a bit.

"But that's last year now, and I'm just looking towards this year and staying fit.

"I've just got to do all the little stuff and get all the stuff off the field right and then if I'm playing well and doing my job for Penrith, the bonus will be making rep teams."

Jennings will feature in next month's NRL All Stars match on the Gold Coast.

It’s all on the line at Awapuni

2012-01-14T06:53:00.001+13:00

New Plymouth galloper Jetset Lad is out to nail a spot in the rich Thorndon Mile at Trentham in a fortnight when lining up in the $40,000 Waikato Stud Open (1400m) at Awapuni today.

Trainer John Wheeler had the option of running the talented Elusive City four-year-old in his own rating grade in two other races on today’s card, but has opted for the open event for at least two reasons.

‘‘He’s got a good chance of winning the open race from his place in the weights [53.5kg], while in the other ones he would have been the topweight.

‘‘He’s not a very big horse so I feel he’s not suited to carrying big weights,’’ Wheeler said yesterday.

The other incentive is to better his chances of gaining a place in the final field for the $200,000 Group One Thorndon Mile.

‘‘If he won today he would almost certainly get in the Thorndon and he’d be a good chance in the race,’’ Wheeler said.

Jetset Lad has not won since being successful first up from a spell on a heavy track in a $20,000 race for four-year-olds on his home track in September.

However, his form in four outings since has been solid apart from his failure in the Group One Couplands Mile (1600m) at Riccarton when his chances were ruined when he played up in the barriers and for reasons unknown was not late scratched.

Since then the gelding has finished third against rating 85 company and last start was nabbed right on the line by Shylo in the Summer Cup (1600m) for open class gallopers at Awapuni on Boxing Day.

Since the Riccarton starting gates debacle, Wheeler has been concentrating on increasing Jetset Lad’s confidence and restricting his racing to venues where they use the Caddy style (no overhead steel structure) starting stalls.

The policy seems to be paying off. ‘‘He did sweat up a bit in his last race, but I feel he’s getting better and better in the starting stalls.’’

Wheeler is confident Jetset Lad will be hard to beat today.

‘‘He’s very well at the moment and his work this week has been super. I think he will go close to winning.’’

Today sees the return to racing of The Pooka.

It’s now just over four years since the Tobougg gelding claimed Group One glory with success in the Two Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton.

Apart from one progressive grade success back in August 2009 at Hastings, The Pooka has largely been disappointing, failing to live up to the high reputation held of him in some quarters.

His connections have not given up hope, however, and today the horse will kick off another campaign in the Lee European Premier for rating 85 horses over 1200 metres.

The Pooka showed he was coming up well in fresh preparation, winning a 1000m open heat at the Waverley trials last Tuesday.

‘‘He went absolutely brilliant in the trial and wasn’t knocked about in that,’’ Wheeler said. ‘‘If he raced up to his trial form he could win, but I have to say I’m not so sure.’’

Erakovic gets favourable first round in Open

2012-01-13T14:50:00.001+13:00

Marina Erakovic has been drawn against a qualifier in the first round of the Australian Open.

The New Zealand No 1, who is playing in the semi-finals of the doubles at the WTA tournament in Hobart tonight, has at last been given a good draw after facing tough first round opponents in the singles at the ASB Classic and Hobart International over the past two weeks.

Erakovic won't know who her opponent is until tomorrow when the final round of qualifying in Melbourne is completed.

If Erakovic is able to win her first round match, she is likely to play the tournament's 24^th seed Lucie Safarova from the Czech Republic, if she's beats her opponent Christina McHale from USA.

Erakovic and Safarova have met each other just once before.

Coincidently, that meeting came in the second round of the Australian Open in 2009 when Erakovic lost a marathon three set match 1-6 6-3 7-9

Elsewhere in the women's draw, the top seed Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark will play Anastasia Rodionova in the first round and Maria Sharapova is against Gisela Dulko from Argentina.

Highlights of the men's draw in the first round is the matches between Andy Murray and Ryan Harrison and Fernando Verdasco against Australia's great hope Bernard Tomic.

Novak Djokovic plays Paolo Lorenzi from Italy, while Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have both been drawn against qualifiers.

Australia's great hope, Sam Stosur, has been given a handy draw for the early rounds and will play Romania's Sorana Cirstea in the opening round. Russian 29th seed Nadia Petrova likely to be her first seeded opponent in the tournament.

Stosur is in the same quarter of the draw as second seed Petra Kvitova meaning the pair would meet in the quarter-finals if they both make it that far.

World No 1 and top seed Caroline Wozniacki has been drawn against Anastasia Rodionova in the opening round while defending champion Kim Clijsters will face a qualifier.

Australia stroll to win.

2012-01-07T07:45:00.001+13:00

This was supposed to be India's best chance to win a Test series in Australia. It has taken only eight days of cricket for Michael Clarke's men to deny them that goal. On the fourth afternoon in Sydney, an attack led by Ben Hilfenhaus deconstructed India's formidable batting line-up, bit by bit, to secure an unbeatable 2-0 series lead with victory by an innings and 68 runs, Australia's first innings win over India in 12 years.

The last such result also came at the SCG, in 2000. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were all part of that side, as they were members of the outfit that lost this time around. It is unlikely they will have another chance to beat Australia at home. For now, India still hold the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and should they win in Perth and Adelaide they will retain it. But their grip on it is as weak as Chris Martin's forward defence.

This was an Australian victory that will be remembered for Clarke's unbeaten 329. But on the fourth day, it was a second consecutive five-wicket haul from Hilfenhaus that was the highlight. Hilfenhaus completed the success with the final wicket when R Ashwin, who had made a fighting 62, skied a pull and was caught by Nathan Lyon running around from mid-on.

The Australians were overjoyed. Clarke especially was thrilled. His declaration on the third day, when he could have chased personal milestones like Brian Lara's world-record Test innings of 400, was designed to ensure Australia would win the match. They did so with three and a half sessions remaining. Clarke is not the kind of man to harbour any regrets. The win was everything.

He knew better than anyone that batting on the SCG surface was not particularly difficult, and as Tendulkar and Laxman put on a 103-run stand his mind might have flicked back eight years, to a 353-run partnershipbetween the same men at the same ground. Fittingly, it was Clarke with his left-arm spin that ended the partnership, and India's hopes of saving the Test.

Tendulkar had reached 80 and seemed to be on track to register his long-awaited hundredth international hundred in the SCG's hundredth Test when Clarke changed the course of the day. He produced a delivery that was accurate enough to draw Tendulkar into a stroke and turned just enough to catch the edge, which ricocheted off Brad Haddin's gloves and was snaffled by Michael Hussey at slip.

When the new ball arrived, the other architect of that one threatening partnership, Laxman, on 66, fell to a near-perfect delivery from Hilfenhaus, who finished with 5 for 106. The ball angled in and then nipped away to beat the outside edge of Laxman's bat, clipping the edge of the top of off stump, and the batsman could scarcely believe his fate, confident as he appeared that he had covered his wicket.

From there, the wickets fell steadily. MS Dhoni (2) chipped a return catch to Hilfenhaus, who seemed to think it was a bump ball. But the umpire's decision to have the third official check on the shot revealed it had lobbed cleanly back to Hilfenhaus without touching the ground, surprising some of the Australians.

Virat Kohli was lbw to James Pattinson for 9, a fraction unlucky as the ball kept low, but there was no question over the decision. Peter Siddle joined in by removing Zaheer Khan, who had made an entertaining 35 when he slashed hard at a delivery outside off and was taken by Shaun Marsh running back from extra cover.

Briefly, Ishant Sharma and Ashwin staved off the Australians with a 42-run stand, but Ishant (11) was lbw to the offspin of Nathan Lyon. That was the only breakthrough of the match for Lyon, who also collected just one in Melbourne and has not removed a top-six batsman since the first Test of the summer, against New Zealand at the Gabba. Though usually loath to change a winning side, Australia might consider replacing him with Ryan Harris at the WACA.

There are far more questions for India. For a while it looked like they might take the match into the fifth day as they worked through the first session for the loss of only one wicket, that of Gautam Gambhir. He missed the chance for his first Test century in nearly two years when, on 83, he stood on the crease and reached his bat a long way forward to the bowling of Siddle, who found a leading edge that was snapped up by David Warner at point.

Tendulkar and Laxman continued to fight. Laxman played some of his trademark wristy flicks through the leg side, against the fast men and also the offspin of Lyon, and Tendulkar showed off some wonderful cover-drives early in the morning. Shortly before the lunch break, Tendulkar upper-cut a frustrated Pattinson over the sole slip for another boundary.

But it was all a big tease for the Indian fans. In a match where three Australians made tons, including one triple-hundred, India needed more than a handful of pretty half-centuries. There are questions over their batting and their bowling as the Perth Test approaches. They have a week to sort out their problems.

India facing ordeal after Clarke's triple-century.

2012-01-06T06:00:00.001+13:00

Matthew Hayden, Mark Taylor, Don Bradman, Michael Clarke. That is the list of the men with the highest Test scores for Australia after a day on which Clarke not only wrote himself into the record books but also declared early enough to give his side a strong chance to push for victory over India. Clarke ended Australia's innings with his own score on 329, choosing neither to seek the glory of chasing down Brian Lara's world-record 400, nor even Taylor's iconic 334, the best score by an Australian Test captain.

Instead, he chose drinks in the middle session - the halfway point of the game - to declare Australia's innings closed at 4 for 659. His partner, Michael Hussey, had just reached 150. His thinking as he and Hussey walked off to a standing ovation from the SCG crowd was clear: on a good pitch, Australia would need time to bowl India out, especially with the chance of rain on the fourth day. Personal milestones meant nothing. The team goal was all that mattered.

By the close of play, Australia had two of the ten wickets they wanted. Virender Sehwag had gone in the fourth over of the innings. He flashed hard at a wide ball from Ben Hilfenhaus and was brilliantly snapped up at point by David Warner, whose split-second leap up and to his left allowed him to clasp his hands around the ball and remove India's quickest scorer for 4.

Hilfenhaus also accounted for Rahul Dravid, who was bowled for the third time in the series. On 29, Dravid moved his front foot across in line with off stump but left enough of a gap for the bowler to nip a ball in between bat and pad. The Wall is in desperate need of some mortar, but don't expect the former bricklayer Hilfenhaus to supply it.

At stumps, India were 2 for 114, still trailing by 354, and the Australians needed to find a way through the defences of Sachin Tendulkar, who was on 8. Unexpectedly, given his struggles in the first three innings of the series, it was Gautam Gambhir who was giving them the most trouble. He had reached 68 and was playing positively, having struck nine boundaries.

Already he had his highest Test score in more than a year. However, Gambhir had been given a life on 66 when James Pattinson found his outside edge in the dying stages of the day. Brad Haddin dived to his left and for the second time in the series moved too far; the ball sailed between his arms while his gloves kept moving further towards first slip.

The Australians knew it could be a costly let-off, for runs had flowed easily for Clarke and Hussey on the third day. In three hours of cricket, they added 177 for the loss of no wickets. In fact, from 4.43pm on the opening day of the match until 2.10pm on the third day, Australia had put on 622 runs for the loss of just one wicket, that of Ricky Ponting, who fell for 134 midway through the second afternoon.

And while Hussey finished with 150 not out, the third day was all about Clarke. He not only became the sixth man to score a Test triple-century for Australia, his innings was also the best by an Australian captain in a home Test, surpassing Bradman's 270 at the MCG in 1937. It also broke Tip Foster's 108-year-old record for the highest score in an SCG Test; his 287 on debut was passed when Clarke drove a boundary through extra cover.

That was a record that could not be overstated, especially in the SCG's 100th Test. Over the years, 3747 times batsmen have walked out on to the Sydney Cricket Ground to commence a Test innings. In all of those performances, nobody has ever scored as many as Clarke did over the past three days. He went to lunch on 293, and it took barely ten minutes after the break for his triple-century to arrive.

It came with a flick off his pads for a boundary off Ishant Sharma, an appropriate shot for Clarke had punished anything on his legs throughout the innings. In truth, there was hardly a region of the ground in which Clarke didn't score freely: he drove through off and down the ground, cut, pulled and glanced with ease. He was slow out of the blocks on the third morning, ensuring he got himself set again, but never did his innings stagnate.

He was helped by the presence of Hussey, who became the third centurion in Australia's innings. In a 334-run partnership with Clarke, Hussey kept the scoreboard ticking over at a reasonable rate. He brought up his 16th Test hundred with a single tickled towards third man off Sehwag's offspin shortly before lunch, and he pumped his fists with delight.

Although it was Hussey's fifth Test century since the start of the Ashes last summer, he had also fallen for three golden ducks during his past nine innings. At no did India seriously look like breaking the partnership, although R Ashwin bowled an impressive, searching spell in the opening session.

The action in the middle became so predictable that in the ABC radio commentary box Harsha Bhogle and Kerry O'Keeffe entertained listeners by challenging each other to eat the world's hottest chilli. Meanwhile, in the Channel Nine box, Ian Healy quizzed Bill Lawry on pigeon diseases.

But all eyes were fixed on Clarke as he reached his triple-century, and when he declared less than an hour later. It was a captain's innings in every way, just as he delivered in Cape Town against South Africa in November. Australia lost that Test. Clarke made sure they won't lose this one.

Clarke and Ponting revel, Dravid and Hussey applaud

2012-01-05T07:42:00.001+13:00

The wait
About seven minutes before lunch, both Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were on 97. While Clarke has been more used to reaching the three-figures mark of late, Ponting would have been rather anxious. Clarke raced away to the century before lunch, cuing a lovely celebration in front of his home crowd. Those celebrations, and a no-ball in the over, made sure it would be the last over before lunch, and Ponting would have to endure a nervous 40-minute break.

The single
Ponting's anxiety to get to the hundred showed in the way he pushed straight to mid-on and charged down when on 99. Zaheer Khan took aim and missed by inches. Had he hit, he would have caught Ponting short of his first century in a little over 23 months. There was immense joy on Ponting's face as he got up, but also a realisation that he had cut it too close. As it was the start of the session, Ponting came out of the soiled shirt in the middle of the ground, and changed into a fresh one.

The reaction
As Zaheer missed that run-out, every Indian had his hands on his head or hips. Virat Kohli sank to his knees. They could all see that their last chance to make something out of the second day had missed by inches. Rahul Dravid, however, had the sense of occasion. Even as the rest came to terms with their disappointment, Dravid applauded Ponting's effort.

The miss
There weren't going to be too many chances for India to slow down Australia's charge today. One of them came in the final session when Clarke drove uppishly back at Ishant Sharma. It went fast but at a catchable height. It was spilled. Clarke was 182, and resumed chugging along.

The reaction II
It is slightly extra special making it to a landmark when batting with Michael Hussey. He is often just as pleased as you. When Clarke hit one into the leg side when on 199, Hussey's hand went up in the air too, and as they were coming back for the second, Hussey changed his line of running just so he could high-five Clarke along the way.

Erakovic bows out at the ASB Classic

2012-01-04T06:15:00.001+13:00

First-round exit just doesn't tell the story of Marina Erakovic's brave but ill-fated opening night at the ASB Classic.

The little Kiwi with the killer forehand played her heart out to have German Angelique Kerber on the ropes at Stanley Street last night, only to run out of puff, luck and just a little accuracy when it counted down the stretch.

Kerber won a quality match that lasted just short of two hours 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to a second-round meeting with compatriot Julia Goerges but she had to dig deep, and produce some of her most resilient tennis, to emerge with the victory.

Wielding her forehand like a weapon of destruction, Erakovic evoked memories of her 2008 fairytale run to the semifinals when she won the opening set and had the 23-year-old German staring down a first-round upset on a warm Auckland evening.

But the Kiwi, ranked No 61 in the world, couldn't quite sustain the accuracy with her big forehand, and when Kerber started going more and more to her opponent's backhand, the hometown hopes disappeared down the gurgler.

Erakovic had stated before the tournament that she was hoping to play a more aggressive brand of tennis in 2012 as she looks to work her way back inside the world's top 50.

And it was hard to fault the evidence on display last night as the Croatian-born Kiwi came out swinging that fluent forehand of hers with equal parts power and precision. She seemed determined to dominate points wherever possible and achieved that for the best part of the opening two sets as she had her left-handed opponent searching for answers.

But Erakovic would be kicking herself about her costly misses in the eighth game of the third set when she had Kerber on the ropes at 0-40 only to let her off the hook.

Credit to the German though. She held her nerve when it counted, and hit back to achieve her own break after calmly averting the final set disaster.

Erakovic stunned the world No 32 German when she came out the aggressor in the opening set and deservedly took it via three breaks to two in a high-quality, if topsy-turvy, contest.

Both players were hitting the ball hard and with plenty of intent, but the 23-year-old New Zealander's precision forehand was the difference as it constantly pinned Kerber back behind the baseline. Eventually that pressure was just enough to get Erakovic up to the all-important first set.

But Kerber hasn't made it as far as a Grand Slam semifinal (the US last year) for nothing, and her response in the second set was swift and, eventually, decisive.

She secured the first break in a long third game, eventually cashing in on her fifth opportunity with a delightful drop-shot that found the Kiwi wanting.

The Kiwi then struck back in the sixth game to level at 3-3 when a double-fault cost the German dear, but couldn't stop Kerber striking immediately back for her second break that eventually sent this contest into the deciding set.

From there it was seat of the pants stuff for Erakovic, and for the good-sized evening crowd. Both players held serve through the first eight games - though Erakovic missed a gilt-edged opportunity at 4-3 when she held three break-points only to see them swallowed up by the nerveless Kremer.

She lived to regret that profligacy just a game later when her groundstroke accuracy failed her at the worst possible time, a couple of tentative backhands, double-fault and nervous forehand that drifted wide served up the decisive break, and a 5-4 lead, for Kremer.

From there the southpaw finished beautifully, serving out the final game with precision to escape with a victory she had to work very, very hard for.

Erakovic was left to depart in the opening round for the third year in a row, but on the strength of this gallant display she will depart Auckland with her head - and hopes - held high.

She conceded afterwards it was a game where she definitely had her chances to win.

"It was a tough match. Angelique is obviously a good player but I thought I was playing well and had most of the momentum going for me throughout the match. I definitely had some big chances.

"It's tough when you have those opportunities and don't take them and lose the match. But there's another person on the other side and they're trying just as hard as you are. I'm sure it was a good match, but it was one that was probably hard to take."

The Kiwi, who confirmed she will play in Hobart next week ahead of the Australian Open, conceded she was perhaps guilty of just losing concentration when it counted.

"Maybe I smelled victory a little bit as you do. You train yourself not to think about that but it's there and your head might go elsewhere and you lose the momentum. That's what I'm disappointed about but there's heaps of positives.

"I played heaps better than I did this time last year and it's better to go out there and lose a match on your own terms than be really nervous and not be able do much, sort of like last year."

She also talked about the satisfaction she received from playing so much better, and with so much more aggression, than she had last year when she felt she was "overpowered" by Elena Vesnina.

"I went out and tried play my game and go for my shots. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't and that's just the way tennis goes sometimes.."

Sporting feats show drought has broken

2012-01-02T12:52:00.001+13:00

Piri Weepu spoke for New Zealand when, immediately after the All Blacks' nail-biting World Cup victory, he exclaimed: "I think everyone can sleep easy now and not worry so much." So many had been the years since New Zealand first won the Webb Ellis Cup in 1987 and so harrowing had been the experience that it seemed a weight had been lifted off the nation's shoulders. At the same time, a burden was also removed from those who will judge the Halberg Awards for 2011. The names that will be read out on February 9 would have been far different had an injury-hit All Blacks not ground out their single-point win over France at Eden Park.

Yet Richie McCaw's team was not alone in ridding the country of an embarrassing statistic. This has been the year of the drought-breaker. Even cricket, the subject of regular disappointment for its followers, got in on the act against our biggest rival. New Zealand's failure to win on Australian soil dated back even further than the All Blacks' World Cup misery, to 1985. This month at Hobart, however, a youthful Black
Caps team prevailed in a thrilling test, albeit against a weakened Australian side, to tie a series one-all. The display by such tyro talents as swing bowler Doug Bracewell and the calm authority exhibited by new captain Ross Taylor boded well.

Yet perhaps an even more notable drought was broken by one of the country's less heralded sports, basketball. For a combined 34 seasons, New Zealand rugby league, soccer and basketball teams have toiled in Australian club competitions. The disappointments have been many, and few guessed that winning would be so hard. This year, however, the Breakers broke through to claim the Australian National Basketball League title. By year's end, they looked on course to repeat.

The Warriors have yet to break their drought in the National Rugby League competition. They are, however, getting ever closer. This year, they reached the final for the second time and even though they again fell short, the presence of a dominant youth team and a new and charismatic coach, Brian McClennan, suggested their time was near. There was also fresh hope for the Wellington Phoenix which, following the exit of Terry Serepisos, was put on a far firmer financial footing. This season has come too soon, but next year it should be challenging for the title of the top soccer club in Australia and New Zealand.

The main focus in 2012 will, however, be the London Olympics. Many of the country's best medal chances have been nominated for major Halberg awards based on their success in international competition. With the exception of world champion shot putter Valerie Adams, in the sportswoman of the year category, they will lose out to the All Blacks. Next year will be their time.

As many as three rowing crews have been nominated as the team of the year, along with Mahe Drysdale as sportsman of the year. That bears testimony to the continued excellence of the sport on the world stage, and the high hopes for the rowers at the Olympics. Only Valerie Adams, who came back with a vengeance to enjoy a stellar year, looms as a stronger prospect when the gold medals are handed out.

There is plenty else for New Zealanders to anticipate. How, for example, will Jacko Gill, a prodigious young talent, perform in the men's shot put? Can Lisa Carrington sustain her astounding canoeing breakthrough? Will the cycling squad fulfil their potential in the best possible manner? Thanks to the All Blacks and others who broke through this year, we can anticipate all this with a heightened equanimity, if no less enthusiasm. We do, after all, as Piri Weepu suggested, have good reason to be feeling a whole lot better.

Carrying the flag for NZ

2012-01-02T12:34:00.002+13:00

The tournament may be shorn of its karaoke-singing star attraction, but it's nothing a little local intrigue can't fix.

Venus Williams may not be here, but Sacha Jones and Marina Erakovic are and both will appear on centre court today, although the former will be starting her doubles campaign only.

Instead it will be up to Jones to carry the flag in the ASB Classic singles, ironic perhaps given this is her final tournament before she swaps the classic Southern Cross for an ugly six-starred ensign.

She faces Ukrainian-born Briton Elena Baltacha. Given that Baltacha is ranked 224 places higher than Jones' world ranking of 274, it would require a leap of faith to predict a Jones victory, but stranger things have happened.

There has been some hand-wringing in tennis circles over the 21-year-old's switch of allegiance to Australia. It is hardly Martina Navratilova defecting from behind the Iron Curtain to the United States, but even so Sparc has been accused of underfunding the sport and Tennis New Zealand is in the dock for taking its eye off the ball.

Regardless of where the blame lies, today's match would be a perfect time for Jones, the 2011 national champion, to show the Stanley St crowd what Tennis NZ will be missing.

Jones' match is the third up on centre court.

Before her, up-and-coming American teenager Christina McHale faces Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru and tournament fourth-seed Flavia Pennetta plays Sorana Cirstea.

After Jones' match Marina Erakovic will open her doubles campaign with Canadian Rebecca Marino. They play Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina, whom Erakovic teamed up with to win a WTA tournament in Linz, Austria, late last year.

There are two intriguing night matches on centre court. Australian Jelena Dokic faces German Mona Barthel in the day's final match, but before them top seed Sabine Lisicki plays Virginie Razzano.

Lisicki, 22, is not only the most accomplished player in the draw with a world ranking of 15, but she has a game based on a powerful serve that could go some way to making up for Williams' absence.

Losing the American was a bitter pill for tournament director Richard Palmer, who compiled a strong field but one lacking magnetic pulling power following the withdrawal of the seven-time grand slam champion.

Williams featured prominently in all the pre-tournament marketing campaigns and continues to stare out at pay-TV subscribers in the latest issue of Skywatch.

Williams' health has been affected by Sjogren's syndrome, an auto-immune condition that causes fatigue as well as dry eyes and mouth, though it did not compromise her ability to belt out a few classics on a karaoke machine while partying in the Caribbean last month.

Williams will bypass Auckland and instead head straight to Melbourne to prepare for the Australian Open.

Lisicki, on the other hand, wants to win as many matches as possible before the year's first grand slam, which begins on January 16.

Last year she came to Auckland as a qualifier after an injury-plagued 2010. She scraped past Mirza into the main draw before losing to defending champion Yanina Wickmayer.

It wasn't until the grasscourt season that her year took off. She won at Birmingham, thrashing Daniela Hantuchova in the final, then reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, where she lost to Maria Sharapova.

In August she won a title on the hard courts of Dallas.

An ASB Classic win would set her up nicely for the Australian Open and further her quest to break into the world's top 10.

BOWLS NORTHLAND

2012-01-01T11:06:00.000+13:00

Women's Centre Pairs winners Hikurangi (center) and Runners Up Arapohue.

Maestro aiming to hijack SCG party

2011-12-31T17:13:00.001+13:00

The Little Master ... Sachin Tendulkar has an incredible Test average of 221 at the SCG, having scored three centuries. Photo: Tim Clayton

SACHIN TENDULKAR did not make Australia pay in Melbourne but his stellar record in Sydney will provide sobering reading for any of Michael Clarke's bowlers who are still basking in their own glory after battering India's star-studded batting line-up at the MCG.

Whether it be Shane Warne's debut or Steve Waugh's farewell, Tendulkar has found a way of spoiling the party in Sydney - and next week he will be intent on hijacking the SCG's 100th Test celebrations with a milestone of his own - his 100th international ton.

The Indian champion saves his best in Australia for the SCG, where he averages a whopping 221.33 in five Tests on a traditionally spin-friendly wicket that most resembles conditions in his home country.

Master blaster … Peter Siddle celebrates bowling out Sachin Tendulkar on the second day at the MCG. Photo: AFP

With scores of 73 and 32, Tendulkar was clearly India's best batsman at the MCG where the extra bounce and carry offered plenty of encouragement to the home side's express pace attack.

Australia's plan in Melbourne, sure to be repeated in Sydney next week, centred on drying up India's scoring rate and relying on a rush of blood from their batsmen to knock over their top six.

Tendulkar is prepared to go to great lengths to succeed at the SCG. For more than 10 hours during Waugh's swan song in 2004, Tendulkar shelved his much-loved cover drive in order to take the slips cordon out of play, and was rewarded with an unbeaten 241.

The batting maestro has worked hard all tour on leaving balls outside off stump during private net sessions, and a similar display of restraint is on the cards next week after he was dismissed twice by Peter Siddle playing the drive in Melbourne.

''Both dismissals were totally different, one was bowled and the other one was a bit wider, there's no big secret to it,'' Siddle said yesterday. ''I was lucky enough to bowl a couple of good balls before that, put a bit of pressure on and got the wicket. It just comes down to being patient.

''As a unit we've done that, we've stuck together well, we've bowled long spells and been consistent; that's how we got most of our wickets.''

Punters are backing Australia to keep Tendulkar under wraps this summer, with bookmakers installing ''no century this series'' as the $2.25 favoured option regarding when the batting master will reach his 100th international century. Sydney, at $3.25, is the second favourite.

''Hopefully, I can get him again or some of the boys can and we can keep winning Test matches. That's the main aim,'' Siddle said.

A lack of footwork was a common theme of several Indian dismissals in the Boxing Day Test.

''The pressure that we built was a bit of the cause for that. The short bowling, to get them under a bit of pressure, and then a mix-up, that paid off at the start and that helps with them not moving their feet,'' Siddle said.

A six-wicket haul in Melbourne ensured Siddle will finish the year as Australia's leading Test wicket taker despite being dumped for the opening two matches of the series in Sri Lanka for not bowling full enough in a tour game. But he has been the mainstay of the Australian attack in the six Tests since, which have featured five different pace combinations.

The Victorian enforcer, who has topped the 150km/h mark at times this summer, said he is the fittest he has ever been during his six-year first-class career.

''I'm feeling good. The disappointment of missing the first two Tests in Sri Lanka, I knew I had to change a few things and work on a few things. Working with 'Billy' [Craig McDermott] and our fitness coach Stuart Karppinen, it's coming together,'' he enthused.

''I'm feeling good. I'm feeling strong, I'm working really hard off the park. I've had a lot of injuries in the past because I wasn't quite fit enough but it's a big onus to be as fit as I can to stay out there and do everything right to stay in the side.''

Pace ace has the look of all-round ability

2011-12-31T12:20:00.001+13:00

EVERY team in the world loves to have a bowling all-rounder. They add depth to your batting and often give cheek to opposition bowlers. Although we can't put James Pattinson in that category yet, his potential with the bat will make for interesting viewing as this rejuvenated Australian team moves forward.

Pattinson is no Andrew Flintoff with the willow - the Englishman was probably the best player of his type over the past decade or so - but if he can match the batting deeds of someone like Stuart Broad, Australian cricket will be well served. And he might just be on his way to becoming a better bowler than Broad.

The much-maligned Mitchell Johnson is the obvious Australian that Pattinson will be compared to, but Johnson is a more talented batsman than Pattinson with a wider range of shots. The tragedy for Johnson has been that his periods of inconsistency with the ball have impacted badly on his confidence with the bat, and his general productiveness has never reached the heights he achieved with both ball and bat in South Africa early in 2009.

Former Australian leg-spinner and selector Jim Higgs once said the danger period for any bowler making runs is when they start thinking like a batsman. While that is perversely true in most cases, Pattinson is certainly a player who thinks and bats like a batsman. He has the temperament for it, and his shot selection and power are good enough to maintain pressure on bowlers, particularly his flowing cover drive.

He virtually won the Premier club cricket title for Dandenong last season with some wonderful application and strokeplay from the No.6 position, one spot above Peter Siddle. With his team in precarious positions chasing moderate totals in both the semi-final and final, the then 20-year-old guided his team to victories with undefeated half-centuries on both occasions, excruciatingly so in the final with Dandenong nine wickets down.

When he joined Michael Hussey late on Wednesday at 8-166, Australia seemed to be a good 30 or 40 runs short of a competitive target. Yet, despite the loss of Hussey next morning, he oversaw the addition of 74 crucial runs which created frustration, panic and indecision in the Indian camp.

With the exception of Jacques Kallis, statistics can often be unflattering for all-rounders in Test cricket. Flintoff took 226 wickets and had batting and bowling averages around 31; Broad averages 32 from his 132 wickets and 29 with the bat. Johnson has a bowling average of 31 and batting average of 21.

So Pattinson faces a big task if he is to be regarded as a significant contributor with bat and ball. But he is a fast learner, highly competitive and could not have had a better start to his career. He is four years younger than Broad, and if he can eventually match the Englishman with the bat, and hold down the No.8 position, the structure of the Australian team will be so much the better for it.

Knighthood for Henry 'uncomfortable'

2011-12-31T12:10:00.001+13:00

Rugby's latest knight is no stranger to being called "Sir".

As was heavily tipped in the past two months, Rugby World Cup-winning coach Graham Henry has been knighted in the 2012 New Year honours after guiding the All Blacks to tournament glory.

It is just reward for a 38-year coaching career that began when he was a teacher at Auckland Grammar School in the early 1970s.

Given his 25 years as a teacher – during which time he was principal of Kelston Boys' High School and coached the first XVs at both Kelston and Auckland Grammar – Sir Graham said he had plenty of experience at being called "Sir".

When asked if he would now insist that people call him Sir Graham, he responded: "For sure. I am sure they will."

Sir Graham was approached about whether he would accept a knighthood about two weeks after the tournament triumph. He decided to accept after canvassing the feelings of his family, whom he said had ridden an emotional rollercoaster during his coaching career, which included 140 international matches in charge of the All Blacks, Wales and the British and Irish Lions.

"I got a hell of a shock to be frank. It makes you feel uncomfortable, but also very humbled as well," he said.

"When you are involved in a team sport it is a lot of people who produce those results, it is not one person. It is everybody; the management of the team, [assistant coaches] Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith, Richie [McCaw] and the boys obviously, my wife, Raewyn, my family and my mother.

"There are a lot of people involved so it makes you feel a wee bit uncomfortable. Rugby is a team game."

Sir Graham said he realised he wouldn't have woken up today as a knight had the All Blacks not won the World Cup in the October 23 final, where they toppled France 8-7.

He also said he understood why All Blacks captain Richie McCaw had declined an invitation to also become a knight in the New Years honours list.

"He is a young fella and he has a few years ahead of him playing rugby," Sir Graham said.

"He will probably feel uncomfortable about that [a knighthood] particularly when he is captaining the side and is still playing rugby.

"But I am sure his time will come."

Sir Graham stepped down as All Black coach shortly after a series of victory parades in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. His priorities over the next months were "to try and relax".

Sir Graham said he had enjoyed some moments reflecting on how the country had rallied behind the All Blacks during the World Cup.

"Just look at the All Blacks this year and what the World Cup did for this country.

"We needed it badly, didn't we?"

There had been enough catastrophes throughout the country, particularly in Christchurch, so it was good to be able to give people something positive, he said.

"I think the All Blacks helped in that way. It put smiles on people's faces."

All-black jet thrills our world champs

2011-12-19T13:27:00.001+13:00

The world's largest commercially operated aircraft to be painted completely black in honour of the All Blacks has been revealed.

Air New Zealand commissioned the jet-black plane to highlight its long-time sponsorship of the recently crowned world champion All Blacks.

Players Kieran Read and Andy Ellis ceremonially led the one-of-a-kind Boeing 777-300ER aircraft out of Boeing's paint hangar facility in Seattle on Friday night.

Read said the plane looked "sensational" and would "really turn heads" at airports around the world.

Ellis said he felt similarly about the plane.

"I always feel a huge amount of pride when I pull on the All Blacks jersey with the silver fern to represent my country on the rugby field and to see that replicated similarly on something this big is just awesome."

It took 700 litres of primer and paint and 14 painters working in shifts 24 hours a day for just over a week to complete the transformation.

The vice-president of Boeing's Everett Delivery Centre, Jeff Klemann, said it was one of the most challenging paint jobs they had ever done.

Prepping and painting the aircraft entirely black took one and a half days, followed by a further five days for the intricate detail of the silver fern overlaid on it and the koru symbol. Remaining time was spent on the finishing touches.

The aircraft is expected to be delivered to Air New Zealand in late January.

By the middle of next year the airline will have six aircraft featuring the all black livery, including two Airbus A320s and three Beech 1900D turboprops.

Bracewell delivers extraordinary victory for NZ

2011-12-12T18:52:00.001+13:00

If Phil Hughes is shaving tomorrow and gets a nick, Martin Guptil will appear out of the medicine cabinet with a band aid!

An extraordinary spell from Doug Bracewell and horrific batting disintegration by Australia handed New Zealand a dramatic and momentous seven-run Test victory in Hobart, their first on these shores since 1985.

The hosts' chase of 241 had been guided expertly by David Warner, but Bracewell's removal of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, all on 159, left Australia a nervous 5 for 173 at lunch, and on resumption the remaining five went down for a mere 60. In all it was a collapse of 8 for 74, Warner left marooned on 123 when the last man, Nathan Lyon, was bowled by Bracewell.

Bracewell's display, characterised by swing, bounce and sharp variation, confirmed his pre-series billing by the New Zealand captain Ross Taylor as a cricketer of enormous potential. It also branded Australia as a team of profound vulnerability with the bat, a problem made doubly vexing by the fact the top seven is populated as much by experience as callow youth. Clarke will take precious little consolation from the retention of the Trans-Tasman Trophy.

Phillip Hughes had been dismissed without addition to his overnight score, yet again caught by Martin Guptill off the bowling of Chris Martin, and Usman Khawaja was again out for a useful but not sufficiently consequential tally. Ponting and Warner took Australia to within 82 with eight wickets in hand, before tumult ensued.

Hughes and Warner resumed in morning sunshine, aware that morning session had been the most difficult in which to bat during this match. Martin shared this knowledge, and he swiftly made use of it by finding another delivery that seamed across Hughes to be snapped up by Guptill in the slips. Hughes had been out in that manner in each of his four innings for the series, and he walked off knowing he could not expect to be retained for the Boxing Day Test.

By contrast Warner did not let the bowlers settle, punching through the offside with rare power, though it was an edge over the slips cordon off the bowling of Bracewell that delivered his first Test half-century.

Khawaja provided sound support for a time, but Warner twinged his back when diving for a run-out and was visibly inconvenienced. Perhaps trying to take more responsibility for scoring, Khawaja drove loosely at a wide delivery from Trent Boult and was held by Ross Taylor, who did brilliantly to hold his poise as Guptill dived across him from second slip.

Ponting emerged for what may well be his final Test innings in Hobart, and played himself in with a handful of crisp shots. Warner was regaining some freedom of movement at the other end, and lunch emerged into view with the hosts in apparent control.

However Bracewell had been moving the ball consistently, and varying his pace with intelligence. Ponting was undone by a delivery that stopped on him as he tried a signature back-foot drive, and lobbed gently off the toe of his bat to cover. The crowd offered a generous ovation, but it was not acknowledged, Ponting lost in his own thoughts and frustrations at letting New Zealand back into the contest.

Bracewell had troubled Clarke all series, shaping the ball both ways from his muscular body action, and he now prised out Australia's captain with an away swinger that Taylor claimed at the second attempt. His next ball also swung, beating Hussey's bat to strike the pad in front of middle and leg. A not out verdict was referred by Taylor, and within moments Bracewell was on a hat-trick.

Warner top-edged a hook off Martin then drove with conviction to move well into the 90s, and after Brad Haddin survived Bracewell's hat-trick ball the teams walked off for lunch. When they returned, Warner was swiftly into three figures, laughing and punching the air in recognition of a richly-deserved century.

Tim Southee found some delectable outswing in the afternoon, and Haddin edged perilously wide of the slips. Taylor reinforced the cordon and next ball Haddin duly chased another, snicking straight to New Zealand's captain. Peter Siddle did likewise, and for the first time all day the visitors were favoured to win.

Bracewell was bending the ball with similar venom, and two balls after James Pattinson survived a review for lbw when he did not offer a shot, a delivery angled across was snapped up by Guptill in the cordon.

Mitchell Starc was too late and too crooked to keep out his second ball, another swerving demon from Bracewell, and all of a sudden Warner had only Lyon for company. A few solid blows brought the target within 25 runs, but then Southee and New Zealand had a moment in which they felt victory was theirs.

A full delivery swung down the line and struck Lyon in front, quickly drawing a raised finger from the umpire Nigel Llong. Lyon's last-ditch referral looked exactly that, but the ball tracker improbably revealed the ball had pitched a millimetre outside leg stump. To widespread disbelief, the chase resumed.

Next over and the 'keeper Reece Young encouraged the referral of another lbw appeal against Lyon, only to find that Bracewell's in-dipper was arcing down the legside, and the No. 11 then unveiled a princely flick through straight midwicket to demonstrate his composure. Warner took a single, Bracewell bustled in again, and found one more tearing delivery to crash through Lyon's defence.

As New Zealand celebrated, Lyon sank to the ground, disbelieving that the match had been lost. Bad as he felt, it was the batsmen other than Warner who had greatest cause to feel poorly.

Nowhere to hide for Taylor

2011-12-09T06:09:00.001+13:00

In an ailing cricket team, the spotlight shines brightest on the captain.

Today Ross Taylor will don his black blazer and stride to the centre of Bellerive Oval, try to correctly guess Michael Clarke's coin toss, then show us what he's made of.

Just two tests into his New Zealand captaincy career, 27-year-old Taylor has fast learned there's nowhere to hide.

After back-to-back 70s, a bold declaration and a tougher-than-expected win in Bulawayo, Taylor's stocks plummeted in the nine-wicket defeat to Australia in Brisbane.

He boldly chose to bat first – no harm in that – but his efforts in both innings summed up his side's inadequacies as they struggle to compete with the major test-playing nations.

Driving at a wide delivery, his 15th, just before lunch on day one, he was bowled. Then in the second innings he needlessly pushed at his first ball from James Pattinson and left Jesse Ryder facing a hat-trick.

All the top-five batsmen have faced the blowtorch from coach John Wright this week and it's safe to assume any New Zealand recklessness will be parked as they try to save face and show some heart in the second and final test. That starts with the skipper.

"Any captain wants to lead from the front and I'm no different. A poor shot just before lunch in the first innings and a nervous poke in the second; it's disappointing to get out those ways," Taylor said.

"You've got to try and put those to the side. You've just got to get out there front up and get through the first 20-30 balls and hopefully it will get a lot easier from there."

His captaincy has shown promising signs in the field, and his bowlers created enough chances in Brisbane. But it's with the bat Taylor can make his biggest mark.

Into his 33rd test, he averages 41, but his ratio of one century in his last 28 innings needs work. A big Taylor hundred would be a welcome tonic for the test side's belief, in the "follow me" mode of former Aussie captains Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting.

He played an early shot at yesterday's press conference when the endless questions about Australian opener Phil Hughes' form continued. Having honestly stated in Brisbane he wished Hughes would be selected for Hobart, it became headline news. "I made a tongue-in-cheek comment that was made more of than what should have been. He's still a world class opener," said Taylor, before rattling off some prudent Hughes stats.

First bouncer negotiated.

Taylor all but confirmed an unchanged side would line up today, as did Clarke.

The emphasis since the second innings collapse for 150, at the hands of Pattinson, was tightening techniques and staying upbeat. "As a batting unit we need to be able to leave outside the off stump and let them bowl at us." Getting through the first two-hour session in healthy shape was the first goal.

Catching was a big focus after four went down behind the wicket in Brisbane, and the slips cordon of Taylor, Martin Guptill and Ryder have been grasping at hard-hit cricket balls all week.

It's a big test for Ryder and opener Brendon McCullum, who showed loose Brisbane batsmanship, are both in mini slumps and need to reaffirm their worth in the longest format.

Australia's focus seems to have been anything but the New Zealanders; with Hughes' form, new injuries to Pat Cummins and Shane Watson, the pending four-test series against Sachin Tendulkar's Indians dominating the column space.

The hosts are unbackable favourites, with local boy Ponting probably playing his last Hobart test. But an inexperienced top order and seam attack, and the memory of being dismissed for 47 in South Africa lingers.

"We're still working really hard on our consistency.

"It's a long time since we've won back-to-back test matches so that was really pleasing," Clarke said.

What: Second and final cricket test

Where: Bellerive Oval, Hobart

When: From 12.30pm today

TV: Sky Sport 1

TAB odds: Australia $1.57, New Zealand $8, draw $2.90

New Zealand (likely): Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor (captain), Jesse Ryder, Dean Brownlie, Daniel Vettori, Reece Young, Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee, Chris Martin.

Australia: David Warner, Phil Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (captain), Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.

Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan), Nigel Llong (England).

Third umpire: Aleem Dar (Pakistan).

Match referee: Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe).

Hobart history: Australia played 9 tests, won 7, drawn 2 New Zealand played 3, lost 1 (1993), drawn 2 (1997, 2001)

Rugby league great Arthur Beetson has died at the age of 66

2011-12-04T15:08:00.001+13:00

Rugby league great Arthur Beetson has died this morning at the age of 66 after suffering a heart attack.
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said officers were called to a home at Paradise Point on the Gold Coast where a man had suffered a heart attack and fallen from a bicycle shortly before 9am.
Paramedics performed CPR but he was unable to be resuscitated and was transported to Gold Coast Hospital.
Beetson was one of only seven rugby league Immortals, along with Clive Churchill, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier, Johnny Raper, Graeme Langlands and Wally Lewis.
He was the first Indigenous captain of Australia in any sport, as well as captaining Queensland in the first State of Origin match in 1980 at the age of 35.
'Mate, he was State of Origin'
Beetson was instrumental to the Maroons' early success, and that of the State of Origin concept.
He famously clobbered then-Parramatta teammate and Blues opponent Mick Cronin in the inaugural game, supposedly proving that representing Queensland meant more to him than club loyalties.
"Mate, he was State of Origin," Ross Livermore, the managing director of Queensland Rugby League for 30 years said this morning.
"He just had something about him."
Current Queensland Origin coach and Beetson teammate in the inaugural Maroons team Mal Meninga was rocked by the news this morning.
"I hold him dear to my heart, especially in my early years, he was very influential for my growth as a man," Meninga said.
"He was one of the people I admire greatly not only for his footy, what he did on the park, but what he did as a human being for his people and for business people as well.
"It's a tragedy."
Indigenous hero
Beetson's influence on young Indigenous players was immense.
Meninga first met Beetson in the lead up to that first Origin game in 1980, and said the veteran changed his perspective on being an Indigenous footballer.
"He was part of the Origin start-up, he was instrumental in all that obviously," Meninga said.
"Came back home, captained Queensland in the very first Origin game.
"But my thoughts revolve around his thoughts on me as a person.
"He was instrumental in making me proud of my heritage and that sort of thing."
Beetson's reputation among Indigenous players lives on in the current generation, such as star Queensland halfback Johnathan Thurston.Ad Feedback
"Artie was an inspiration to all Indigenous rugby league players, including myself, and will always be remembered as one of the greats of the game," Thurston said today.
"Very few people have done as much for Queensland rugby league as he has.
"Artie was a true Queensland icon."
Beetson's death came on a day when he was due to chaperone hundreds of young Indigenous children through Dreamworld as part of a Fogs [Former Queensland Origin Greats] program named in his honour, the Artie Program - Achieving Results Through Indigenous Education.
"Today was the day we celebrate with the kids who achieved their goals, so we are down at White Water World at Dreamworld with 400 indigenous kids and I was expecting Arthur to walk through the gates at about 10am," fellow FoG Gene Miles said.
"Instead I got the message of his passing. I'm totally shattered...
"He said he'd see me around 10 to help out flipping the burgers and obviously polishing a few off," Miles said with a chuckle.
Weight battle
A renowned big eater, Beetson's weight peaked at 156kg in 1994 before trimming down back to near his playing weight of 110kg.
He battled weight-related health issues all his life, and Miles revealed this morning that bike riding had become a daily part of his effort to maintain his health.
"That's the way he ticked that box, he used to go for a ride every morning," Miles said.
"We often used to go on about that poor racing bike that he had and he used to put his crash helmet on that looked like a six-inch roofing nail on his head and away he'd go.
"That's how he got out there and got active."
Outstanding career
Beetson played 14 Tests for Australia as well as representing his country in 14 World Cup matches (which then didn't count as Tests).
He had two successful terms as Queensland coach (1981-84, 89-90) for an overall record of 11 wins from 16 matches.
Born in Roma, where Darren Lockyer also grew up, he was also an integral part of Jack Gibson's high-achieving Eastern Suburbs team of the mid 1970s.
Another Origin great Chris Close said no better forward ever played the game.
"He was the best forward I've ever seen in my lifetime and I have a great admiration and respect for the man.
"As a matter of fact, I'd go as far as to say I loved him.
"He had a big influence on my life and thousands of others and he'll be sadly, sadly missed."
Beetson was made the number one member of the FoGs by Dick "Tosser" Turner as his football career folded.
Today Miles credited his involvement with sparking the Maroon spirit that has seen Queensland dominate State of Origin.
"He made sure that the players who represented Queensland at State of Origin level certainly kept that tradition and legacy going," Miles said.
On the field, Miles remembered Beetson as a great offloader, something he hoped would not be forgotten.
"He was one of the greatest ball players ever and I think it is fair to say that a lot of people have tried but no-one has ever come up to that standard of his offloads."
Close said Beetson's passing would leave a huge hole in Queensland rugby league circles.
"He'll be missed by more people than you can imagine," Close said.
"In 1980, he led a march which resulted in Queensland being the most dominant rugby league state you'd ever see and I think all the success can be largely attributed to that one game that he played."
Spoke his mind
In recent years, Beetson had fallen out with rugby league administrators.
He boycotted the Centenary Ball in 2008 where he was due to be acknowledged as a member of the Team of the Century.
At the time he said he would not be attending the gala ball because of his fears for the future of the sport, as well as the fact he couldn't wear shorts and thongs to the event.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told State Parliament about the death just after 10am and offered her sympathies.
"This morning Queensland has lost one of its legends and one of its favourite sons," she said.
"He loved his league, he loved his Queensland and his loss will be felt by many."
Federal Minister for Sport Senator Mark Arbib said his first rugby league sporting memories were of Beetson winning the 1974 and 1975 premierships but it was the work he did after playing that resonated with the Indigenous community.
"Artie was an inspirational role model who dedicated his post-playing career to ensuring Indigenous Australians were given the best opportunities available," Senator Arbib said.
"At every FOGs expo Artie attended the kids would run up to him asking for photos, autographs and advice and Artie always obliged.
"He gave kids the message that they could achieve anything they set their minds to by staying at school and getting a good education."

Tiger Finds His Mojo

2011-11-12T07:11:00.002+13:00

THE stars are aligned for Tiger Woods to bookend two years of hell and, one year and 364 days after his last tournament win in the Australian Masters, victory in the Australian Open would announce to the world he is back.

Certainly, the thousands who packed around Woods's grouping with Jason Day and Robert Allenby, and the trio of Adam Scott, Matt Kuchar and John Senden at the Lakes course in Sydney yesterday, were left in no doubt the former world No. 1 has found his mojo.

Woods - and Day for that matter - electrified the crowd and the roars resounded around the course. Playing the back nine first, Woods went out in five under par, while Day shot three under. Woods signed for a five-under 67 to lead by one from Peter O'Malley, while Day shot 68 to be two off the lead.

Asked how good it was to be back on top of the leaderboard, Woods replied with sarcasm: "The headlines tell the whole story, don't they? It is just one of those things, just being patient … it takes a little time but once it starts coming the confidence starts building.

"It comes back. When Jack [Nicklaus] won in '86 at the [US] Masters, it came back. You know what it feels like. You know what to do."

It is the first time, since the 2009 Australian Masters, Woods has led a tournament and his knee and Achilles injuries have fully recovered. His profile with the public has risen enormously thanks to his former caddie Steve Williams's "black arsehole" remark.

And, he has recently gained some new sponsors, to replace those who left him in the wake of the expose of his private life.

And now he has a score - well, two actually, with 68-67 - on the board.

"It feels great to have everyone so fired up,'' Woods said. ''Jason is playing well, too. We have an Aussie here. We certainly had the crowd cheering, which was great. The last time [it felt the same way] was probably the Sunday at Augusta.'' (At the US Masters, he went out in 31 to briefly share the lead.)

The opening two rounds here were the first time that Day, 24, of Queensland, has played with his idol. And it became a mutual admiration society between the pair.

Woods said of Day: "He hits the ball really flush. He moves it a little right to left. Man, he hits it solid. He's got some serious speed, too. What people don't realise is how good a putter he is. He rolls it great. He has a wonderful stroke. It was tough conditions the last couple of days and he handled them well. He was very patient out there."

And Day on Woods: ''Growing up he was my idol, posters of him on my wall, and I read all the books about him - and he changed my life, practically. Obviously I worked hard after reading his books, and it's just good to see him back playing good golf.

"Obviously he wasn't playing that great a couple of months ago [when Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples named him as a wildcard selection in the US team in a decision that was met by widespread criticism], but he's certainly turned things around, and Tiger is known to stuff it down certain people's throats, and he's certainly doing that now. Golf needs Tiger.''

Allenby, with rounds of 75-73, was out of sorts with his play and missed the cut. "Just cameras, that's all, clicking through every shot,'' he said.

His Presidents Cup captain, Greg Norman, playing just his first tournament since late last year, made the cut with rounds of 71-74, surprising himself, for he came into the tournament with low expectations.

Black Caviar stretches her amazing unbeaten record to 16.

2011-11-06T06:41:00.002+13:00

BLACK Caviar's legend grew as did her bank balance with extraordinary speed, as the world champion sprinter stretched her unbeaten record to 16 in the Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington.

With jockey Luke Nolen only twice raising his whip arm to wind her up, Black Caviar earned a head-spinning $8779.63 for each of the 68.34 seconds it took to win her seventh Group 1 race.

It places Black Caviar on the same Group 1 plateau for mares as triple Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva and the great Emancipation.

Only Sunline, with 13 Group 1s, stands above her.

Nolen described as "very humbling" Black Caviar's latest success, as he looked around to view a sea of people, many dressed in the mare's salmon and black dot colours, wildly applauding the five-year-old.

"It's magnificent," enthused Nolen.

"It's hard to get a grasp on it while the show is still rolling. I know I'm going to miss her the day she retires."

Trainer Peter Moody said a decision would be made in the next 24 hours whether Black Caviar would now head west for the $500,000 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) in Perth on November 19 or go to the paddock.

He said a plane left on Tuesday night for Perth.

"I'd love to go, but first, we have to make sure the horse is right. It's a hot day and the track is pretty firm, so we want to make sure she has pulled up good," Moody said.

"She's not over-raced by our standards. She's a five-year-old who has had 16 starts.

"The race in Perth is there for as long as it is not going to be detrimental to her."

"She is just one hell of a horse. She's hard to get a measure on. She has pulled up clean in the wind, but it's hard to say she had a stressful run."

As she coasted to victory, Black Caviar kept the milestones clicking over:

HER unbeaten winning spree of 16 in a row now places her equal fifth for all-time unbeaten winning streaks. (Hungarian mare Kincsem heads the list with 54).

NOW in Black Caviar's sights is Mainbrace's unbeaten record of 17 races straight in the 1940s in Australia and New Zealand.

HER prizemoney has topped the $4 million mark, with a total of $4,380,050.

HER total winning margin is now more than 54 lengths.

HER odds of $1.04 is the shortest price in a Group 1 race since Valerius started at $1.03 in the 1961 Chipping Norton Stakes.

ONE fearless punter plonked $1 million on Black Caviar at $1.06 with Sportingbet Australia for a profit of just $60,000.

Black Caviar reeled off her final 400m in 22.24sec, her final 200m in only 11.69sec, as she coasted to a two-and-three-quarter-length win from Buffering, $41, with one length to Mid Summer Music, $31, third.

Nolen said the pressure associated with riding Black Caviar was the weight of people's expectations.

"You don't want to disappoint anyone who has come to see her. She has a faultless record and we very much want to keep it intact," he said.

Part-owner Neil Werrett said it appeared Black Caviar didn't move out of second gear at any stage in the Patinack.

"Hopefully, she was conserving herself for her next race in Perth," Werrett said.

Moody said he was keen for Black Caviar to step out to 1400m in the autumn, when she will contest the C.F. Orr Stakes and Futurity at Caulfield, her home track.

He predicted the best of the mare would be seen when she races over 1400m.

Caddie Williams in race row over Tiger remark

2011-11-05T17:20:00.001+13:00

Tiger Woods’ former caddie has caused another sensation, this time by using a racial slur to disparage his old boss during a caddies awards dinner in Shanghai.

Steve Williams received a mock award on Friday night for ‘‘celebration of the year’’ for his TV interview after Adam Scott won the Bridgestone Invitational.

That was the day Williams said it was ‘‘the best win of his life’’, despite being on the bag with Woods for 13 majors.

At an awards party filled with banter, Williams said of his interview: ‘‘It was my aim to shove it right up that black arsehole.’’

That line drew the biggest reaction at a party attended by several players, caddies, officials and some media.

There was a mixture of laughter and shock, with some players turning to each other with eyes widened and jaws agape.

The provision of the party is that all comments are off the record, yet several caddies couldn’t stop talking about it long after it was over.

Approached early the next morning at breakfast, Williams was stunned to learn that British tabloids had gone with the story.

‘‘Why would they do that?’’ he said. ‘‘The whole thing was meant to be fun.’’

Hours later, Williams posted a comment on his website.

‘‘I apologise for comments I made last night at the Annual Caddy Awards dinner in Shanghai,’’ it said.

‘‘Players and caddies look forward to this evening all year, and the spirit is always joking and fun.

‘‘I now realise how my comments could be construed as racist. However, I assure you that was not my intent.

I sincerely apologise to Tiger and anyone else I’ve offended.’’

Woods was in Australia, though it didn’t take long for the comments to get back to him.

‘‘I was with Tiger last night when he heard the news,’’ Mark Steinberg, his agent said.

‘‘We got multiple calls from people who sounded like they were leaving the caddie party. Tiger obviously wasn’t there. He doesn’t know exactly what was said. But if multiple reports - which all seem to be accurate - are true, then it’s sad it’s come down to this.’’

‘‘It’s a regrettable comment, and there’s really nothing that Tiger can do or say. He’s just going to move on.’’
Several players who were at the dinner said on Saturday morning they did not want to comment.

Scott was preparing for his third round of the HSBC Champions, where he was one shot off the lead. He is going for his second World Golf Championship of the year.

It’s not the first time Williams has found himself in trouble for his words.

Three years ago at a dinner banquet in New Zealand, he made a disparaging remark about Phil Mickelson.Williams said that was meant in fun, though Woods had him apologise to Mickelson.

Even though Williams said his comments were meant in fun to match the spirit of the evening, there was no disguising the animosity Williams feels over his sacking in July.

What made Williams’ reaction at the Bridgestone Invitational so pointed is that it was the first time Woods and Scott were in the same tournament since Williams had been sacked - and it was Scott’s first win of the year.

Williams has disputed Woods’ version of how their partnership ended, and he said at Firestone that he was short-shrifted by Woods despite his loyalty to the former No.1 player during the sex scandal that derailed his career.

These comments also put Scott in the middle of a mess.

Woods and Scott are to be in the same group next week at the Australian Open, and there’s a chance they also could face off at the Presidents Cup in Melbourne the week after.

All Blacks' win brings joy to NZ.

2011-10-24T06:54:00.001+13:00

THE 24-year All Black gloom has lifted with a thrilling 8-7 victory over France in last night's final at Eden Park.

The result was in doubt right up until the final whistle, but finally light, peace and relief for a long suffering New Zealand.

A country that has struggled through the devastation of the Christchurch earthquake and Pike River mining disaster can find relief in the fact that it is again officially the world's best in what it does best — playing, living and breathing rugby.

From the Bay of Islands to Invercargill the party will go on for weeks. The celebrations began well before kick-off with the centre of Auckland being transformed into a party zone of kilometre after kilometre of All Blacks jerseys, flags and banners with their wearers and bearers converging on the city from all parts of the North and South Island to be part of an unforgettable moment of New Zealand history.

Arise Sir Richie (McCaw) and Lord Ted (Henry), you have succeeded in bringing home what New Zealanders have lusted after for so long — the Webb Ellis Cup and proper recognition that they are No. 1.

It wasn't easy though. The most spectacular and dramatic of World Cup finals was a torture test. The French were supposed to be flakes. Instead the "spoiled brats" showed unexpected fire and flair and, for all of the game, flustered the All Blacks, especially when they moved their tactics away from a stodgy game plan they had used the previous six weeks to one that constantly stretched their attack to both sidelines.

This surprised the All Blacks, who spent much of the first half doing nothing but stopping wave after wave of French charges, which often had one of their clever backrowers Imanol Harinordoquy, Julien Bonnaire and captain Thierry Dusautoir hovering nearby to keep the phase play going.

But what saved the All Blacks was them being able to take full use of the big moment, while South Africa referee Craig Joubert looked too kindly their way at important times, ignoring offside play and breakdown indiscretions which should have seen them penalised.

The All Blacks only had one good first half attacking opportunity and it brought points, when the French lineout disintegrated and prop Tony Woodcock was able to amble through a big gap to score the opening try.

Elsewhere there were jitters. Piri Weepu's general play and goalkicking was off, missing his three kicks, while Stephen Donald, the country's fourth-ranked five-eighth, who had to abandon a whitebait trawling expedition to join the All Blacks two weeks ago, suddenly found himself in the spotlight after having to replace a hobbling Aaron Cruden.

At half-time, France were still in it as the All Blacks were only five points ahead.

They were right in it at the 47th minute when Dusautoir placed the ball next to the goalpost to move to just one point behind.

France were right in it after 65 minutes when it could have taken the lead through a penalty goal, but missed. And in the final minutes, France came so close to achieving the impossible victory but somehow the All Blacks held on.

At full-time of a high quality finale, the long white cloud made one long collective sigh. The weight, the pressure, the expectation, the fear, the dread is gone. Now New Zealand can get on with life.

A World Cup like no other.

2011-10-23T17:08:00.001+13:00

Rugby World Cup glory beckons for New Zealand on Sunday night but before a ball is even kicked in the tournament finale they can arguably lay claim to a more important victory.

For the last six years critics have constantly questioned the decision to award New Zealand the rights to host the sport's showpiece event. There were accusations that sentimentality had taken precedence over forward thinking and that taking the World Cup back to where it all began in 1987, instead of rival bidder Japan, would hinder the development of the game. While acknowledging New Zealand's rich rugby heritage, they asked how a country so 'small' could cope with an event as big as the World Cup.

The 2007 tournament in France had also set new standards both aesthetically and commercially and, for many, it was impossible to see New Zealand matching let alone exceeding what was widely regarded as the best World Cup to date. But the country as a whole rose to the challenge and has delivered an unforgettable experience.

The decision to bid was a calculated gamble but one that has paid off and will continue to do so in the years ahead. A hosting fee of NZ$150m (£75m) was paid to the International Rugby Board (IRB) just for the privilege to stage the event, with the sport's governing body also keeping all commercial revenue including that generated from the lucrative broadcasting and sponsorship deals. In addition, New Zealand spent in the region of NZ$300m (£150m) readying itself with the construction of the Otago Stadium one shining example of the results of that expenditure.

Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011), formed by the New Zealand Government and the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) in 2006 to deliver the tournament, set about recouping that substantial outlay with tickets sales their only means of balancing the books. A daunting revenue target of NZ$268.5m was set but passed earlier this week, propelled by feast of rugby served up by the world's best in the last two months. It is almost laughable that a World Cup so successful as this could still generate substantial losses in the region of NZ$40m but the windfall generated by upwards of 80,000 visitors and the goodwill generated will offer far more significant returns.

Such figures will provide comfort for the money men but the real success story of this World Cup has a human face. A 'stadium of four million' was promised by organisers who were convinced that New Zealand would embrace the opportunity to play host to the rest of the world and their faith has been repaid by nation that has bought into the tournament like no other before it.

New Zealand has had an incredibly tough year with the Christchurch earthquakes and the Pike River mining disaster serving as body blows to a nation already tackling the global recession. In such circumstances they would be forgiven for dismissing the prospect of a World Cup as something trivial but far from it. This is New Zealand, a country with rugby at its heart, and the World Cup has provided the population with a focus and a reason to smile again.

Stadiums across the country have been full of passionate fans revelling in a party atmosphere and delighting in the fortunes of their side or cheering on their chosen 'second' team. It was feared in some quarters that a lack of big venues would impact on the match day experience and it has - in spectacular fashion. Anyone lucky enough to enjoy the feast for the senses that was Otago Stadium on the occasion of England's clash with Argentina will tell you that you do not need a crowd of 80,000 people to generate something special. And that game was just one of many to benefit from an unrivalled enthusiasm for the game and the World Cup.



"Suddenly the question on everyone's lips is not why was the tournament awarded to New Zealand, but when can we come again?"

But that energy was not confined to the stadiums. The various Fan Zones around the country served as outlets for fans desperate to immerse themselves in the euphoria, while World Cup fever was also evident in everyday life. From the blanket media coverage to a conversation with a stranger at a bus stop, everything revolved around the rugby. The city of Christchurch, cruelly robbed of a starring role by Mother Nature, had to be content with a role on the fringes of the World Cup but not even the tragedy that befell them could diminish the fervour in that rugby heartland. This was their World Cup as much as anyone else.

Elsewhere, tourism chiefs capitalised on the country's moment in the spotlight with the Real New Zealand Festival showcasing everything great about the country and such a seamlessly co-ordinated effort must also be applauded.

In many ways, England cannot hope to replicate this tournament in four years time even if they wanted to. The proposed scale of RWC'15 will dwarf this one with a target of 2.8m tickets sales compared to 1.35m for RWC'11 and stadiums like the 76,000 capacity Old Trafford replacing much smaller venues such as the 17,000-seater Rugby Park in Invercargill. The sport also suffers from a lower profile in England and, as a result, the organisers face a huge task to retain inclusivity that has made this tournament so special. They inherit a World Cup richer for New Zealand's handling of the honour and it is up to them to build on that success by presenting their own unique experience. They cannot hope to be better, just different and equally rewarding, and them must leave others to judge.

The successful staging of Rugby World Cup 2011 is a stunning achievement in the face of adversity and a tribute to not only the organisers but each and every community and individual who has served the sport and their country so well. Suddenly the question on everyone's lips is not why was the tournament awarded to New Zealand, but when can we come again?

'G' for guilty: squabble at the Scrabble champs

2011-10-17T17:01:00.001+13:00

Forget the Sam Warburton red-card fiasco.

In a weekend filled with sporting controversy, it was a missing letter 'G' that threatened to set the Scrabble World Championship on fire this weekend, as wordsmiths from around the world gathered in Warsaw to do battle.

At the event's opening on Saturday, a Thai player demanded England's Ed Martin be taken to the toilet and strip-searched to prove he had not hidden a 'G' tile that mysteriously went missing during their game.

The judges ruled in Mr Martin's favour, sparing him the indignity of a search and seeing a tight defeat turned into victory by a single buttock-clenching point.

Ultimately, Scrabble's most controversial incident since one player accused another of eating a tile, did nothing to alter the competition's result. The trophy and $25,200 prize was claimed yesterday by New Zealander Nigel Richards, who assured his 3-2 win over Australian Andrew Fisher by taking 95 points with 'omnified' - to have rendered something universal.

Mr Richards also deserved a crown for best beard - and least emotional response to the winning of a world title.

Of the plethora of words he could choose from, the monosyllabic antipodean was blank-faced behind rocket-scientist spectacles as he found a simple four-letter word to describe his win: 'Nice.' Clearly words are for playing Scrabble with, not for verbal communication.

Walking into the games' room on Saturday evening was like entering the most intense of exam halls, populated as it was by 106 competitors from 40 different countries who have devoted their lives - and thousands of pounds of cash - to playing the board game.

But while the constant jangling of tiles inside the little bags made it sound like a den of rattlesnakes had slithered into the room, the mood was a curious mixture of good humour as well as desperate seriousness.

Many players, such as Brett Smitheram - a 32-year-old recruitment consultant who at sixth finished as Britain's top player - have photographic memories. It's easy to imagine them being haunted by chains of letters constantly charging through hyperactive minds.

"This game is not about words", Mr Smitheram says without any irony.

"The vast majority of the top players are mathematicians or computer programmers. This game is about the probability that a set of symbols will come together in such a way that you can play them on the board."

It's for that reason that some players are among the best in the world despite English not being their first language - the previous champion was Thailand's Pakorn Nemitrmansuk, and in 2003 his compatriot Panupol Sujjayakorn won without being able to hold more than a cursory conversation with his English-language opponents.

For all that effort, it's far from lucrative; despite the titles Mr Smitheram has won, he estimates he has just broken even when travel and accommodation costs are taken into account.

Kiwi carrying Ford's hopes at Mount Panorama

2011-10-06T18:42:00.000+13:00

In the modern world of V8 Supercars, the annual pilgrimage to Bathurst remains the last bastion of the traditional Ford against Holden rivalry.
While drivers swap between brands far more regularly than the days when icons such as Peter Brock and Dick Johnson were identified with the type of car they drove, a win for either marque at Mount Panorama is still recorded in the history books.
But sadly for those cheering on the blue oval of Ford in 2011, they're battling a red tide.
Nearly two-thirds of the championship field are driving Holdens and at last year's great race only two Fords could break into the race's top 10 as Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife gave Holden their 27th Bathurst win.
Ford fans' main hopes as they head to western NSW lie with a trio of drivers battling the Holden juggernaut - factory-backed duo Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison and rising New Zealand star Shane van Gisbergen.
Davison has won Bathurst before, although his 2009 victory came in a Holden, and he and Winterbottom have the resources of the Ford Performance Racing outfit to make them serious contenders to Holden's big guns such as Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and Garth Tander.
But it's 22-year-old van Gisbergen who currently leads the Ford charge in 2011.
The Stone Brothers Racing pilot claimed his maiden V8 Supercar race win in Hamilton earlier this year, also winning in Darwin, and he heads to Bathurst in third on the championship ladder behind Whincup and Lowndes.
''It's definitely very cool to be putting a battle up from the Ford side of things,'' van Gisbergen told AAP.
''We've just got to put a good day together and control the things that we can control.
''Those guys (Whincup and Lowndes) are good at every track we go to, they rarely make mistakes so if we're quick early on the Thursday hopefully we can put some pressure on them and hopefully that'll unsettle them a bit.''
And while van Gisbergen has been able to tick off several personal milestones in 2011, he is yet to leave Mount Panorama with a sense of achievement.
In four starts at Bathurst, the Kiwi has only achieved a best result of 13th in 2009, and he's hoping after an impressive fifth place showing alongside compatriot John McIntyre in the Phillip Island 500 that a better weekend lies ahead.
''Every year it's cool to go to that track, there's not too many places like it,'' he said.
''We didn't have a good run there last year, our car was not that great, but the way it's been going this year though, really looking forward to it.''

One step to far for the Warriors.

2011-10-03T06:40:00.001+13:00

It was one step too far for a gutsy Warriors side, who left their charge too late in the NRL grand final, losing 24-10 to the Manly Sea Eagles.

Taking part in the "Big Dance" for just the second time in the club's history, the prevailing opinion was that the sixth-placed Warriors had done exceptionally well just to make it to the decider.

Manly, the 2008 premiers, on the other hand, had finished the regular season in second place, boasted a side brimming with not only talent but grand final experience and were always going to be tough to beat on their home turf.

Not that it felt like a home match for the much-maligned Sydneysiders, who found themselves jeered throughout the evening by a crowd that was well and truly behind the Aucklanders.

But even with thousands riding them home, the Warriors couldn't snatch the big prize.

"I won't keep you too long," shattered Warriors skipper Simon Mannering told the crowd moments after the defeat.

"I just want to thank all the supporters for the support we've had all week and tonight.

"It's been a special experience for our team and not just here. Back home in New Zealand it's been an awesome week for us.

"To the Manly boys, it's been a massive effort all year and you thoroughly deserve the premiership.

"To the Warriors boys, it's been an up-and-down season but this just shows what sort of people you are - how we finished the year.

"I'm so proud of you - the players and the staff.

"I just want to mention the boys that are moving on - Ivan (Cleary), Azza (Aaron Heremaia) and Larney (Lance Hohaia), who has given great service to the Warriors.

"I wish all you guys the best for the future."

Manly back-rower Glenn Stewart was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal after an electric performance while his skipper Jamie Lyon paid tribute to the Warriors for their efforts on the field and during the year.

"I'd like to thank the Warriors for a tough game," Lyon said.

"It's been such a great season they've had, so commiserations to the Warriors boys."

In an absolutely bruising first half, the visitors started with the same level of intensity that saw them overcome the Storm last weekend.

Points were hard to come by and it was big hits that took centre-stage.

But stinging hits aren't enough in a grand final. Points are more important as is a little assistance from the referees.

The Sea Eagles scored on both those counts in the first half, while the Warriors would have been unhappy at the break to be down 12-2 after several dubious calls.

Through 20 minutes, the hosts looked to have scored first when William Hopoate planted the ball out wide only for the replay to show that the exceptional Manu Vatuvei had successfully pushed him into touch.

It was the sort of play that grand finals are won on and not long after the Warriors broke the deadlock through a James Maloney penalty.

But no sooner had the ball gone between the uprights, they went to sleep and Sea Eagles fullback Brett Stewart took advantage, slipping his way over in the very next set to give Manly the lead.

It was just the slither of hope the Sea Eagles needed.

From there, they began to dominate proceedings and right on halftime scored again when Daly Cherry-Evans slipped through the back-pedalling Warriors defence.

The try wasn't without its controversy, however, after Heremaia appeared to be taken out earlier in the set when attempting to chase down the ball-carrier.

Following the restart, it was the Sea Eagles who came out of the sheds more fired up and only some desperate goal-line defence from the Warriors kept them at bay.

Still, it felt as if it was only a matter of time before their overwhelming possession paid dividends.

It clearly looked to have in the 55th when Kiwi Kieran Foran grounded the ball after Krisnan Inu had fumbled in his own in-goal only for the replay to show he'd dropped it himself.

The Warriors were given a reprieve they probably didn't deserve, but the Sea Eagles weren't to be denied and Glenn Stewart crossed shortly after

Leading 18-2, the hosts appeared to have the premiership locked in.

However tries to Vatuvei and Elijah Taylor suddenly had them within eight points with 10 minutes left on the clock.

But Jamie Lyon crossed in the final minute - and the NRL crown was staying in Australia.

Manly 24 (B Stewart, D Cherry-Evans, G Stewart, J Lyon tries; J Lyon 3 con, M Robertson pen)

Warriors 10 (M Vatuvei, E Taylor tries; J Maloney con,
pen) HT: 12-2 Sea Eagles

Warriors Storm into Final!!

2011-09-25T05:59:00.002+13:00

The Warriors have kept the dream alive and will meet the Manly Sea Eagles in next Sunday's NRL grand final after shocking the Melbourne Storm 20-12 in a thrilling, brutal and gutsy preliminary final clash in Melbourne tonight.

Having surprisingly booked a place in the final four with a last-gasp win over the Tigers last week, the Warriors were touted as a dangerous prospect for the minor premiers to overcome at AAMI Park.

Yes, they were underdogs. But then again, when, in the big matches, haven't they been?

And yes, they were taking on the minor premiers in Melbourne.

But somewhere lingering in the background was the feeling that, like last week, another upset was in the offing.

In the build-up to the game, Warriors coach Ivan Cleary, upon being asked for the umpteenth time about his side's excellent record against the Victorian powerhouses, said anything less than a top shelf performance would end his side's quest for its first premiership.

He proved to be right and thankfully for him, his players, who are fast becoming giant-killers, responded in the best possible way with a gut-busting performance for 80 very long and tense minutes.

Long-suffering Warriors fans have been waiting since 1995 for the chance to celebrate a premiership. In 2002 under Daniel Anderson, they came closest before falling to the Roosters in the decider.

Like the last two weeks, the Warriors will start Sunday's grand final in their usual position of underdogs. But if those same two weeks are anything to go by, this football club is not to be underestimated and could be but a mere 80 minutes away from making history.

In a bruising first half, the Storm, fresh from a week off, started strongly and looked as if they'd live up to the hype and be too good for a Warriors side that has played a lot of footy and travelled a truckload of miles in the last few weeks.

It took only five minutes for the Storm to land the first punch after, again like last week against the Tigers, the Warriors were penalised and Sika Manu bashed his way over in the ensuing play.

That appeared to wake the visitors up and not long after, Bill Tupou responded on the right wing for the Warriors, scoring his side's first try on the back of a wonderfully-weighted Shaun Johnson bomb.

An uncharacteristic knock on from the Storm's normally exceptional fullback Billy Slater midway through the first half then opened the door for the Warriors to score again and take the lead. This time it was James Maloney who crossed the line after a Micheal Luck pass put him through a gap.

Leading 12-6, the Warriors took control of the match and the Storm could barely hold on as Johnson time and again peppered Anthony Quinn with the high ball out on Tupou's wing.

With half-time approaching, however, the visitors attempted to push one pass too many and coughed up possession just went they were looking like scoring again.

It was a gift the Storm took with both hands with Beau Champion slicing through the Warriors' defensive line to run 65m to score in the very next play.

Cameron Smith's conversion restored the deadlock before a late James Maloney penalty gave the Warriors a 14-12 buffer by the time the siren went.

Following the restart, it was the Warriors who again boasted most of the possession and field position.

While the Storm couldn't seem to get out of their own 30m zone, the Warriors constantly found themselves in it.

Defensively, the Warriors were bruising, uncompromising and their hosts were unable to get anything going, even when they had repeat sets deep in enemy territory 15 minutes into the second half.

As the clock continued to wind down the tension built and it became hauntingly obvious that somewhere and at some moment in time somebody was going to crack under the pressure.

With 15 minutes left, Manu Vatuvei latched on to a bomb and looked to have burrowed his way over the line. But the Storm players responded to the challenge and managed to hold him up.

Moments later, Champion was put on report after catching the electric Kevin Locke high. Locke was left rattled but, perhaps more importantly, the Warriors were handed a penalty and began their march down the field.

On the final tackle and camped just 10m from the Storm line, the ball went flying through a million sets of hands before Lewis Brown appeared to score under the posts. It was referred to the video referee and upon a second look, Locke, of all people, had knocked on during the play leading up to it.

That kept the Storm's season alive and with seven minutes left in the game, a knock on from the Warriors opened the door, albeit just a fraction, for them to seriously threaten the try-line again.

But again, the Warriors were up to the task and kept them at bay.

It was a defensive effort fitting of a side about to play in the grand final and when Brown - it was awarded this time - scored on the back of some Johnson magic in the third-to-last minute the Warriors were home and on their way to Sydney.

NZ Warriors 20 (Bill Tupou, Lewis Brown, James Maloney tries; Maloney 3 con, 1 pen) Melbourne Storm 12 (Sika Manu, Beau Champion tries; Cameron Smith 2 con) HT: 14-12.

The Warriors will play North Queensland in Sunday week's Toyota Cup grand final after the Auckland-based side demolished Canterbury 64-0 in Saturday night's preliminary final at AAMI Park.

The Bulldogs were no match for the minor premiers, with four Warriors players scoring doubles and winger Dylan Collier finishing with a personal haul of 18 points, as they set a new mark for the biggest winning margin in the history of the national youth competition.

The Cowboys booked their berth with a 38-4 win over Cronulla in Friday night's other preliminary final, meaning the top two sides after the regular season will play in the decider.

Inu stuns Tigers to seal Warriors win.

2011-09-17T05:51:00.001+12:00

A stunning 78th-minute try from Krisnan Inu sealed a remarkable 22-20 win for the Warriors over Wests Tigers in Friday's NRL semi-final at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Inu somehow managed to lurch his hands over the line after Shaun Johnson's bomb bounced off Lote Tuqiri and the former Parramatta centre got the ball down while lying on the ground in front of the despairing Tim Moltzen at the second attempt.

The Warriors set up a clash with minor premiers Melbourne in next week's preliminary final, with a berth in the grand final at stake.

The result ended a run of nine consecutive wins for the Tigers, who led for the whole game until Inu struck, and were comfortably in control at halftime, leading 18-6.

NSW prop Keith Galloway opened the scoring on the 15-minute mark for the joint-venture, with his first try of the season, barging over a helpless Kevin Locke as he made his way to the line from close range.

Benji Marshall, who was irresistible in the opening 25 minutes, then doubled his side's lead, latching onto a quick pass from Robbie Farah and side-stepping Lewis Brown and Ukuma Ta'ai to touch down, before kicking his second conversion of the game.

However, the Tigers' flawless start received a jolt against the run of play when Locke took advantage of the hosts' first handling error of the game from Matt Groat to leave four players trailing in his wake.

The young fullback then produced an outrageous flick pass into the path of James Maloney, who raced under the posts to score in what was the Warriors' first meaningful attack of the game.

The visitors then enjoyed their best spell of the half, but with the ball just five metres short of the Tigers line, Johnson lost possession and Blake Ayshford broke downfield.

Robert Lui then kept the ball alive superbly and skipper Farah darted over to score five minutes before halftime.

The Warriors started the second half well, with Feleti Mateo bulldozing his way to the line 10 minutes after the interval, after the outstanding Johnson fooled the Tigers with an audacious disguised pass into the hands of the big backrower.

Maloney's conversion closed the gap to six points, only for Marshall to extend his side's advantage in the 56th minute with a close-range penalty.

However, Ivan Cleary's side refused to back down and after forcing a penalty deep in their own half, a Maloney kick found touch 20 metres from the Tigers' line.

From the resulting tap, Maloney darted into space and released Lance Hohaia who dived over from dummy-half to score his eighth try of the season.

Maloney's conversion closed the gap to two points and with the Tigers desperately pressing for a winning score the Warriors regained possession and moved menacingly towards the Tigers line.

Johnson's high bomb caused havoc in the in-goal area, and Inu stunned the Tigers and most of the 27,109 crowd to set up a clash with the Storm for a place in the grand final.

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary paid tribute to his side's battling qualities as they bounced back from last week's 40-10 hammering by Brisbane in superb fashion.

However Cleary, who will coach Penrith next season, was left fuming at a 9-4 penalty count against his team and slammed the decision to let Shayne Hayne and Jared Maxwell referee his side for the second successive week.

"The boys were able to turn around the things we needed to at halftime and that is a pretty good quality and I guess if you keep coming sometimes you can jag the wins," Cleary said.

"The last two weeks we have had a 7-0 penalty count against us in the first half from the same two referees.

"It was 9-4 overall tonight which is horrendously lop-sided in a semi-final, there were definitely some calls tonight they will be disappointed with when they look back."

Despite the dramatic win, Cleary believes the Rugby World Cup will see his players slip under the radar when they return home to Auckland, and joked that he is not expecting too much attention from the local media.

"The Rugby World Cup is pretty big news there at the moment, but what can you do?" he said.

"It is quite an achievement what we have done, but I guess Russia will be playing Namibia or something."

Tigers coach Tim Sheens was too devastated to go into detail about the decision to award the last-gasp try after the referees did not call held after Moltzen made the initial challenge on Inu, allowing him to score at the second attempt.

"What is done is done ... they ruled on it and our season is over, I just want to thank my boys and the club for all their effort and to Toddy Payten, who is retiring, for a great career," Sheens said.

"I am not really fussed talking about the game, there is no use, there is no next week, just next year.

Warriors Still In

2011-09-12T05:18:00.001+12:00

The Warriors live to fight another day in the NRL after the Storm defeated Newcastle 18-8 in Melbourne.

The Storm always looked to be in control of the match as they went ahead early and outscored the Knights three tries to two.

After losing to Brisbane, the Warriors needed both Melbourne and Manly to win in order to stay in the competition.

The result means Melbourne and Manly will be afforded a week off next week, while the Warriors will play the Tigers at the Sydney Football Stadium and Brisbane will face St George Illawarra.

Woeful Warriors left sweating.

2011-09-11T06:28:00.001+12:00

The Warriors saved their worst performance for the biggest game of the season so far and will now be forced to sweat on other results to see whether their premiership campaign is over.

After finishing the regular season in sixth, the Warriors confidently flew in to Brisbane to take on the Broncos (third) in last night's qualifying final at Suncorp Stadium in a game that most pundits had considered too difficult to predict.

After all, the last time the sides had met at Suncorp, in round 22, only a Peter Wallace field goal separated them.

But in an uncharacteristically poor 80 minutes last night – most notably from star winger Manu Vatuvei – the Warriors proved no match for the Darren Lockyer-inspired Broncos.

Fortunately the Cowboys lost to the Sea Eagles last night, but if the Knights beat the Storm in Melbourne today, the Warriors' season will be over.

It would be a bitter pill for departing coach Ivan Cleary and his troops to swallow given they suffered that very fate last year after losing to the Gold Coast Titans in the first round of the finals after finishing the regular season in fifth.

But based on last night's performance, it wouldn't exactly be a result they didn't deserve.

In an opening half in which the Broncos were dominant, the Warriors were their own worst enemies. Time and again, they pushed passes. And time and again, the ball fell on to the turf.

Early on, the Broncos foreshadowed what was to come when wing Jharal Yow Yeh appeared to have scored a brilliant solo try.

With just Manu Vatuvei to beat on the wing, the Maroons youngster chip-kicked around him, regathered and plonked the ball on the line only for the video referee to rule that he knocked on.

The Broncos were not to be denied for long. If ever the Kiwi selectors needed an indication that perennial 18th man Alex Glenn deserves to finally win the test cap he so desperately craves, it came in the 15th minute.

The mobile Broncos back-rower lined up Bill Tupou and emerged from the tackle with the ball in hand deep in enemy territory. Seconds later, he was in the action again, bashing his way over to score.

By then, the Warriors had actually done well to hang on given everything being thrown at them.

Clearly, the Broncos had set out to target Vatuvei on the left wing and the plan worked wonders.

Ironically, though, it was on the other side of the field that the next Brisbane try came when fullback Gerard Beale – another Kiwi – managed to stay upright in a tackle long enough to pop an offload to Jack Read, who easily scored.

The Warriors then gave away two needless penalties, and Lockyer crossed the chalk on the back of a wonderful pass from Matt Gillett, who had made a mockery of the Warriors' left-edge defence.

Leading 18-0 after half-time, the Broncos didn't let off.

In a statistic that reflected the one-sided nature of the contest, it wasn't until the 54th minute that the Warriors found themselves inside Brisbane's 20m zone.

But tries to Feleti Mateo and Manu Vatuvei were a case of too little, too late and three Broncos tries in the final 10 minutes capped off a disappointing night.

Brisbane40 (G Beale J Hodges A McCullough C Parker D Lockyer J Reed A Glenn tries, Parker 6 gls).

Warriors 10 (M Vatuvei F Mateo tries, J Maloney gl). Ht: 18-0.

2011-09-10T15:31:00.002+12:00

Dragons beat Warriors to halt NRL slide

2011-08-28T18:24:00.001+12:00

They're not quite back but the St George Illawarra machine finally got going again on Sunday, the NRL premiers holding on to beat the Warriors 26-22 at WIN Stadium.

Down 10-0 after as many minutes after some shockingly fundamental mistakes, the Dragons responded with four tries to break a five-match losing streak and keep alive their slim top four hopes.

The Warriors, fourth entering the penultimate round, could now go into the last game against North Queensland in seventh, depending on the result of Monday night's clash between Wests Tigers and Gold Coast.

While it was hardly the type of form that delivered 10 wins from their first 11 matches in 2011, there were some signs that the Dragons were finding form, particularly during the second half when the much-heralded left edge found some rhythm.

The Dragons made an appalling start when Ben Hornby's kick-off sailed over the dead ball line, the ensuing penalty delivering the Warriors to within eight metres of the Dragons line without having to make a hit-up or tackle.

They failed to score from that set but, after forcing a line drop out, Krisnan Inu went over out wide off a Joel Moon offload before Hornby inexplicably again sent the restart too long.

Again the visitors made them pay with Kevin Locke beating seven defenders with three devastating right foot steps, the 15,732 fans left stunned by the opening.

Cheers greeted Hornby's successful third attempt to get the action underway, and they soon had more to clap when Beau Scott - after what seemed an eternity with four defenders locking him up - got the ball away for Mark Gasnier to slip his way through.

A James Maloney mistake when he kicked out on the full from his own 40 metre line gave the Dragons another invitation which Brett Morris accepted, the Test winger more triple-jumper as he tip-toed the touchline to lock it up.

The Warriors restored their advantage before the break when a Feleti Mateo offload allowed Locke to find an unmarked Bill Tupou, but his next attempt to get a ball away wasn't as successful when he gifted the Dragons the ball on the halfway line.

Fullback Darius Boyd scored his first try as a Dragon in Wollongong when he regathered his own grubber after Tupou failed to clean it.

Boyd and Morris were now causing havoc down the left as a penalty goal put the Dragons out by two, Jason Nightingale scoring in the 57th minute to push it out to more than a converted try.

The Warriors set up a thrilling finish when Mateo crossed with 10 minutes to go off a Gasnier fumble close to his own line, but the home side weathered some nervous moments before Jamie Soward added a penalty goal on the siren.

Warriors into NRL top four

2011-08-21T11:26:00.001+12:00

The Warriors moved into the NRL top four and within sight of a home final after overcoming a dogged Penrith 26-12 at Centrebet Stadium on Saturday night.

Riding the wave of momentum which had yielded five wins from their last six starts, the Warriors leapt above North Queensland and St George Illawarra to move into the box seat for hosting rights in the first week of the finals.

They hold their destiny in their own hands as they close the season with games against the Dragons and Cowboys, fullback Kevin Locke the star of the show with several brilliant touches.

The Panthers were unable to give departing duo Trent Waterhouse and Petero Civoniceva a grand farewell in their last home game for the club, but they did manage to make a contest of it recovering from 16-0 down at halftime.

Waterhouse twice went close to scoring during an opening period which Penrith dominated, the Warriors emerging from their slumber when Locke picked up a loose ball from a scrum win near his own line to send Shaun Johnson on a 90 metre run for a 4-0 lead.

Having given away 2000 tickets to the game as part of his punishment for turning up to training under the influence of alcohol, it appeared Jennings was still feeling charitable in gifting the Warriors a second three minutes later.

In his first crack at the fullback position, Jennings coughed up the ball as he was pummelled back into his own in-goal, Ben Matulino picking up the lose ball for the easiest of tries.

A desperate Adrian Purtell held Locke over the line just before the break but the Warriors fullback was finished - a Brad Tighe chip kick as the siren sounded turning to disaster when Locke returned it untouched for a 16-0 lead.

Locke continued to be a thorn in Penrith's side when he chased down a runaway Jennings shortly after the restart, but David Simmons finally got the Panthers on the board two tackles later.

Sensing a comeback the Warriors opted to take the two points via a penalty goal - their fears vindicated when Brad Tighe brushed off a flimsy Simon Mannering effort to run 80 metres for an 18-10 scoreline.

The Warriors were rattled as they fumbled the ball inside their own 20 metres zone on three straight sets, and many in the 11,644-strong crowd were left miffed when the home side released the pressure valve by reducing the deficit to six points with a simple penalty attempt.

Penrith's window of opportunity closed as the Warriors, on the back of a James Maloney 40-20 again went out by eight when the Panthers were ruled offside on their own goal line, Manu Vatuvei sealing the win with a try four minutes from time.

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary, who admitted it was a touch surreal coaching at the place he will call home for the next three years, said his side had it all to play for over the next fortnight.

"It's sort of come out of nowhere really," Cleary said of moving into the top four.

"I try not to worry too much about where we end up.

"After a long season you end up where you deserve - we've got two really big games to come."

Panthers coach Steve Georgallis said it was a tough way for the likes of Civoniceva, Waterhouse, Matthew Bell and Adrian Purtell to bow out at home.

"It's just really disappointing for the players, they put so much effort into the game - first half there was three tries against the run of play," Georgallis said.

"Their contribution is what's left behind - they're great blokes - it's just disappointing that we couldn't get a win for them today."

Warriors fight back to see off Knights

2011-08-14T05:44:00.001+12:00

Newcastle coach Rick Stone says the Knights have their NRL destiny in their own hands after letting slip a promising lead to fall to a 20-12 defeat against the Warriors on Saturday.

The visitors had seemed on course for a fourth win in a row, controlling proceedings at Mount Smart Stadium, before the Warriors nabbed three tries in the last 22 minutes to overturn a 12-4 deficit.

The win lifted the Warriors to sixth spot with 28 points and all but secured their place in the finals.

The Knights meanwhile, slipped to eighth, with South Sydney and Canterbury, who play on Sunday and Monday respectively, having the chance to close to within two points.

"We understand we have our own destiny in our control, we have to take care of that," Stone said.

"We can't worry about other results. We have three games to go, a couple at home, and we have to back ourselves to make the eight on our own term."

Stone said he was happy with his players efforts, but mistakes after halftime had undone them.

"We competed really hard," he said.

"But you make nine errors in the second half and the opposition makes four, generally you are under some sort of pressure and that was no different today."

The loss continued a dismal recent record for the Knights against the Warriors.

They have now lost eight of the last nine encounters with the Warriors, and their last six at Mt Smart Stadium.

Both teams took time to settle, especially the Warriors, whose mistakes meant they found it hard to build momentum.

Newcastle struck first midway through the first half when winger Akuila Uate streaked down the touchline to dive on a Jarrod Mullen cross kick for his 14th try of the season and his seventh in his past four matches.

The Warriors finally got their attack in order as a slick move created the opening for centre Shaun Berrigan to go over.

However, with minutes to go before the interval, the Knights swept downfield from a penalty and centre Adam MacDougall managed to forced the ball down despite plenty of defenders on him.

Skipper Kurt Gidley's second sideline conversion took the visitors out to an eight-point halftime lead.

The Warriors continued to struggle to get things going, but suddenly midway through the second half they got the 13,279 crowd on the their feet with an 80m try.

Prop Russell Packer's offload sent winger Manu Vatuvei on a big run and halfback Shaun Johnson was on hand to score in the corner.

Minutes later, skipper Simon Mannering pounced on a Johnson kick in-goal to score and James Maloney's conversion pushed Warriors into the lead for the first time.

Second rower Feleti Mateo made sure of the points with a try three minutes from time.

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary his players begun the match trying "to play like millionaires", an attitude that was "really disrespecting the opposition, I thought.

"All we did was invite them into some belief that they could win the game," he said.

"But to be able to sort it out is a bit of a feather in the cap for sure."

Lockyer gets historic win over Warriors

2011-08-07T08:08:00.001+12:00

Brisbane halfback Peter Wallace snapped a dramatic 78th-minute field goal to give his skipper Darren Lockyer a memorable 21-20 victory in his record-equalling 349th NRL game at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

Warriors five-eighth James Maloney (75th) and halfback Shaun Johnson (77th) both missed field goal attempts during the tense closing minutes, before Wallace potted his match winner with 90 seconds left to play.

Maloney missed with a third shot seconds before the siren sounded which would have sent the clash into golden point.

It was a magnificent contest in front of an appreciative crowd of just over 31,000.

The Warriors led 12-8 at halftime and levelled at 20-20 when Maloney slotted a simple penalty goal in the 71st minute.

Lockyer had a chance to win the game in the 78th minute, only to have his field goal attempt charged down.

Lockyer will head to Townsville next Friday night to set a new NRL record of 350 games.

Key tries to Brisbane's Bribie Brothers Matt Gillett and Jack Reed played a massive part in Lockyer getting a cherished win.

Reed's around-the-corner ball for winger Gerard Beale's try hauled Brisbane back into the contest at 12-8 just before halftime.

The red-haired centre then showed his athleticism, outjumping three Warriors players to score just after halftime before Gillett's 57th-minute try gave Brisbane a 20-12 lead.

The Warriors however refused to lay down with former Brisbane premiership-winning centre Shaun Berrigan crashing his way over in the right corner.

Maloney's sideline conversion cut the Broncos' lead back to 20-18 before he locked the scores up with the penalty from right in front.

Brisbane forward Sam Thaiday, who was rattled by some big collisions with Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei, was outstanding on the right edge with 30 tackles and 122 metres, backed up by Corey Parker (35 tackles).

The Warriors' little men, Maloney, Johnson and fullback Kevin Locke, were dangerous in broken play and from long range.

Locke made 132 metres carrying the ball back while captain Simon Mannering led the Warriors' tackle count with 36 in a fast-paced game.

Lockyer said he was happy to have celebrated such a big career milestone with a win.

"If we'd got beaten tonight, it wouldn't have been the end of the world," he said.

"If it's a close game and you win, it's a pretty big high anyway.

"For me it's a memorable night. I'm sitting here feeling pretty happy about things."

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said he had a feeling it was going to be Lockyer's night after some early plays in the game went Brisbane's way.

He said Lockyer had earned some luck and got it tonight.

"He's been doing this for 349 games," said Cleary, who felt his young players would take a lot from the game.

"He's a master at it (winning close games).

"I guess he deserves that sort of thing, he's earned it."

Warriors surge past the Raiders for 4 in a row

2011-07-31T18:01:00.001+12:00

The Warriors purple points-scoring patch has continued, trumping the Raiders 29-10 at Mt Smart Stadium this afternoon.

After a see-sawing first 40 minutes, the Warriors scored three tries in a stunning 13-minute spell after half time to put the, at times, scrappy encounter to bed.

The victory - the Warriors fourth in a row - sees them consolidate sixth spot in the NRL top eight, while the Raiders remain in the competition's cellar with 16 points.

The only downside for the Warriors was the loss of skipper Simon Mannering with a knee injury.

Kevin Locke continued his superb form at fullback for the Warriors; a sparkplug on attack and assured under the high ball when the Raiders looked to push forward.

The Warriors defence shone throughout with the likes of Raiders' offensive weapons Sam Williams and Josh Dugan shut down before they could really threaten.

The Warriors had the lion's share of possession early, but couldn't convert until the 12th minute when James Maloney and Ben Matulino combined for a neat wrap-around move that saw Manu Vatuvei go over in the left hand corner.

Three minutes later a 30-metre Vatuvei burst set up a try for veteran Shaun Berrigan off a Maloney kick.

The easy metres for the big Warriors forwards began to dry up as momentum shifted to the Raiders and they crossed through winger Daniel Vidot in virtually their first foray into the Warriors 20 metres.

Strong sets followed for both teams, with Locke and Bill Tupou creating space for the Warriors and Josh McCrone opening things up for the Raiders.

It was the Raiders who would convert their possession into points, with wing Jarrod Croker beating a hesitant Locke to a flying Sam Williams bomb and crossing the line on the cusp of half-time.

The home team came out of the sheds with renewed hunger, scoring the first points of the half when Sam Rapira went over after Dugan spilled an awkward Shaun Johnson grubber.

The resurgent Joel Moon was the next to cross, released by offload king Feleti Mateo in the 47th minute, before a line break by danger man Locke set up Maloney nine minutes later.

The Warriors defence held firm throughout the half and Tupou added gloss for the Warriors with a late try and a Maloney drop goal finished the scoring.

The Warriors will now head into next week's big clash against the Broncos high on confidence.

Warriors 28 (M Vatuvei S Berrigan S Rapira J Moon J Maloney B Tupou tries J Maloney 2 goals, drop goal)

Raiders 10 (D Vidot J Croker tries J Croker a goal)

HT: 8-10

Vatuvei hat-trick as Warriors maul Souths

2011-07-24T18:26:00.001+12:00

Giant Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei bagged a hat-trick as his side all but ended South Sydney's NRL season with a 48-16 mauling at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

Vatuvei completed his triple with two second-half tries within three minutes as the Warriors ran riot in a nine tries to three thrashing of the injury-ravaged Rabbitohs.

The Warriors led 18-0 after 15 minutes and 24-4 at halftime before Souths showed some signs of a revival, but it was never going to be enough as the Warriors stormed home in front of 11,208 fans.

The Warriors kept their noses ahead of an NRL logjam in the battle for top eight spots with their third straight victory, while Souths have now lost three of their past four and sit four points outside the top eight.

Warriors centre Joel Moon bagged a double, while outstanding five-eighth James Maloney scored one, had a hand in several others and booted six from nine.

Bill Tupou, Shaun Johnson and Pita Godinet scored the visitors' other tries while, for Souths, Dylan Farrell bagged a double and Chris McQueen one try with Chris Sandow kicking two from three.

But it was as good as over by halftime as the equivalent of a first grade pack sitting on the sidelines, including captain Mick Crocker who was ruled out before kick-off, finally caught up big time with Souths.

Tupou turned a half opportunity into four points after just five minutes, grounding the ball millimetres inside the dead ball line from a Maloney cross-field kick.

It might have been a different story for the Rabbitohs if hooker Issac Luke's enterprising attacking move hadn't resulted in an intercept and 90m run to the line by Johnson four minutes later.

But when Vatuvei finished some good lead-up work from Moon in the 15th and Maloney got his own in the 26th after a bust from in-form Feleti Mateo, Souths were staring down the barrel.

A late first half rally brought a try to centre Farrell before the generous Rabbitohs faithful chose to boo off the referees rather than their players.

Souths scored first after the break when McQueen grabbed a John Sutton kick in the 44th minute but were their own worst enemies when Sandow was caught on the last and the Warriors went 95m in the next set for Moon to score and make it 28-10.

Moon grabbed a second seven minutes later and Farrell went in in the 62nd minute, but from there it was embarrassingly all one-way traffic.

Samoa are savouring their finest sporting moment

2011-07-18T06:14:00.001+12:00

Samoa are savouring their finest sporting moment after ambushing Australia 32-23 in a massive Rugby World Cup boost for the tiny Pacific Island nation.

"I can only imagine what's going on in the little island a few hours from here," jubilant vice-captain Seilala Mapusua said after Samoa outplayed the Wallabies at ANZ Stadium.

"We've always believed as a team that Manu Samoa belongs to the Samoan people, so we're always playing for our people every time we pull on that blue jersey.

"Words can't express the support we felt. Just seeing all the people waiting around at the end there, it's huge."

Samoa, population 180,000, of which most live in New Zealand, led 17-0 coming up to halftime before resisting a mini fightback from Australia to run out convincing winners.

"It's history to us, beating the No.2 team in the world," coach Fuimaono Titimaea Tafua said.

After smashing the Wallabies all afternoon, the inspired Samoans were exhausted as they desperately defended their nine-point lead in the closing 10 minutes.

"It's amazing what adrenalin can do," Mapusua said.

"Our catch cry for the week has been self-belief. I don't think we would have bothered turning up today if we didn't think we could win.

"At the end, there were guys out on their feet out there but, because of the nature of our team, guys are willing to die for their jersey.

"We know there's guys sitting on the sideline that would give their left arm to be in the position that we're in, so we're very passionate about that and I think that really carried us through in the last few minutes."

Assistant coach Brian "Aussie" McLean revealed a secret training session with Sydney University had been behind their stunning upset.

"At the start of the session, they exposed us quite a few times," McLean said.

"But as the session went on, we developed our systems and some confidence in ourselves and took it into today.

"So thanks very much to the Sydney University boys."

Samoa, who are in the same World Cup pool as defending champions South Africa and Wales, could well meet Australia in the knockout stages in New Zealand in September-October.

"That's our aim," McLean said.

"Our goal is to make the quarter-finals and, the way things are set up, if we finish second in our pool and Australia wins their pool, then we would meet them in Wellington in a quarter-final.

"We had quite a good tour of the northern hemisphere last year and this was our first game where we've had all our players back.

"Now we're just hoping to grow our game and today for us was about respect. We wanted to get some respect and hopefully we've done that."

Fulltime:

Samoa: 32
(George Pisi, Kane Thompson, Alesana Tuilagi, Paul Williams tries Tusiata Pisi 3 cons 2 pens)

Australia: 23
(Matt Giteau, Digby Ioane tries Giteau 2 cons 3 pens

A step too far for Crusaders

2011-07-10T05:15:00.001+12:00

As the Crusaders gathered for their fairy-tale finish, that evil Will Genia came in and turned the Red and Blacks’ quest for immortality into a nightmare. If there could be such a thing in such a gloriously competitive final.

What a game it was.

What a Super Rugby final won 18-13 by the Queensland Reds over the Crusaders, even if the History Boys from Canterbury could not come up with the finish they so richly deserved after their earthquake-ravaged season forced them to spend its entirety on the road.

With 10 minutes to go in a fabulously furious and intense match, it was Genia who turned an unpromising situation into a game-winning one.

There didn’t look to be anything on, but the Wallabies halfback found space from around halfway, and then let his pace do the rest as he sped in for a long-distance five pointer that separated his Queenslanders from a 13-13 tie.

In the end it was a leg too far, a stopover short of the ultimate season for the Crusaders. But credit these Reds for a fabulous effort in their first Super Rugby final.

They took the best shots of their experienced foes, absorbed a heap of pressure and struck twice in the second half to land a richly deserved title.

The reward for Ewen McKenzie’s men for such a combative effort was a famous victory against the standard-setters of the modern game. It wasn’t the free-flowing final that many had predicted, but the fact that the Reds were able to grind out an arm-wrestle against a side which has mastered the art was significant.

Genia and Ioane’s strikes were huge in such a tight contest, and it was a result with World Cup repercussions as Australia’s best outlasted New Zealand’s in a tense contest with the pressure on. This may yet have echoes later in this year.

So for the Travellin’ Men they now make their final journey of an exhaustive season from Brisbane to Christchurch today without that gleaming space-age Super Rugby trophy they treasure so. They will be gutted, but in a quiet moment will appreciate it took something special to roll them.

Given the Crusaders have now traversed more than 100,000km this season as they’ve criss-crossed the globe for games in London, Perth, Cape Town (twice), Bloemfontein and Brisbane (twice), as well as various destinations the length and breadth of New Zealand, perhaps their final stumble could be forgiven.

But the Reds deserve all the plaudits that come their way. Their forwards hung in there well enough, they cashed in on a loose lineout effort from their foes and they rode home on the X-factor that turned up the tries when they were needed.

Only two Reds players, No 8 Radike Samo and reserve prop Guy Shepherdson, had ever experienced a Super Rugby title win before. Now all these Reds know that sweet feeling, and they rightly celebrated long and hard afterwards.

The Crusaders’ attitude going in had been a refreshing one. It went like this: if we lose they’ll talk about us for a week; if we win they’ll be talking about us forever. In other words embrace their shot at history, understand the significance of their chance to go down in rugby folklore.

They did that. But in the end it was the Reds who seized the moment better than their celebrated opponents in this battle of two regions shaken by Mother Nature.

The first half ended with the Crusaders holding a tenuous 7-6 lead after an intense opening 40 that ended in a sort of Mexican standoff. Both teams hinted at their weaponry, but neither were able to take control of a fairly willing situation.

Dan Carter did score the half’s only try – striking the first blow in the much talked-about battle of the world’s premier No 10s – with a piece of individual magic soon after the half-hour mark.

But his opposite number, the permanently jinky Quade Cooper, kept his cool to slot both of his penalties to keep his team in the hunt. Carter probably took the honours for a tight opening stanza (especially when Cooper rather gave up on his rival’s try effort and allowed him to take the ball behind the posts) but the young Tokoroa-born Aussie showed enough touches of class to suggest this is a rivalry we haven’t spoken the last about.

Carter was all class when he seized the moment at the end of a typical period of pressure through possession, crucially taking the ball to the line before slipping a pinpoint little toe-through that he regathered under pressure for a brilliant seven-pointer.

But other than that, neither team could unlock the other’s defence, a situation that the Crusaders would have been more disappointed about given their advantage in territory and in sustaining pressure through the phases.

It was the Reds who made the early statement in the second half, answering an early Carter penalty with a Digby Ioane converted try (to lead 13-10) just past the 10-minute mark. It came off a pressured Andy Ellis clearance that found that man Genia, and when the heady halfback read the situation perfectly the winger was into enough space to make mincemeat of Owen Franks and Tom Marshall.

Carter’s boot levelled the scores back at 13-13, before Genia – the game’s standout performer - had the final say with his dazzling run from deep that further furrowed the brows of a quake-struck region.

Well done to the Reds. Think about how far they’ve come from the rabble they were just a few seasons ago. And remember this is a region that has also known its sorrow in recent times.

After Wednesday’s Origin win by the Queenslanders, the Sunshine State is officially awash with happiness.

Reds 18 (Digby Ioane, Will Genia tries; Quade Cooper 2 pens, con), Crusaders 13 (Dan Carter try; Dan Carter 2 pens, con). Ht: 6-7

Warriors find winning form against Titans

2011-07-09T06:34:00.001+12:00

A dominating second half performance saw the Warriors snap their four-match losing streak last night, downing the bottom-placed Titans 22-6 at Mt Smart Stadium.

In a match festooned with aggression and handling errors, it was the Warriors who made the most of their opportunities with the pill, crossing the line four times.

The result takes the Kiwi side back into the NRL's top eight, a position which may change as the weekend's fixtures play out.

Kevin Locke and James Maloney were standouts for the Warriors, while offload king Feleti Mateo continues his impressive run of form for the team.

Indeed, it was Mateo who arguably provided the match's turning point; a stunning flick-pass eight minutes into the second half which skipper Simon Mannering scored from.

The Titans, who only really looked threatening when star halfback Scott Prince had the ball, weren't ever really able to answer back. The Gold Coast side have been a bogie team for the Warriors since they joined the NRL in 2007, winning six out of nine encounters before last night.

It didn't take long for the Warriors to warm up on a wet, and reasonably cold, Auckland evening.

A clever chip from Maloney after six minutes was gathered up by centre Shaun Berrigan for the home side's first four pointer.

The next try-scoring opportunity fell to the Titans, thanks to a deflected Scott Prince kick eight minutes later. The ball cannoned off two Warriors player's legs before finding the hands of Anthony Laffranchi, who proceeded to drop one of the biggest sitters you'll hope to see in the NRL this year.

Bill Topou made the Titans pay three minutes later, going over in the corner after a well-worked Warriors backline move highlighted by superb passing by Simon Mannering and Locke.

The Titans hit back through five-eight William Zillman, who was on the end of a neat Scott Prince grubber. Mannering's second half try was followed by one from a fired-up Manu Vatuvei after 57 minutes, snaffling a desperate Locke pass.

Yet the Titans never really looked like crossing the Warriors line, despite having plenty of ball close to it.

A stunning long range effort by wonder kid Shaun Johnson nearly added gloss for the Warriors with a minute to go, but it hardly mattered as they collected the two points.

The match's 10,780 fans were treated to the sight of a couple of faces who haven't been on the paddock for a while, with evergreen Mat Rogers making his 200th NRL appearance off the bench, and Warriors forward Sam Rapira making his long-awaited comeback from a hand injury suffered in this year's Anzac test.

The Warriors' joy will be tempered by the sight of centre Lewis Brown hobbling off the field in the second minute, thanks to a badly sprained ankle. It is not yet known whether the Cantab utility will miss any game time.

Warriors (S Berrigan B Topou S Mannering M Vatuvei tries J Maloney 3 gl) 22

Titans (W Zillman 1 try S Prince 1 gl) 6

HT: 10 - 6

Crusaders set up Reds showdown

2011-07-03T05:20:00.001+12:00

The Crusaders will play the Reds in this year's Super Rugby season finale after crushing the Stormers 29-10in their semi-final clash at Newlands in Cape Town.

Tries from winger Sean Maitland and centre Robbie Fruean and the clinical boot of fly-half Dan Carter along with a brutally efficient forward saw the Crusaders book their 10th final appearance in the last 13 years. The seven-time champions' reward is a date with the Reds at the Suncorp Stadium next Saturday after the Brisbane-based side booked their place and home advantage with victory over the Blues earlier in the day.

A try from winger Bryan Habana just before the break kept the Stormers in the contest but they continually failed to make their territory and possession pay and saw their title challenge fade in the face of a totally dominant Crusaders side who became the first away side to win a finals match since they themselves pipped the Brumbies to the Super Rugby crown in Canberra in 2000.

The Stormers, looking to book back-to-back final appearances, conjured the first meaningful break in a frenetic opening with flanker Francois Louw and hooker Tiaan Leibenberg hammering away at the Crusaders' defence inside their 22. The visitors stood firm but an offside infringement allowed Grant to open the scores from the kicking tee.

The Crusaders rallied with Stormers winger Gio Aplon forced to tidy up behind his own goal line as winger Zac Guildford chased a Carter kick ahead. The Crusaders were soon back on level terms thanks to Carter's metronomic boot after referee Craig Joubert had penalised Grant for holding onto the ball and they soon had the lead. The Stormers looked to move the ball in midfield by No.8 Nick Koster was guilty of forcing a pass that was pounced on by Maitland who raced away for the opening try of the game that was converted by Carter.

A crunching tackle from No.8 Kieran Read on Stormers centre Jean de Villiers then paved the way for Carter's second penalty with his successful long range effort softening the blow of an injury to scrum-half Andy Ellis that saw Kahn Fotuali'i enter the fray.

Unforced errors continued to plague the Stormers' best efforts to force their way back into the contest with a dangerous tackle from Louis Schreuder on Crusaders centre Sonny Bill Williams gifting Carter the chance to slot his third penalty and extend his side's lead.

The Stormers favoured the direct route but got little changed out of the Crusaders' defence until Carter was penalised in the tackle. The hosts gambled by kicking to the corner for the lineout and Grant worked some space inside the 22 before the Crusaders' defence slammed the door shut once again.

In contrast, the Crusaders found ample room with centre Fruean ghosting through after some great work from Read but Stormers centre Jaque Fourie saved the day by plucking the scoring pass to Guildford out of the air before clearing the danger.

The Crusaders were dominated the breakdown and that pressure soon drew another penalty with the Stormers guilty of hands in the ruck. Carter stepped up but this time his relatively easy effort hit the post and was eventually scrambled away.

There was little time to dwell on the miss before the Crusaders took a stranglehold on the game. Williams was the key, drawing two defenders before delivering a trademark off load to his centre partner Fruean who sped in for a try that was converted by Carter. Suddenly the competition's best defence was looking far from it.

The Stormers tried desperately to redress the balance before the break with captain Schalk Burger leading the charge and the industrious Habana was the beneficiary with the winger forcing his way over from a quick tap penalty inside the Crusaders' 22. Grant added the extras but his side were still trailing by 13 points as the sides headed to the tunnel.

Tempers flared early in the second half with Schalk Brits, on for an injured Schalk Burger, involved but he could do little about the Crusaders underlining their dominance at the resulting scrum. The whistle went the Crusaders' way as the Stormers pack crumbled and Carter heaped woe on the home side with a simple penalty.

The Stormers were forced to live off scraps in the face of a committed Crusaders defence who delighted in turning the screw at scrum time. Thankfully for the Stormers, their lineout was more of reliable with lock Andries Bekker a towering presence. Brits capitalised with some good work in midfield before feeding Louw who in turn put Fourie away but the centre was denied by a great tackle from Guildford who forced his rival into touch in the corner before he could ground the ball.

Williams was then lucky to escape with a high tackle on Fourie but Carter was unable to add insult to injury with his next penalty attempt drifting wide of the posts. But his pack soon earned him another chance and this time he made no mistake to hammer a nail in the Stormers' season.

Habana did his best to spark an unlikely revival with a linebreak in the final quarter but the Crusaders' dominance at the breakdown was absolute. Forced to chase the game, the Stormers kicked their next penalty to touch but there was no threat ever emerged. The home fans were already heading to the exits when a contentious decision inside the Stormers' 22 gave the visitors an attacking scrum 5m out and they would have missed some gutsy work from De Villiers to deny Guildford a try.

The Stormers worked tirelessly to add some gloss to the scoreboard in the closing minutes but there was no let-up from the Crusaders who closed out the win to keep their epic season alive.

Queensland Reds end Blues' Super season.

2011-07-03T05:17:00.001+12:00

Reds speedster Rod Davies pulled the plug on the Blues' season with three outstanding tries to book his side a place in next weekend's final.

The 30-13 score line may have shown there were only 17 points between these two sides, but the reality of it was that there's a chasm between the Reds and Blues.

One of the sides was at its peak tonight, the other showed all the signs of limping into the final four spots in the playoffs.

Blues coach Pat Lam hasn't made many wrong calls as coach this year, but you do have to question the decision to start Lachie Munro ahead of Rene Ranger last night.

Sure, Munro is the best goal kicker in the team, but Luke McAlister isn't that terrible and on a dry track surely it's better to start with a dynamic outside back who's bursting full of X-factor like Ranger, than a hard grafter like Munro.

The Reds had those X-factor players in their backs like Will Genia, Quade Cooper, Rod Davies and Digby Ioane. The only Blues player who could really be put into that category is Stephen Brett.

The Blues attack was often too flat and predictable and it was all too easy for the Reds defence to number up and keep the Blues at bay.

For the Reds however, it was edge of the seat stuff almost every time Cooper touched the ball.

Fingers will be pointed at Jared Payne after a terrible performance from him and suggestions that he's a contender for the All Blacks and may cancel his move to Ulster, must surely have been put to bed.

Right from the start the Blues were hanging on. The unpredictability of Genia tested the Blues defence and when he sniped down the blindside he was usually able to make plenty of ground.

The dam finally burst in the 11th minute when wing Rod Davies intercepted a Munro pass and ran the length of the field to score.

Ben Tapuai benefitted from a superb run from Cooper to score the Reds' second try, with the first-five getting through some woeful tackling before setting up Tapuai to run the last 20m.

Cooper, kicked a penalty five minutes before the break to give his side a 15-0 lead, but just before the break Chris Lowrey pounced through a big gap one out from a ruck to give his side something to feel positive about.

McAlister kicked a penalty in the 45th minute to make it a five-point game but the Reds opened up the gap straight after as Davies, the fastest runner in Super Rugby, took a pass from Cooper and gassed his way past the Blues defence.

Just after Lam made the odd call to replace Alby Mathewson with Chris Smylie McAlister kicked another long range penalty.

Davies' hat-trick just before the hour mark was a telling blow though and it was one the Blues were never able to recover from.

Over the final 20 minutes it was the Reds who continued to be the most impressive side and when Cooper sent over a drop goal with five to go it was the signal to start the celebrations in Brisbane.

Queensland Reds 30 (Rod Davies 3, Ben Tapuai tries; Quade Cooper pen, dg, 2 con) Blues 13 (Chris Lowrey try; Stephen Brett pen con, Luke McAlister 2 pen). HT: 15-7

NZ Warriors slump to loss against Melbourne Storm

2011-06-26T16:13:00.001+12:00

The Warriors stretched their NRL losing streak to four, going down to competition leaders the Melbourne Storm 16-8 at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium today.

In a true arm wrestle, star fullback Billy Slater proved the difference, bagging a double with a try in each half.

While the Storm remain top of the table with the win, the Warriors sit at the bottom of the top eight and may will slip out of playoff contention depending on other results.

The Warriors did themselves no favours in the first half with poor handling letting down the side after they had strung strong phases of play together on a number of occasions.

A gutsy second half effort saw the Warriors play themselves back into the match, but the Storm were too strong, looking very much the championship team they may well be at the tail end of the season.

Halfback Cooper Cronk and attacking weapon Slater were the standouts for Melbourne, with Slater's double the 12th and 13th tries the star fullback has scored in 14 games against the Warriors.

Warriors centre Lewis Brown and Shaun Berrigan had big games, while offload king Feleti Mateo and forward Russell Packer, who made a massive 51 tackles, also impressive.

The first points came courtesy of a Maloney goal only five minutes in, before the Storm began a 15-minute spell of dominance that would deliver them two tries.

Their first came courtesy of Lance Hohaia, who misjudged a Cooper Cronk bomb. Hohaia let the ball bounce 20 metres out from the Warriors line, only to watch a galloping Storm five-eighth Gareth Widdop scoop up and score.

The Storm made it four more five minutes later with Slater regathering his own neat grubber and dotting down in the left hand corner.

Sparked by Mateo, the home side fought back, with an entertaining length of the field playing to go close in the 25th, through Tupou.

The Warriors came out of the sheds strong with a number of early attacks on the Storm line was repelled.

The break-through came in the 55th minute when Hohaia broke through the Melbourne line thanks to two neat passes by Heremaia and Seymour.

Trench warfare ensued, with neither side gaining the upper hand for the next 20 scrappy minutes.

But it was the Storm that scored the decisive points, with Slater latching onto the end of a fine Cooper Cronk kick.

Warriors (L Hohaia J Maloney 2 gl) 8

Storm (G Widdop B Slater 2 tries, C Smith 2 gl) 16

Crusaders thrash the Sharks

2011-06-26T10:34:00.002+12:00

The Crusaders are one step closer to their sixth Super Rugby title as they look towards next weekend's semi-final against the Stormers in Cape town.

The Crusaders have cruised past the Sharks 36-8 in Nelson running in three tries to one.

They will now head to South Africa for another knockout match, and coach Todd Blackadder says the travel is just part of the job.

He says the team is used to travelling and they don't have a problem with it.

Captain Richie McCaw will be available for the semi-final after sitting out the last few weeks with injury.

It means the Blues will head to Queensland to take on the Reds on Saturday night.

Warriors blow it against Cowboys

2011-06-19T05:14:00.001+12:00

An eight-minute, three-try blitz helped North Queensland secure a 30-10 NRL against the Warriors in Townsville on Saturday night.

Down 10-8 at halftime, the Cowboys looked to be in danger of succumbing to the Warriors for the first time in nine years, after the New Zealanders started stronger in the second half, only to miss two golden opportunities.

But the second-half surge gave the Cowboys their 10th win of the season, despite missing four regular first graders through injury and suspension.

The lead changed five times during the match, but the Cowboys opened the scoring through winger Kalifa Faifai Loa, who found plenty of space after collecting a wide cut-out pass from co-captain Johnathan Thurston.

First-half tries to James Maloney and Shaun Johnson put the Warriors into the lead, with Ash Graham also crossing for the Cowboys.

The Warriors looked most likely to score early in the second half, but the Cowboys seized the lead in the 58th minute when Thurston passed out wide to Faifai Loa, who put in a chip and then collected before putting Thurston through to score.

Thurston was left limping and nursing his left ankle after his try - to the concern of the 16,081 spectators.

The star halfback continued to play, although relinquishing his goalkicking duties, and put Tariq Sims into a gap before the second-rower bashed his way past Kevin Locke to score in the 61st minute.

The score blew out in the 66th minute when substitute James Segeyaro pushed his way over from dummy half.

Faifai Loa was involved in the last two tries, crossing for a trademark jumping try in the 75th minute, before chipping off the ground to put Ben Jones across the line three minutes later.

Sims might have a date with the judiciary this week after being placed on report for a possible crusher tackle on Warriors centre Krisnan Inu in the third minute.

Williams and Scott join forces for US Open

2011-06-12T13:07:00.001+12:00

With Tiger Woods out of the US Open through injury, New Zealand caddy Steve Williams has jumped on the bag for Australian Adam Scott.

The Oceania pair have been working together during a closed practice round at the Congressional Country Club where the tournament takes place on Friday.

Former world number one Woods has pulled out of the tournament with an injury to his left knee.

Scott briefly worked with Phil Williams, Steve's younger brother a decade ago.

Warriors Go Down

2011-06-05T08:44:00.002+12:00

The Roosters have beaten the Warriors 13-6 in Sydney tonight after an almost scoreless first half.

The Roosters kept the Warriors scoreless in the first half.

It took until the 36th minute for a score to be recorded and it came through a try to the Roosters and was followed two minutes later with another.

They led the Warriors 12-nil into the break.

Warriors stand-off James Maloney scored for the Warriors in the second half while another Warriors attempt was disallowed by the video referee.

At 12-6 to the Roosters, Todd Carney put the game out of reach for the Warriors by landing a field goal to give them home side a 13-6 lead.

Raiders revive season with victory over Storm

2011-05-15T06:18:00.001+12:00

The Canberra Raiders' lifeless NRL season has a pulse again after they shocked the Melbourne Storm 20-12 to break an eight-game losing streak.

The Raiders were staring down the barrel of a club record ninth successive loss but out-enthused and out-played their more highly-rated rivals at AAMI Park on Saturday.

Canberra centre Jarrod Croker broke a 12-12 deadlock with 11 minutes remaining after Storm skipper Cameron Smith was penalised for stripping the ball as he tackled Dane Tilse.

And then winger Blake Ferguson scored an amazing individual try as the clock wound down to seal the victory.

Ferguson, who otherwise had a quiet game, took the ball 60 metres from the tryline. He chipped ahead and managed to collect the ball with an out-stretched hand over the sideline and beat Gareth Widdop and Billy Slater to touch down. Video referee Paul

Simpkins ruled benefit of the doubt when it was unclear if Ferguson's boot had touched the sideline.

It was just reward for a gutsy effort from the visitors, who hadn't won in Melbourne since 2000.

They showed their intent from the kick-off as winger Reece Robinson scored the opening try in the fourth minute and managed to keep Melbourne scoreless until the 36th minute, when their own winger Matt Duffie crossed.

With Melbourne uncharacteristically ill-disciplined, incurring three early penalties, the Raiders took advantage with five-eighth Josh McCrone collecting a Tilse ball to push the score out to 12-0 by the 15th minute.

Their hard-working skipper Alan Tongue, the only player remaining in the Raiders line-up since their last victory in the Victorian capital when their coach David Furner was the captain, was denied two tries in the opening half by Simpkins.

Down 12-6 at halftime, Melbourne looked like they would claw their way back into the match when the second-rower Kevin Proctor found cracks in the defence to score just two minutes into the second half and level the score.

But the Raiders withstood the pressure and then made the game their own through Croker and then Ferguson's effort.

NSW fullback aspirant Josh Dugan, who was never given any room to move, said it was a relief to be back in the winner's circle.

"It's probably one of the best feeling's we've had all year," he said after the match.

CANBERRA 20 (B Ferguson J McCrone R Robinson tries J Croker 4 goals) bt MELBOURNE 12 (M Duffie K Proctor tries C Smith 2 goals) at AAMI Park. Referee: Gerard Sutton, Chris James. Crowd: 9,628.

Fullback could be X-factor

2011-04-28T16:28:00.002+12:00

Fullback Jay Melrose

FULLBACK Jay Melrose could provide the Toowoomba Clydesdales with the spark they need to win this weekend’s Central Division 47th Battalion Trophy carnival, according to coach Russell Bailey.

Melrose has been a revelation for Valleys in the TRL this season after joining the Roosters from Burleigh.

He has established himself as one of the true attacking weapons in the TRL and Bailey is hoping Melrose can transfer that form into damaging performances in Bundaberg at representative level.

Toowoomba lost last year’s final and Bailey believed a lack of unpredictability in attack could have been the reason.

Melrose will provide that flair and he could be a surprise packet for the Clydesdales as their Central opponents would not have seen him before.

“Quite frankly, I’m hoping he’s our X-factor,” Bailey said of Melrose.

“Last year we had a tremendous team but we didn’t have one out of the box but Jay Melrose is our X-factor.”

Bailey is confident the Clydesdales can progress to the semi-finals and beyond but he knows the opening pool match against Gladstone on Saturday holds the key.

“We’ve really got a tough match first up against Gladstone,” he said.

“It’s an extremely important game, they beat us by two points last year, and we just want to get off to a good start.

“If we can get off to a good start, it will really show the other teams we mean business.”

Dalby’s Steve Brazier was yesterday called into the Clydesdales squad after Trevor Sharpley withdrew as the lock doesn’t think his knee will hold up for the entire three-day carnival as they would play up to two games per day.

Resurgent Warriors dig in for win

2011-04-26T05:44:00.001+12:00

A magnificent second-half defensive display secured the Warriors a shock win over NRL pace-setters Melbourne Storm in Melbourne last night.

The Storm hadn't been beaten at AAMI Park since round 14 last season, but the Warriors have a decent record in Melbourne and they added to that with a display that dramatically reversed their insipid form this season.

In a classic clash of styles, the Warriors won the contest up the middle, while the Storm hit back with some scintillating counter-attacking football that in turn was countered by a tremendous Warriors scrambling defensive effort.

After scoring 18 points in 11 minutes late in the first half, the Warriors went scoreless in the second.

Against a Storm side with the combined threat of Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith such a barren spell is usually a recipe for defeat.

But after conceding a try to Cronk from a Slater bat-back in the 44th minute, the Warriors repelled the Storm continually to record their third win from seven matches.

Makeshift centre Lewis Brown made what turned out to be a game-saving tackle on try line-bound Beau Champion with three minutes remaining, but there was no shortage of heroes for the Warriors.

Props Jacob Lillyman and Russell Packer were outstanding, as were wings Kristan Inu and Kevin Locke and backrower Feleti Mateo.

Coach Ivan Cleary has been in the gun after his side's mediocre start t

the season.

But his recall of halfback Brett Seymour came up trumps, Seymour's boot giving a significant boost to the side's kicking game.

Seymour was also a valuable defensive cog, cutting down Slater repeatedly to help neutralise the superstar fullback's threat.

The Warriors could hardly have a made a worse start, when Champion crossed after four straight sets and three minutes of constant pressure.

But when they did get their hands on the ball the signs were encouraging.

Lillyman led a powerful forward effort, and Locke - in for the injured Bill Tupou - provided the impetus for a brief but decisive offensive onslaught, climbing superbly to reel in a towering bomb and then splitting the Storm defence with a 50m run.

Only a fine Slater tackle prevented Locke going the distance, but his effort put his side firmly on the front foot.

Seymour hoisted a bomb that Matt Duffie dropped under pressure from Inu, with the Warriors wing twisting to ground the ball for the try.

Melbourne's struggles under the high ball became reminiscent of the Warriors' opening day nightmare against the Eels.

Anthony Quinn was the next to shell a Seymour bomb and hooker Aaron Heremaia sent Lillyman over with a neat short ball.

Things continued to fall the Warriors' way when Heremaia received a fortunate penalty, and Quinn's strip on the rampaging Ukuma Ta'ai fell kindly for Micheal Luck to score his first try in more than two years.

Smith pulled two points back for the Storm when Luck was harshly penalised in the final minute of the half, and Cronk's try early in the second half put the Storm firmly within striking distance.

But the Warriors dug deep, suggesting there may well be reasons for optimism this season after all.