NRL ScoreCentre: Warriors vs Dolphins, Titans vs Rabbitohs ...

3 Jun 2023

The Rabbitohs look to arrest their recent poor form when they play the Titans on the Gold Coast.

Earlier, the Warriors defeated the Dolphins 30-8 in Auckland.

Warriors vs Dolphins - Figure 1
Photo ABC News

In Saturday's final match, the Sharks take on the Broncos.

Check out all the live scores and stats below.

Titans vs RabbitohsTeam statsPlay-by-playSharks vs BroncosTeam statsPlay-by-playWarriors get past Dolphins

Shaun Johnson (left) was a starring performer for the Warriors.(Getty Images: Phil Walter)

The Warriors have got their season back on track with a 30-8 victory over an undermanned Dolphins outfit in Auckland.

Shaun Johnson continued his fine form by scoring the second of his two tries in the 53rd minute, unlocking some committed defence with a jinking run that harked back to his days as a hot-stepping youngster.

Then, directly from the restart, Luke Metcalf was on hand to take a pass from a Marata Niukore linebreak, racing 40 metres to score under the posts for 18-4.

Up until then, it had been a low-scoring but entertaining match, with both teams throwing the ball around in front of a 23,000-strong crowd at Mt Smart Stadium.

The Dolphins were missing Queensland Origin duo Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Tom Gilbert, and the suspended Felise Kaufusi, while they had to scratch hooker Jeremy Marshall-King late due to injury.

Johnson got the hosts off to a perfect start, stepping his way through under the posts in only the fifth minute. But from there the first half was more notable for its big hits, some more legal than others.

Warriors centre Rocco Berry was forced from the field for a HIA after a heavy shot, while second rower Mitch Barnett made up for lost time after a two-month neck-injury absence by tackling anything that moved.

The Dolphins had precious little attacking opportunities in the first half, but they made one count just before the break when Tesi Niu latched onto a looping pass from Kodi Nikorima to score in the corner.

Johnson and Metcalf's tries shot the home side out to a lead they were never going to relinquish, especially after the Dolphins started to concede far too many penalties.

The Warriors kept the pressure on, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was first denied correctly by the video match officials due to an obstruction by Bayley Sironen in the lead up.

But then the veteran winger got over in the same corner off a similar move move, this time Johnson and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad combining perfectly to send him over.

Watene-Zelezniak was not done, picking off a pass from Isiaya Katoa to race half the length of the field to put an exclamation point on a much-needed win for the Warriors, before Jamayne Isaac grabbed a consolation try for the Dolphins.

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Posted 3 hours agoSat 3 Jun 2023 at 4:36am, updated 5 minutes agoSat 3 Jun 2023 at 8:05am

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