Wests Tigers edge past 12-man Warriors
The Wests Tigers started the year on a winning note on Sunday afternoon, but it's likely the Warriors left Christchurch the happier of the two sides after toughing it out with 12 men for an hour of the 18-16 loss.
Warriors forward Zyon Maiu'u was sent off on 20 minutes for a shoulder charge which ended Declan Casey's game and saw proceedings stopped for several minutes while he received medical attention, after he appeared to have been knocked out.
Leading 12-6 at that stage – after early tries from Alex Seyfarth and Aidan Sezer were scored in between Jacob Laban's four-pointer for the hosts – the Wests Tigers struggled to rediscover their mojo and took 38 minutes to cross again.
While the overall performance may have been underwhelming, rookie coach Benji Marshall will likely be pleased by what he saw from off-season recruits Sezer and Jayden Sullivan in the halves, with the pair kicking the side around the park well and having some nice moments on the ball.
On the other side of the field the Warriors will take plenty from the defensive grit shown beyond the send off, while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's first rugby league game in 31 months was a resounding success.
In a 58-minute stint RTS made several good defensive reads out wide, saved two likely tries with last-ditch tackles and in possession was typically effective, averaging a touch under 10 metres per carry across 13 runs.
After Sione Latoa-Vaihu scored his side's third with 22 minutes to go the Wests Tigers looked like they'd go on with the job, but that thought was quickly dashed by tries in quick succession to Paul Roache and Setu Tu.
A missed conversion on Tu's try left the Wests Tigers with a 18-16 lead and from there they did enough to hold on for victory in front of a crowd of 13,760 at Apollo Projects Stadium.
Everyone was waiting to see what Roger Tuivasa-Sheck had in his rugby league return, and he didn't disappoint. This monster hit received a huge cheer from the Christchurch crowd and was part of a solid stint for the former Warriors captain.
What's NextThe Warriors remain on New Zealand soil for a match against the Dolphins in Auckland on Saturday, which will likely see most of their frontline players take the field. The Wests Tigers take on the Dragons in Mudgee, with several positions of contention set to be decided following that clash.