14/02/2005NewstalkZBThe Warriors have had a strong start to the new league season with a 20-10 win over Parramatta in its first NRL pre-season match in New Plymouth.
Tony Martin bagged two tries for the Warriors, while Clinton Toopi and Francis Meli also scored.
Coach Tony Kemp says it was a solid performance across the board and he is especially happy with the mix of new players, as well as old hands again fronting so early in the season.
Kemp says it was good to see the side go the distance, with the Warriors in good enough shape to compete for the whole match, defending well through the whole game.
As for individual players, Kemp says he had a good look at Ruben Wiki and Todd Byrne and is also delighted with the performances of Stacey Jones and Lance Hohaia at halfback.
The Warriors' next warm-up game is in two weeks against an NZRL President's Invitational team.
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The New Zealand Warriors proved too slippery for a young Parramatta Eels side when they won a pre-season National Rugby League match 20-10 in New Plymouth yesterday.
The Warriors dominated from the kick-off in a match played in four quarters, with the Eels grabbing a late converted try to close the gap.
For Warriors coach Tony Kemp it was a triumphant return home.
The Waitara-born Kemp was delighted with his team's performance in front of a vocal 9500-crowd spurred into life by members of the New Plymouth Tongan community on drums.
"It's nice to come home and win. It's been a special weekend for me," Kemp said.
"The crowd has come out and supported us and it puts us in a good position to return next year. Yarrow Stadium showed it can facilitate a NRL match and I'd love to bring one here."
"I'm pretty happy with combinations and with the shape the guys are in. Our offence and defence was pretty good," he said, adding the side would try to build on them in the team's final pre-season match against a New Zealand selection in Auckland on February 26.
Eels coach Brian Smith was also pleased with the way his young side stuck to the task.
"We got a helluva lot out of the game, with so many young guys against pretty much an all-star cast.
"We were stretched continually," Smith said.
"The boys got a first-up taste of NRL footie. Eight or nine of them had never played first grade ... things happen so much faster.
"The most important thing is we defended well and stuck at it. The young guys didn't back off and we scored the last try of the game."
The Eels were desperately unlucky not to open the scoring, with winger John Williams getting the ball down in the covering tackle of Brent Webb only for the try to be disallowed after a touch judge report.
In the dying seconds of the first quarter, the Warriors struck with centre Tony Martin crossing for the first of his two tries.
He latched on to a loose pass near his own line and sprinted 85m to score near the posts and Stacey Jones converted.
The Eels scored an easy try through Luke O'Dwyer soon after halftime following a neat kick behind the defence.
The Warriors then turned up the heat. Replacement Jerome Ropati slipped a pass to Clinton Toopi for a try and Jones converted, with Martin grabbing his second try soon after.
Then Toopi set up Francis Meli for a try in the corner.
But a long period passed before any points were scored.
Chris Muckert crossed for the Eels with Brett Delaney converting just before fulltime.
One of the stand-out performers for the Warriors was Jones, who played all four quarters.
He worked well in tandem with Lance Hohaia in the halves, while out wider Toopi, Martin and Meli were always dangerous.
There was plenty of power play up front from the likes of Ruben Wiki, Karl Temata, Iafeta Paleaaesina and Richard Villasanti.
Eeels captain Nathan Cayless, Peter Lewis and Paul Stringer did plenty of the hard work, with Williams and Timana Tahu the best of their backs.
