Melbourne Storm skipper Cameron Smith
praised the individual brilliance of Shaun Johnson after his side suffered a
16-12 loss to the New Zealand Warriors at AAMI Park tonight and their first
loss of the season.
Young halfback Johnson chipped and chased
his own kick, regathered and passed to James Maloney who ran sixty metres to
win in the final minute after the visitors looked buried at 10-12.
It was a telling blow in a typically gritty
encounter by these two sides. The Auckland side is now three from three at AAMI
Park and move to fifth on the ladder. For Storm fans this was déjà vu all over
again after last year’s 20-12 loss in the preliminary final. Johnson was the
hero on that day too with some silky running and touch skills to create victory
for his side late in the game.
Smith was in awe of Johnson’s who played
his first Test match for the Kiwis on Friday night.
“He is a fantastic footy player and has all
the skills to be a brilliant player for the Warriors and the Kiwis. We threw
everything at the Warriors tonight but in the end it wasn’t good enough.”
Melbourne looked to have the match sewn up
after a strong defensive match and then two well-constructed tries from
Auckland-born winger Matt Duffie and fullback Billy Slater, the latter scoring
his tenth try of the season in just eight games. Halfback Cooper Cronk’s
kicking game continuously kept the Warriors in their own half until Manu
Vatuvei and Kevin Locke scored through Johnson’s grubbering kicks in the 20th
and 50th minutes.
Warriors skipper Simon Mannering enjoyed
the match and felt it was befitting the occasion.
“It is always a great honour to play on
Anzac day, not many footy sides get to do so. We seem to have close matches
with the Storm and this really gives our side a boost going into our next match
with the Broncos.”
The Warriors hoodoo continues.
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