Taine Tuaupiki and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak cover a kick against the Bulldogs in Sydney on Saturday night. Photo: AAP/Photosport
The New Zealand Warriors have suffered their third straight loss, falling 32-14 to the clinical Canterbury Bulldogs in the pouring rain at Sydney's Accor Stadium on Saturday night.
Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton confounded the visitors with his tactical kicking in the first half, driving them back time and again, as they struggled to string together any continuity.
The Warriors' cause was not helped, when halfback Te Maire Martin - a late replacement for incumbent Tanah Boyd before kick-off - left the game with concussion after just 23 minutes, leaving his team to reshuffle a backline that already had a makeshift look about it.
They also lost second-rowers Leka Halasima and Kurt Capewell to head checks - both were required to play in the centres, after Martin's departure - but both ultimately returned.
The Warriors actually led after two minutes, when centre Adam Pompey slotted an early penalty, but their rivals piled on the next 24 points, including four tries.
They eventually found the tryline, when replacement hooker Sam Healey kicked ahead and won the race to force the ball, bringing his team to 24-8.
Winger Enari Tuala scored his second try of the night for the Bulldogs to squash any slim hopes of a comeback, before Warriors winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck picked off a loose pass for a consolation intercept try in the dying moments.
The result is a big dent to their hopes of finishing in the NRL top four - they dropped to fifth, when four-time defending champions Penrith Panthers won their ninth straight game on Friday night.
The Warriors return to Go Media Stadium on Friday to face St George Illawarra Dragons, desperately needing a win to rekindle their playoff prospects.
Relive all the action with RNZ's play-by-play blog:
