Brisbane Broncos withstand late New Zealand Warriors fightback

As it happened: Warriors v Broncos

Warriors coach Andrew McFadden may have been pleased with his side's comeback from  being 16-0 down at half time to level the game, but ultimately he's ended up disappointed.

The Warriors went down 24-16 to the Broncos at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday in the game that marked the club's 20th anniversary.  The final scoreline didn't reflect the closeness of this match.

Looking to pass: Brisbane five-eighth Anthony Milford looks to pass against the New Zealand Warriors. Photo: Hannah Peters

Corey Oates, Jack Maranta and Jarrod Wallace all scored first half tries for the Broncos as the Warriors were bogged down by errors, missed tackles and failure to complete their sets.

When they fought back over the second half with Chad Townsend, Matt Allwood and Solomone Kata all crossing the line, there was hope that this was going to be a memorable win.

However, all the momentum the Warriors had dissipated when Ben Matulino gave away a penalty at a ruck with five minutes to go and Corey Parker kicked the goal to put the Broncos back in front.

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Broncos down Warriors in thriller

The Broncos hold off a fast finishing Warriors side to get the two points. Photo: Getty Images

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Then with a minute to go Shaun Johnson put up a short goal line drop out, Manu Vatuvei knocked the ball back on the Warriors' 10m line and Andrew McCullough managed to ground it in goal, confirming that the two points would be heading to southern Queensland.

"We certainly gave ourselves a chance to win it which was obviously very pleasing," McFadden said. 

"All we did was tackle in the first half, we were under pressure and conceded points. It was important that we bounced back in the second half and put some pressure on the opposition.

"We did that well and we had our opportunities to win the game, but we just didn't take them.'

When a team levels the score after being down 16-0, they should go on to win it. The Broncos were shellshocked at the time, but the Warriors weren't able to land that killer blow.

"As a team we just lacked that composure in the end," McFadden said. 

"Our young kids are doing a great job, we've got plenty of them in the side at the moment and we got beat by a very good side, an experienced side. 

"They turned up to play and played some good footy, but we just didn't get there in the end."

Also of concern for the Warriors was the knee injury picked up by Ben Henry in the second half. The back rower has already had two serious knee injuries and was about to start negotiations with the club on a contract extension. It's likely this will be put on hold until the situation with his knee is resolved.

Broncos coach Wayne Bennett paid tribute to the Warriors for how they turned things around in the second half.

"I don't think we dropped off, they got into their groove as we had in the first half and they completed set after set," he said. 

"Their kicks put us under pressure and to the back of the field and we had to work our way out of that all of the time."

Next up for the Warriors is the Storm in Melbourne on Easter Monday. It'll be a tough game as the much talked about decline of Craig Bellamy's side still hasn't begun.

Despite this loss, McFadden says the team will head across the Tasman feeling confident and still believing they're going down the right track.

"I'm very optimistic long term that we're doing the right thing," he said. 

"There are a lot of things that we're doing well at the moment and some things we really need to work on, but as a whole the team is understanding what I want."