Royal send-off as Warriors veteran upstages Cayless

BY STEVE KILGALLON

Last updated 05:00 05/09/2010

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Warriors captain Simon Mannering is tackled during the NRL playoff match against the Gold Coast Titans.

Wiiliam Zillman of the Titans scores a try against the Warriors.

Manu Vatuvei scores a try for the Warriors in their NRL playoffs loss to the Gold Coast Titans.

Kevin Gordon scores for the Gold Coast Titans against the Warrors in their NRL playoffs match.

James Maloney of the Warriors looks dejected after his team lost the NRL playoff match againstthe God Coast Titans.

Ukuma Ta'ai of the of the Warriors takes a hit.

NZ Warrior Brett Seymour puts up a hand to fend as he runs the ball against the Sharks.

NZ Warrior Ian Henderson is tackled in a match against the Cronulla Sharks in Sydney.

Warriors forward Ian Henderson is at full stretch to tackle Cronulla's Nathan Gardner during their NRL match in Sydney.

Lewis Brown of the Warrios is tackled against the Cronulla Sharks at Toyota Stadium.

Ukuma Ta'ai runs the ball against the Cronulla Sharks at Toyota Stadium.

Ukuma Ta'ai of the Warriors is driven back in a tackle during the round 20 NRL match against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Sydney.

Nathan Merritt of the Rabbitohs scores during the round 20 NRL match against the Warriors in Sydney.

Brent Tate of the Warriors is tackled during the round 20 NRL match against the Rabbitohs in Sydney.

Fetuli Talanoa of the Rabbitohs crosses the line to score one of his tries during the round 20 NRL match against the Warriors in Sydney.

Warriors' Lewis Brown struggles to hold Rabbitoh Fetuli Talanoa back from the tryline during the round 20 NRL match in Sydney.

Chris Sandow of the Rabbitohs celebrates his try during the round 20 NRL match against the Warriors in Sydney.

Eddy Pettybourne of the Rabbitohs is tackled during the round 20 NRL match against the Warriors in Sydney.

The Warriors contemplate their lot after a Bulldog try during their NRL match in Sydney.

The Warriors defence holds onto Bulldog Andrew Ryan during their NRL match in Sydney.

Bulldogs scrumhalf Brett Kilmorley breaks through some high Warriors defence during their NRL match in Sydney.

Warriors Lance Hohaia (left) and Lewis Brown struggle to catch Bulldogs Luke Patten during their NRL match in Sydney.

The Bulldogs celebrate their first try against the Warriors.

Lance Hohaia is tackled by Brent Kite in the Warriors v Manly Sea Eagles game at Mt Smart Stadium.

Aaron Heremaia is tackled in the Warriors v Manly Sea Eagles game at Mt Smart Stadium.

Bill Tupou takes off up the centre in the Warriors v Manly Sea Eagles game at Mt Smart Stadium.

Warriors halfback James Maloney takes a few Manly players along in the Warriors v Manly Sea Eagles game at Mt Smart Stadium.

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Two gnarly old Kiwis test forwards wound up their careers last night, although everyone had been talking about the much-decorated Nathan Cayless, not the nearly-unknown Jesse Royal.

But while Cayless was to the forefront before kick-off, it was Royal, a quiet, staunch frontrower who is convinced that his season ended last night even though the Warriors' didn't, who played the pivotal role once the game began.

When Micheal Luck returns from injury for round one of the finals, Royal reckons his season, and his career (for the former army chef and miner is returning to the Newcastle coalmines next year) will be over.

But for a man who planned no flamboyant farewells, there was at least a vital try, just the fourth of his 65-game record, to sign off on.

It tipped the game away from Cayless and the infuriating Parramatta Eels. By the time Cayless crowned his farewell with his first try since 2007 to avoid making a year-end nude run his last act of his professional career, the result was already set in stone.

With his side just 8-6 ahead, Warriors half Brett Seymour burrowed towards the Eels line, then flicked a pass to Royal, whose angled run took him over the line and the Warriors towards cementing a fifth-place regular-season finish.

The Eels then crumbled spectacularly, letting in two tries in three minutes from Kevin Locke and Manu Vatuvei (a score that took him level with Stacey Jones' all-time tally for the club and two short of the top of the NRL try-scoring list).

This game was a microcosm of how the Eels have gone from grand finalists to also-rans, for they often romped forward with panache before showing a casual disdain for possession and, finally, faded badly.

They had begun well enough, when Krisnan Inu almost touched down Jarryd Hayne's kick, but the Warriors responded with a resolute spell where they secured four repeat sets with kicks to the in-goal before Jerome Ropati collected Seymour's grubber and rolled out of Hayne's tackle to score.

A brief scare when Vatuvei crumpled backwards in a tackle, clutching his hamstring, and a 28th-minute try from Timana Tahu were the only wobbles and there were plenty of questions about Tahu's effort.

A quickly tapped penalty and Tahu using referee Matt Cecchin as a shield led the Warriors, captain Simon Mannering in particular, to explode.

But they responded brilliantly, with Locke fielding an ambitious Hayne grubber and accelerating away to send in Brent Tate. The Warriors began the second half with James Maloney in the sinbin, but the Eels could make nothing of that advantage and shortly after his return, up stepped their unlikely hero to write his own farewell tale.

Warriors 26 (J Ropati, B Tate, J Royal, K Locke, M Vatuvei tries, J Maloney 3 goals) Eels 12 (T Tahu, N Cayless tries, L Burt K Inu gls). Ht: 8-6.

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