McKinnon eyes return as Warriors stumble

Coach Ivan Cleary hopes to recall gamebreaker Wade McKinnon against Brisbane on Saturday as the New Zealand Warriors regroup from last night's ugly National Rugby League (NRL) speed bump.

With a spot inside the top-eight beckoning, the error-ridden Warriors lost 16-18 to Souths at Sydney's ANZ Stadium to end a four-match winning streak.

Handling errors by the Warriors led to the Rabbitohs' first two tries, while the visitors butchered three touchdowns of their own when Sonny Fai (fifth minute), Jerome Ropati (31st) and Evarn Tuimavave (70th) all dropped the ball with the line open.

"We let ourselves down. . . particularly at this stage of the season, two points is very valuable and we just didn't give it a good shot which really hurts me and the other 16 boys sitting in the dressing room," captain Steve Price said.

Victory would have elevated the Warriors into the top eight, as rivals Penrith, Gold Coast and St George-Illawarra also lost, but instead they remain in the logjam on the fringes of the eight.

Three wins from their last five matches should be enough to book a playoffs spot but it's a tricky run in against Brisbane (home), Cronulla (home), St George-Illawarra (away), Penrith (home) and Parramatta (away).

Cleary yesterday recalled giant winger Manu Vatuvei (leg fracture) in Sydney for his first match in six weeks, and hinted the Warriors could face the Broncos at full strength for the first time this year as fullback McKinnon eyes a return from a long-term knee injury.

"He's pretty close but he's still got to get through some things at training," Cleary said.

"As long as there's no setbacks, fingers crossed he'll be back on the field soon. He's a chance next week."

That leaves Cleary with a selection headache because fullback Lance Hohaia was one of the Warriors' best against Souths, scoring two tries and setting up the other for Ropati in a stunning 90m movement.

Hohaia's first try was another long-range Warriors special as Fai sent Vatuvei on a 40m gallop through several tacklers to leave the fullback a 25m dash which tied the scores 12-12 at halftime.

A jubilant David Kidwell broke the deadlock with a converted try from a Chris Sandow grubber, then Hohaia hit the goalpost in trying to convert his second try six minutes later.

Kiwis veteran Kidwell was recalled by Souths coach Jason Taylor after a three-week absence, having turned his season around after Taylor stripped him of the co-captaincy for disciplinary reasons.

Tuimavave had the winning of the game in his hands but dropped a Sam Rapira offload 5m out, then tough Souths defence denied the Warriors, who hammered their line in the dying minutes.

It was Souths' second consecutive win over the Warriors, who had won their previous 12 matches, and left captain Roy Asotasi's 14th-placed side with a mathematical playoffs hope.

Both the Warriors coach and captain were at a loss to explain the turnaround from the 8-6 win over defending champions Melbourne last weekend.

"We were nowhere near the same standard as what we were last week, or even the six weeks before that," Price said.

"We defended really well but you can't afford to give any first-grade team opportunities in your own half, and we just gave them too many easy opportunities."

Winger Aidan Kirk suffered a hamstring injury and Cleary rated him doubtful for next weekend.

- NZPA