NRL: Warriors survive Johnston try milestone for heartstopping win over Souths
Chanel Harris-Tavita in possession. South Sydney Rabbitohs v One NZ Warriors. NRL Rugby League, Accor Stadium, NSW, Australia, Sunday 1st June 2025
Photo:
www.photosport.nz / David Neilson
Winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck had a try double and NZ Warriors survived yet another nailbiting finish to dispatch South Sydney Rabbitohs 36-30 at Sydney's Accor Stadium.
Trailling 12-4 late in the first half, the visitors put their noses in front on the break, with fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad scoring a try on the siren, and then had three tries in quick succession after the restart to open up an 18-point margin.
Souths came storming back, inspired by superstar fullback Latrell Mitchell and prolific tryscorer Alex Johnston, who galloped the length of the field for an intercept try in the first half.
Down 30-12, Mitchell found his winger with a long pass that put him over in the corner for a second try and then repeated the dose, as Johnson secured a hattrick to bring up 200 career tries in the NRL - only the second player to achieve that milestone.
Tuivasa-Sheck seemed to put the Warriors beyond reach with his second try, but Mitchell wasn't done, scoring one himself and converting to bring his team within striking distance in the dying moments.
As they had done so many times this season, the Warriors staved off their rivals until the final siren, bringing their record to 9-3 for the season and rising to second on the competition table behind Canterbury Bulldogs.
Canberra Raiders can pass them with victory over Sydney Roosters later on Sunday.
The Warriors face another trip across the Tasman to take on Cronulla Sharks next Saturday.
See how all the action went down, with RNZ's live blog:
Rabbitohs:
1. Latrell Mitchell, 2. Alex Johnston, 3. Isaiah Tass, 4. Campbell Graham, 5. Bayleigh Bentley-Hape, 6. Jayden Sullivan, 7. Jamie Humphreys, 8. Jai Arrow, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Keaon Koloamatangi, 11. Euan Aitken, 12. Tallis Duncan, 13. Lachlan Hubner
Interchange: 14. Jye Gray, 15. Sean Keppie, 16. Davvy Moale, 17. Tevita Tatola
Reserves: 18. Liam Le Blanc, 19. Fletcher Myers, 20. Shaquai Mitchell, 21. Lewis Dodd
Warriors:
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Adam Pompey, 4. Rocco Berry, 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7. Luke Metcalf, 8. James Fisher-Harris, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Mitchell Barnett, 11. Kurt Capewell, 12. Marata Niukore, 13. Tohu Harris
Interchange: 14. Te Maire Martin, 15. Leka Halasima, 16. Demitric Vaimauga, 17. Jackson Ford
Reserves: 18. Jacob Laban, 19. Samuel Healey, 20. Tanah Boyd, 21. Tanner Stowers-Smith
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RNZ News
44 minutes ago
- RNZ News
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"They [cockatoos] hold on to the stem and they twist with their foot but then they have to lean their weight while they twist as well. "They don't have the amount of strength that we have in our hand or the weight so they have to lean their whole body weight to keep it twisted." Dr Aplin said the whole process looked a "bit funny". "It's a bit of an awkward body position they have to hold, but it's pretty impressive," she said. Researchers captured cockatoos on video taking turns to use a drinking fountain. Photo: Supplied / Royal Society Biology Letters Sulphur-crested cockatoos are well known for their urban antics causing havoc on bin night in more than 60 suburbs in Sydney's south. But the population in Western Sydney is a different mob. After the study's lead author, the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior's Barbara Klump, saw the drinking behaviour first-hand, she set up a study to track the behaviour of cockatoos around a well-used drinking fountain. First, the researchers identified 24 individual birds by painting them with dots, then they used wildlife cameras to monitor attempts to use the fountains by these and other birds in the local area. Over 44 days, the cameras recorded 525 attempts and collectively the birds were successful 41 per cent of the time they tried to drink, with the marked birds being slightly more successful. Dr Aplin said about 70 percent of the local birds, which roosted close by, were using the drinking fountain. "They use them as a preferred place to drink no matter whether it's hot or if there's other water sources available," she said. All ages and sexes participated too, unlike with the bin-opening behaviour, which is mostly done by males. "Something about the bin opening requires strength, and that's why it's male-biased," Dr Aplin said. "[Drinking from fountains is] a very complex behaviour that requires lots of different fine scale motor actions, but not brute force." Sulphur-crested cockatoos have been documented opening bins in Sydney. Photo: Supplied / Barbara Klump/Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour Cockatoos are able to work out something tricky like turning a handle because they have brains that are relatively large for their bodies. Their forebrain, which deals with advanced cognitive abilities like tool use, is packed full of neurons, like chimpanzees, which also excel at complex problems. Alex Taylor, who studies biological intelligence at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said it was clearly tricky to get a tap to work when you had the body of a bird. "Which explains why birds are only successful 50 per cent of the time when trying to use the tap," Dr Taylor, who was not involved with the research, said. "Still this is a pretty good success rate on a hot day when you are thirsty." Dr Taylor said the study raised the question of why only a single species was exploiting human water taps and not others. The exact reason the cockatoos use the fountain instead of other water sources like a lake or creek is not understood. But there are several hypotheses that researchers want to test. "One possibility is the water just tastes better," Dr Aplin said. That is a theory Irene Pepperberg, an animal behaviourist from Boston University who was not involved in the study, also thought was possible. "The birds are probably attracted to fountains as being a source of cleaner water than available ponds," she said. "The resource is unlimited, so it is probably worth it to keep trying until they figure out the successful behaviour and, if they fail, they seem to have other water sources. "The birds do seem to learn about the source from one another; whether they learn the specific technique from each other is a bit less clear." Photo: Supplied / Staglands Wildlife Reserve Another idea is the birds like how the fountains sit about one metre off the ground. Alice Auersperg, a cognitive biologist from the University of Veterinary Medicine who was not part of the study, said this was because drinking from a ground source was risky and left them exposed to predators. But she said another reason they might use the fountains was because the birds liked to undertake an activity even if there was no food reward. Dr Pepperberg said she recently did a study with umbrella cockatoos where 40 per cent of the time they chose to shell nuts rather than eat ones that were already shelled. The team behind the new research hopes to drill down into the reasons behind the behaviour as well as other cockatoo innovations in future studies. Dr Aplin said she had received other reports of cockatoos using water fountains with levers and unzipping bags to access lunch boxes. She encouraged people who saw these kinds of behaviour to report it through the Big City Birds App. Gisela Kaplan, an emeritus professor of animal behaviour from the University of New England, said several bird species seemed to exploit taps in the outback in different ways to cockatoos. "The moment [the taps] are used, the birds now fly in and take the drops that fall down and then, once the person has left, also lick out the last drops that are in the tap," Professor Kaplan, who was not involved with the study, said. She said she had witnessed a great bowerbird in Larrimah, Northern Territory, work with its beak at a tap nozzle attachment until water drops were generated. Dr Aplin said ultimately, there was an important message behind all these observed behaviours beyond just funny anecdotes. "Urban animals that are adaptable and have expressed behavioural flexibility and have large brains are going to try and use the habitats that we provide them with," she said. "So if we want to increase biodiversity in cities, we need to think about increasing the sort of habitat requirements for species that might not be so adaptable." On the other hand, Dr Aplin added, we could also use urban design to manage those species that are more adaptable. - ABC
Scoop
8 hours ago
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‘A Wee Bit Weird' – Is It Time For Netball To Scrap Post-Match Huddle?
, Sport Journalist It's the post game ritual that netballers have taken part in for as long as anyone can remember but should New Zealand's elite players ditch the end of game group huddle? Hip hip hip, ray ray ray … is the go-to cheer our top netballers take part in after every game but sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe asked people in the sport whether they actually like the routine. The sight of opposing teams linking arms in a circle after a game has been a common one for years, through to international matches between Australia and New Zealand. In a recent ANZ Premiership match, the two teams came together like they always do to acknowledge each other. But in the commentary box for the TVNZ broadcast, Silver Fern Phoenix Karaka observed that it's not something everyone wants to do. 'I'm not a fan, obviously when you're winning and you've won the game it's all good but when you've lost a game like that – you don't want to see the other team,' Karaka said. 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'Why would you at that stage want to get in a huddle with the opposition and people sort of say it's all about the game out on court and afterwards you can be mates, but to me it's too soon after the game. It's a bit like I have a problem with a team doing high fives when they really haven't played that well in a particular quarter. 'While it's not a major, I totally understand why the Australians are no longer doing that. I think players themselves [in New Zealand] have been looking at that. I think a handshake and then just moving on has more merit,' Willering said. Tactix captain Erikana Pedersen said it could feel forced at times. 'Sometimes I question why we do that, and is it a bit of a just kind of a nice way to end things out but when you lose you don't want to be in a huddle with the people you just lost to so I can see why the Australian teams have stopped that this season and maybe that's something we need to look at doing,' Pedersen said. 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Otago Daily Times
9 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Warriors take collective approach to replace Barnett
New Zealand Warriors coach Andrew Webster was warned his players not to try filling the void left by injured co-captain Mitch Barnett alone. Barnett's season is over, after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the 36-30 win over South Sydney last weekend, leaving a giant void in the pack, as the Auckland side seek to build on a promising 9-3 start to their NRL season. In his third season at Mt Smart, the inspirational front-rower has taken his leadership to a new level, while fellow skipper James Fisher-Harris was sidelined with a pec (chest) injury. Now an automatic State of Origin selection for New South Wales, Barnett and Fisher-Harris formed a one-two punch that is probably one of the best front-row combinations in the competition, but Webster stressed no one player could be expected to step into his place. "You can't try and be Mitch, or say we've all got to do extra," he said. "Once you start doing that, you start failing at your job - everyone's just got to do their job better. "Whatever your job description is as a player, you have to make sure you improve at that, rather than trying to add workload or different stuff to your game. Everyone agrees with that. "If you try and be Mitch, it won't work out. Everyone's just got to be themselves and find their own way to improve." That blueprint already exists. When Fisher-Harris was missing, Webster moved Marata Niukore into the middle of the park and Leka Halasima off the bench. He's named Jackson Ford to start against Cronulla Sharks this week - as he did in the next game after Fisher-Harris' injury - but don't be surprised if that changes. Webster admitted his loss is a major blow, but also another test of the programme's 'next up' mentality. The Warriors have already endured injuries to marquee players like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, while continuing to juggle players through a depleted midfield. This one hits differently though, with the knowledge that Barnett will not be back this season. "There are mixed emotions," Webster admitted. "We want to celebrate Barney too, where he is in the game and what he's achieved for us at the club, playing Origin and for Australia, and finally getting in those circles that you want to be in as a player. "It's pretty heartbreaking, but Barney's been grateful for all the well-wishers he's got, particularly from his teammates and all around the world. "We're gutted, because he's such a good player, but there's optimism that somebody gets to stand up and take his spot and it's a challenge for the whole group." With scans confirming the extent of his injury, Barnett is now waiting for the injury to stabilise, before undergoing surgery. He has been around the team this week, as they prepare to take on the Sharks and now faces a different role than planned. "He was really good at training yesterday with his leadership stuff and talking to the boys about what they have to do next was very impressive," Webster said. "He's very frustrated and emotional about it, but sometimes life's not fair. We're all gutted for him, but he's a tough cookie, Mitch. "He's started that role already, mentoring and helping people. I think you'll find he initially needs to get his knee to the point where the operation can happen and we'll have to let him go for a little bit, then he'll start his rehab process and come back around the boys. "It's pretty raw at the moment, but we all know Mitch has a pretty good footy brain and loves mentoring people, so we'll just get a bit more of that, which is pleasing." Sometimes losing a key player can galvanise his teammates and elevate them to greater heights collectively. "He's been around the club and he's in good spirits," lock Erin Clark said. "We'll definitely miss his hard-nosed footy, his aggression and work ethic, but we're looking forward to the person who gets to step up and wear the jersey next to us. "No-one has to do anything more, maybe just do our job better, now that Barney's out. "He's definitely a smart footy player and, no doubt, he'll sit around with the coaches and help dissect other teams, and help us middles get better."
