Cool-headed Johnson kicks Warriors to win over Raiders

Warriors player celebrate with Shaun Johnson after he kicked the winning field goal against the Canberra Raiders at Mt Smart Stadium.
Photo: Photosport

Halfback Shaun Johnson continued his resurgent N-R-L form with a field goal in the golden point period to hand the Warriors a 21-20 win over the Canberra Raiders on Saturday night.

The visitors scored two tries in the last three minutes of regular time at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadiuim to level the scores 20-20 but Johnson kept his cool with the match-winning play to lift his team to third in the standings.

The Raiders could have snared a remarkable win after Elliot Whitehead and Jack Wighton scored tries in the dying moments but Jarrod Croker missed what would have been a match-winning sideline conversion.

Johnson – whose decisive field goal was coolly taken from 35m out – delivered another playmaking masterclass in a tense contest between teams ranked fourth and fifth going into it.

Tries to Warriors Marata Niukore, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak all had the veteran’s stamp on them while the Warriors produced another stout defensive display until the dramatic closing minutes.

The Warriors sit out a bye next week before facing five teams in the bottom half of the table in their run for home, leaving them in a strong position to qualify for the finals in October.

– RNZ