Auckland, New Zealand, August 23, 2009 - The Vodafone Warriors scored a season-high 34 points in securing a 14-point win over Canberra in today's 24th-round NRL match at Mount Smart Stadium.

While the result could do nothing to rescue the 2009 campaign, the win was still a substantial boost for the side after a challenging time, especially over the past two months. Figuring prominently in the performance were four players involved in a positional reshuffle which saw a revamped line-up start the match.

Joel Moon, originally named to start in the centres, was moved to standoff instead of Aaron Heremaia, who was switched to start at hooker. That in turn resulted in original starting hooker Ian Henderson going to the bench and Lance Hohaia being taken off the interchange to start in the centres. Moon, scoring one of the team's six tries, was impressive throughout the match.

His kicking game - he was the side's main kicker on the day - potent, his bomb yielding Jerome Ropati's try early in the second half. It was also Moon's break and off load in just the seventh minute that sparked arguably the team's best try of the year, featuring some breathtaking ball movement before Ukuma Ta'ai provided the final transfer for Hohaia to score the first of his two tries.

Heremaia was a constant threat out of dummy half, richly rewarded with his first NRL try in the 10th minute when a beautiful show-and-go took him through a gaping hole. He added plenty of other quality touches as well. When he came on, Henderson was a menace in all he did while Hohaia revelled in the freedom he had, scoring his second try after latching onto an expertly-placed Stacey Jones chip into Canberra's in-goal area.

With Hohaia and Heremaia scoring so early - and with Ta'ai especially assertive on the edge - the Vodafone Warriors were a transformed side in the opening 25 minutes, even though they were facing a Canberra side which had shocked competition leader St George Illawarra a week earlier. Some of the issues that have plagued the side during the season came into play as the Raiders drew back to 10-12 with tries to halfback Josh McCrone and centre Jarrod Croker in a five-minute burst.

The Vodafone Warriors were guilty during that period of failing to complete a number of sets but they steadied sufficiently when they struck off a repeat set, a penalty near Canberra's line resulting in Jones delivering a nice pass for second rower Simon Mannering to scythe through for his 25th career try. That gave the home side a 16-10 lead in a half during which they'd made seven line breaks after boasting only one line break against Gold Coast and none at all against Parramatta.

The energy levels evident on attack and defence were evident again in the second half. Soon enough the Vodafone Warriors had a 22-10 lead with the Moon-Ropati combination delivering a 52nd minute try, although it seemed mystifying that it should be awarded only on a benefit of the doubt call from the video referee after an interminable number of replays.

That handy lead grew to 28-10 with Hohaia's try off Jones' chip - the 43rd career try for Hohaia - and then 34-10 with a deserved try for Moon when he went to the line, dummied and found open air on a free run for a four pointer. There might have been more points after that and there ought to have been more in the first half only for a number of opportunities to fail through ill-directed passes or a lack of patience.

Importantly, though, chances were being created, almost at will at one stage in the first half. In the end, there was no addition to the total of 34 points, only the concession of two late Canberra tries which couldn't influence the end result. While the win came too late to help with end of season aspirations, it was a substantial boost for the players and coaching staff as well as the club as a whole and its fans.

Coach Ivan Cleary was particularly appreciative of the supporters afterwards, acknowledging that the core fans - 8812 of them - were on hand as ever despite the year's trials. He was glad there was some reward for them at last. After all, this was the Vodafone Warriors' first home win since beating Newcastle 13-0 in early June.

That was followed by losses at Mount Smart Stadium to the Bulldogs, St George Illawarra and Gold Coast. With the win the Vodafone Warriors moved level with Canberra on 20 points but still 14th on points differential. They're six points clear of Cronulla (15th) and the Sydney Roosters (16th).

The match was the 99th NRL career appearance for Mannering and also the 99th game for Cleary as an NRL head coach. Cleary will bring up his 100th milestone against the Bulldogs next Sunday but Mannering is in doubt after leaving the field with a knee injury in the 50th minute. Match details:

At Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland Vodafone Warriors 34 (Lance Hohaia 2, Aaron Heremaia, Simon Mannering, Jerome Ropati, Joel Moon tries; Kevin Locke 5 conversions). Canberra Raiders 20 (Jarrod Croker 2, Josh McCrone, Joel Thompson tries; Terry Campese 2 conversions). Halftime: 16-10 Vodafone Warriors. Referees: Matt Cecchin and Adam Devcich. Crowd: 8812.

For post-match media conferences please click on these links:

Vodafone Warriors link:

http://video.web-vision.co.nz/player.php?v=cr72j602 Canberra link:

http://video.web-vision.co.nz/player.php?v=u3c92d1v