Warriors

The first daytime kick-off of the new season happened in 30C temperatures, which brought the NRL's heat rule into force. Players were allowed a drinks-break midway through each half.

It took 25 minutes for the first points to emerge. And it came via new signing, former Rabbitoh Bailey Sironen, with Kodi Nikorima converting.

The club has already been in Australia in for two months under the guidance of new coach Nathan Brown and they take on Gold Coast in their opening game tomorrow.

On the upside they've brought in some new players to bolster the side, but back in Auckland the accountants are looking at the books with the franchise facing financial hardship and the stress of being away from home is taking it's toll.

A good end to an average year for the warriors beating Manly but ultimately finishing tenth after a tumultuous 2020.

The Warriors ran in eight tries during Sunday's 40-28 win in a fitting farewell for retiring forward Adam Blair.

Blair announced on Saturday the Manly game would be his last after 15 seasons in the NRL and his teammates sent him off with an emotional haka and an entertaining game of rugby league.

Manly paid tribute to Warriors' sacrifices this season with a guard of honour prior to kick-off but did not look like they would go easy on the New Zealand club when they scored two tries inside the opening eight minutes.

A couple of game-defining calls have gone against the Warriors this season - including the sin binning of Jazz Tevaga against the Eels in the last round.

The NRL's head of football, Graham Annesley, has since said Tevaga's sending off was wrong, but Payten doesn't know how to turn the tide in his side's favour.

"I just have the feeling that because it's us and the Warriors its forgotten about pretty quickly," Payten said.

They have blown the Newcastle Knights 36-6 at their home away from home in Tamworth, after leading 8-6 at halftime, to keep alive their top eight hopes.

It is the Warriors' first win over a top eight side this season and lifts them to ninth on the table, four points behind the Cronulla Sharks, who later beat the North Queensland Cowboys 28-12.

Captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck again led from the front, scoring two tries, saving another and running for more than 200 metres.

Eight young males were escorted from the ground by police during the first half of Penrith's 18-12 victory.

NRL acting CEO Andrew Abdo said the governing body took the matter extremely seriously.

"Racism and vilification will not be tolerated in our game," he said.

"Bringing communities and cultures together is part of rugby league. We pride ourselves on being inclusive and taking a leadership role in driving social change.

"Any fan found to have racially abused a player or another fan will not be welcome at our games.

The Daily Telegraph reports Tuivasa-Sheck is weighing up his future at the Warriors with concerns around what next season could be like for the Auckland-based franchise on his mind.

The major concern is if the team would have to be based in Australia again like they have this season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has meant Tuivasa-Sheck has had to spend an extended amount of time away from his young family.

It's the Auckland club's first National Rugby League win in four games and comes after four players returned to New Zealand this week to be with their families, ending their involvement in the competition.

Peta Hiku bagged a brace of tries while Tohu Harris scored the match winner.

The Warriors trailed by six points at half-time but two pieces of brilliance from Hiku on the left edge pushed the visitors ahead 20-14 after an hour.

The Toronto team has withdrawn from the August restart of Super League Europe due to financial challenges from the Covid-19 outbreak, leaving marquee recruit Williams free to find a club in the NRL.

The reigning champion Sydney Roosters, who Williams helped to the title in 2013, are likely to be first in the queue having lost a couple of key players to injury since the league resumed at the end of May.

Warriors chief executive Cameron George, though, said his side would also be interested in bringing the 34-year-old former Kiwis forward to the Auckland-based club.

Payten could not pinpoint why the Warriors were "soft" against a Shaun Johnson-led Sharks side that scored three tries in the first 15 minutes.

The match was a virtual training run for the Johnson, who scored one try and set up two more, while the middle forwards rolled far too easily through their Warriors counterparts.

The win would have put the Sharks back inside the top eight ahead of the Rabbitohs but for a late try to the Warriors in the dying seconds.