By Jake Bull
The Illawarra Cutters head overseas to face the New Zealand Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland on Sunday.
Coming off a strong win against the Wentworthville Magpies, the Cutters will head into the clash just outside the top four in fifth position.
Their opponents, the Warriors, had the luxury of the bye and will be well-rested before the game as they push ladder leaders the Penrith Panthers as they sit in second position.
Head coach Scott Logan was pleased with the win and heaped praise on young half Blake Wallace.
“Much happier with that performance and more so the commitment to each other. Last week was disappointing with our defence and we were off last week,” he said.
“We had some specific goals we wanted to achieve this week and we set the standard with our first set with the ball and without.”
“I thought Wallace was very stead and showed control at the back end when Shannon Crook went off.
"We simplified some things and we just got into some good field position and he took an opportunity and it was great but it was more his control and patience in that second half.”
The team has relied on the young players who did the job against the Magpies with try-scorers Eli Roberts and Junior Vaivai being retained along with Charly Runciman Drew Hutchison and new signing Luke Page coming into the side.
The Warriors offer plenty of experience with Dominique Peyroux, Jonathan Wright and Sam Rapira all having NRL games under their belt.
