Live: Warriors christen new Christchurch stadium with first-half hat-trick

It’s a gorgeous pass out the back for Jeremiah Nanai from Jake Clifford. The defence rushes up on the outside and Nanai just explodes into the backfield, ultimately turning Taine Tuaupiki inside out to dive in.

That’s his first try for the prolific back rower in just his third game this year.

The Warriors fullback is wreaking havoc with his quick footwork against these tired Cowboys through the middle and he dives through after a lovely bit of dummy-half work by Wayde Egan.

That will end this one as a contest.

The bomb goes up and Scott Drinkwater is trying to make sure he takes off from the in-goal, so he can’t shield the landing zone with his body. Taine Tuaupiki flies through in a contest and Drinkwater fumbles straight to Adam Pompey to score.

The bunker replays appear to show a clear knock-on by Tuaupiki in the contest, but somehow the try is confirmed.

That is highway robbery.

Ali Leiataua is VERY lucky to stay on the field as he takes out Jaxon Purdue off the ball. Scott Drinkwater poked his nose through and was offloading, but ended up throwing it to no-one.

Another try-scoring situation for the Cowboys halted by an incorrect refereeing decision that even the challenge can’t give them back.

Absolutely gorgeous.

The Cowboys get a fresh set as Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad fails to defuse a bomb, and they go to work close to the line.

They spin it right and, despite being down to 12 men against 13, Scott Drinkwater’s bullet-like cut-out pass finds Braidon Burns in all sorts of space on the right wing to score.

Scott Drinkwater sends Jake Clifford through a hole and backs up through the middle, but referee Grant Atkins blows it up for an obstruction.

Reuben Cotter challenges, and the bunker sees Clifford bump into Tom Chester, who rebounds into Jacob Laban. The bunker says it’s not an obstruction, but because the play was held up without a stoppage, we’re going all the way back to the previous play the ball.

Rough for the Cowboys, who were almost certainly going to score on that play.

The Warriors finally go right down a short side and this time Dallin Watene-Zelezniak gets on the board.

That feels like a game-sealing try, but there’s still 24 minutes left as Adam Pompey slots the conversion, so plenty of time for a team as talented as the Cowboys to erase this 16-point deficit.

Jason Taumalolo dumps Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad with a lifting tackle and the players rush in from everywhere as tempers flare.

It’s a nasty one and Grant Atkins sends Taumalolo to the sin bin for 10 minutes.

It could be extra costly, because Taumalol is supposed to be playing his 300th NRL game next week.

If he misses that one, the Cowboys aren’t back home for another four weeks with a bye and trips to Manly and Brisbane.

Jake Clifford’s kick is expertly weighted in around the upright and Jaxon Purdue gets through to collect it in the in-goal.

He just needs to fall down to score, but Te Maire Martin is there and somehow holds him up all by himself.

“That’s the tackle of the year,” Steve Roach says on Fox.

“That is unbelievable. How does he get back there to make this tackle?”

The Melbourne Storm get their Origin contingent back, including Cameron Munster for his 250th game.

Harry Grant is going to come off the bench as Trent Toelau starting.

The Raiders have done something similar, with Owen Pattie starting in jersey number 14 and Tom Starling benched.

Tanner Stowers-Smith was down with a leg complaint just before the kick-off, but he takes the first hit-up and knocks it on!

The Cowboys attack from 10 metres out.

The Warriors go right, where Dallin Watene-Zelezniak flattens Scott Drinkwater. They spin it left and the numbers eventually show up, allowing Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to dive in for his fourth try of the night.

Has he done too much? He might have lost his fullback spot simply by being too good out on the flank.

The Cowboys put up the high kick and Jake Clifford and Jeremiah Nanai jump at shadows on top of former teammate Te Maire Martin. Ali Leiataua must have been distracted, because he jumps and has an air swing.

The ball hits Murray Taulagi’s knee and he chases through, but knocks on in the contest with Taine Tuaupiki. Looks like the Cowboys winger has hurt his shoulder too.

Thomas Mikaele takes the first charge of the second half.

This is the sort of game we expected from these two teams and it’s been absolutely thrilling to start the new era in Christchurch.

The Warriors looked like they might run away with it after the opening few minutes, but the Cowboys held firm and some Scott Drinkwater brilliance has kept them in this one.

If the second half is anywhere near the action of the first, we could be in for a classic here, and maybe another one-point win?

The bomb goes up and to the left, where the Warriors chasers storm ahead, and Braidon Burns gets spooked, pulling away at the last second.

The ball bounces high in the air and he gets a touch in the contest. So the Warriors reload from 5 metres out with a minute left in the half.

The Warriors are making metres at will and reload with a slick passing move out to the left. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad flies over for his fourth of the first half, but there’s a forward pass call from the touch judge.

There were a few flat balls in there, but nothing I’d consider egregious. So much so I’m not actually sure which pass was the perpetrator.

The pendulum swings back to the Warriors as they spin it on the 30m line.

The defence jams in and Chanel Harris-Tavita throws a superb ball over the top to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who flies up the left wing to score his third of the night.

I kept expecting Scott Drinkwater to come flying across in cover defence, but he was caught in the front line of the defence for some reason on the fourth tackle.