Kevin Locke sacrificed his wellbeing to score the last-minute winning try for New Zealand Warriors against the Sydney Roosters in the NRL yesterday. Locke, running at full speed, touched down his own kick to complete a 20-18 win with his hat-trick try, a split second before being crunched into a goal post. Locke had to leave the ground on a stretcher with a hip injury.
"I know he's pretty sore; he's in hospital being assessed," Lance Hohaia, his teammate, told NRL.com. "We're really happy for him and hopefully the injury isn't too severe." Elsewhere, Gold Coast Titans suffered a shock 24-16 loss at home to the lowly Newcastle Knights. In England's Super League, Terry Matterson, the Castleford coach, praised his side after Michael Shenton's hat-trick helped secure a 28-22 victory over Bradford that put them a point behind their rivals in ninth place in the table. The England international, 23, touched down in the first half and then added a late double to hand the Tigers their third successive win.
Rangi Chase and Kirk Dixon also touched down and Matterson was delighted with his side's efforts in a match that kicked off at 11.30am UK time so it did not clash with England's World Cup match against Germany. "Out of the three wins that we've now had, that was certainly the best," Matterson said. "It has been a difficult year with injuries and there have been some tough times, but we've just about got everyone back now."
Also yesterday, Leeds beat Warrington 37-30 with seven different players scoring tries and Kevin Sinfield kicking six goals and a drop goal. Matt King and Chris Hicks both touched down twice for the Wolves. * Agencies
