Sharks 24 Warriors 8

Greg Bird and Paul Gallen are called the Bruise Brothers for being the NRL's version of Hollywood's cult classic, The Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood. We'd cast Bird as Jake. Gallen is more your Elwood type.

After Bird's Blues Brothers-style brush with Queensland police during the week, he joined forces with Elwood last night to end a rotten week on a positive note. They may (or may not) have been on a mission from God.

Gallen raised the ire of referee Ben Cummins, who warned him about dangerously lifting his knees while making tackles. The match review committee will investigate further.

"He just said for me to get my knees out of the ruck. I was just trying to slow the play-the-ball down," Gallen said.

They will also take a keen interest in a high tackle from the Warriors' Queensland Origin centre Brent Tate on Bird. Tate could be in strife.

Jake and Elwood may (or may not) have addressed the crowd of 9000-odd before kick-off by grabbing the microphone and saying: "We're so glad to see so many of you lovely people here tonight. We do sincerely hope you all enjoy the show, and please remember, people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there are still some things that make us all the same. You, me, them, everybody, everybody."

It took the Sharks until the 28th minute to cross the stripe when centre David Simmons won the race to a perfectly weighted grubber from Brett Seymour.

The Warriors took just four minutes to hit back, with centre Jerome Ropati bustling his way across for a 6-4 lead. It was a bitterly cold night in the Shire, more Auckland than Sydney, so the visitors felt right at home and led 8-6 at half-time.

Orange whip? Orange whip? Three orange whips.

It was a hard slog of a match. Bird hit Tate high, but not as high as Tate had hit him. Gallen was just centimetres from a try. Simmons made a spectacular take from a Brett Kimmorley bomb and the Sharks were up 12-8 with 20 minutes to go.

There's something about matches at Toyota Stadium on a Saturday night. They invariably turn into scrappy affairs that go down to the wire. Kimmorley was strong again. He's proving the Sharks have probably erred by sending him to the Dogs.

NZ and Queensland ironman Steve Price was too knackered to tackle Ben Pomeroy in the 58th minute, and Pomeroy stormed downfield. From the same set, Luke Covell leapt high and took an AFL-style mark to score. He added a late four-pointer. The show was over.

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary was upset by Cummins's performance, particularly his policing of the ruck.

"The play-the-ball speed went to new levels of slowness," Cleary said. "It kind of choked the life out of us."

Jake and Elwood were finally able to rest after a torrid week of footy and various other dramas. Gallen may (or may not) have told Bird they (still) had a full tank of gas, (possibly) half a pack of cigarettes, and they were (maybe) wearing sunglasses.