the top 10 or 15 teams in the country toe-to-toe.BIG PICTUREXavier: It was the second time in three games that the Musketeers were put to the test -- they beat Lehigh 84-81 to open the s

Thomas Leuluais NRL career will not draw to a close on Sunday with tears or speeches or wistful glances around Mount Smart Stadium.Hes not even sure, he says, if his own mother will come.But the 31-year-old does hope his final Warriors outing ends with the satisfaction of victory and a few cold ones with the boys.Leuluai has played six years with the Warriors in two separate stints, making his 85th and final appearance for the club this weekend against Parramatta.Hell return to English club Wigan in the off-season, where he previously enjoyed a successful six-year spell.But the self-effacing Kiwi wont be getting too sentimental about it.I wont be crying in the sheds or anything like that, Leuluai said.Dont get me wrong, Ill miss this place and love all the people here.But Im just one part of the team.In his time in Auckland, Leuluai has played just one season of finals football - his first in 2003 when the Warriors fell in the semi-final to eventual premiers Penrith.He said the teams failure to make the finals in 2016, particularly given the Warriors late collapse last week against the Tigers, was a regret that would linger for some time.Yet the five-eighth was confident the Warriors would make progress without him.Theres a lot of good young players coming through, so Im pretty sure there wont be any trouble going forward, Leuluai said.Weve definitely improved from when I first came here and even from the start of the year.Head coach Andrew McFadden lauded Leuluai for his professionalism and skill.He said Leuluai was a pleasure to coach.He has a very uncompromising character and hes a great leader in our team, McFadden said.Hes someone were going to miss.Leuluai, who expressed his wish to see McFadden stay in the top job despite overseeing yet another unsuccessful finals tilt, hoped to go out on a high against Parramatta.The Eels have been dogged by problems off the field in 2016, including a salary cap breach that saw them docked 12 points.Star recruit Kieran Foran also quit the club with mental health issues, playmaker Corey Norman was suspended for drug possession and Jarryd Hayne snubbed his former side for the Titans.Leuluai was impressed by the Eels efforts in the circumstances.Its a credit to them that theyve been out of the playoffs for a long time but been playing some really good football, he said.I just want to finish with a win so we can all sit around and enjoy it and have a beer.STATS THAT MATTER:* The Warriors have won nine of their past 13 matches against the Eels, including their last three NRL encounters.* Five of the past six matches between the two sides have seen more than 45 points scored.* Only the last-placed Knights have conceded more points per game (33.6) than the Warriors (24.4) in 2016.* Parramatta have lost their past five away matches for the first time in three years.(SOURCE: FOX SPORTS LAB)Kyle Alexander Jersey . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. Kelly Olynyk Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. https://www.heatlockerroom.com/Derrick-Jones-City-Edition-Jersey/ .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Dion Waiters Jersey . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Tim Hardaway Heat Jersey .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner.LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. --Edmond Sumners free throw with 0.3 seconds left in overtime gave the Musketeers an 83-82 win over Missouri in the opening round of the Tire Pros Invitational on Thursday. He was fouled after Xavier inbounded near midcourt, after a heady timeout that Macura called to give his team a chance to set something up at the end.Sumner was fouled by Missouris Terrence Phillips as both went for the ball along the sideline on the deciding play. He missed the first one short, then rattled in the second for the win.Frankie Hughes scored 24 points for Missouri (1-1), and Kevin Puryear finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Phillips scored seven of his 21 points in overtime for Missouri, which never got off a desperation shot after Sumners deciding free throw.I think he was just being aggressive, Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. Im sure hed love to take it back, but you know what? He made a lot of great plays to get us to where we were, so if it wasnt for that it wouldnt come down to that play.Missouri led by 10 in the first half and held the lead most of the second half, but needed to scramble both late in regulation and then from an early five-point deficit in overtime. Missouri went on a 7-0 run late to grab the lead, but Macura made two free throws with 17.8 seconds remaining to tie the ggame for the 15th and final time.ddddddddddddA great basketball game, first of all, Anderson said. I thought our guys did a lot of great things and played one of the top 10 or 15 teams in the country toe-to-toe.BIG PICTUREXavier: It was the second time in three games that the Musketeers were put to the test -- they beat Lehigh 84-81 to open the season last week. ... Xavier missed its last 12 3-pointers, shooting 2 for 22 in the game from long range.Missouri: Hughes is averaging 23.5 points after two games. Only 10 Missouri players have managed to go their entire freshman season averaging more than 10 points. ... The Tigers were outrebounded 52-39.HELLO, AGAINThis is the third straight season that Xavier and Missouri have played.Xavier won 74-58 at Missouri on Dec. 13, 2014, in the start of what was going to be a two-game series, and prevailed again at home 78-66 exactly one year before this meeting -- Nov. 17, 2015.Missouri will be in that position with another non-conference foe later this season, when it meets Arizona for the third consecutive year.UP NEXTXavier: Faces Clemson in the tournament semifinals Friday.Missouri: Faces Davidson in the consolation semifinals Friday. ' ' '