League: Soaring Sea Eagles no easy beats

The Warriors are growing in confidence after winning three of their last four games. Photo / Photosport

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney wants his side to be more ruthless and says the onus is on senior players to ensure they maintain their focus in tonight's NRL clash against Manly in Perth.

The 10th-placed Warriors are growing in confidence after winning three of their last four games, but need to be more clinical against an in-form Sea Eagles side looking to cement their place in the top four with a fifth straight victory.

The Warriors kept their line intact in the first half of last week's win over the Bulldogs, but lapses in concentration allowed the visitors to score two second half tries.

Kearney says it falls on captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and the team's other leaders to steady the ship during rough periods and help keep the Warriors' less experienced players focused at nib Stadium.

"We've got to stay on task for the full 80 minutes," Kearney said.

"The tries that the Bulldogs scored were certainly preventable so they're two areas where we just can't allow ourselves to switch off.

"There was a period just after halftime where we just lost our way. We made a couple of errors back-to-back which put pressure on ourselves.

"Our leaders really need to take hold of the team in that situation and drive our process.

"We've just got to be more ruthless in that position, [when] guys took their foot off the throat a little.

"In that situation, I have an expectation for the leaders to really drive what our game plan and focus was."

The prospect of Manu Vatuvei returning to first grade will be put hold for at least another fortnight.

The veteran winger and rookie forward Isaiah Papalii were the two players cut from the extended Warriors bench on Friday evening. Injuries have restricted Vatuvei to just one NRL appearance (round three) this year.

Since recovering from ugly defeats to Penrith and St George Illawarra in mid-May, the Warriors have got their campaign back on track over the past month, but tonight's match looms as a major test of their finals credentials.

Manly are riding high after last week's come-from-behind win over champions Cronulla and will pose more problems than the Warriors have recently encountered against an understrength Broncos side and misfiring Titans and Bulldogs outfits.

Captain and halfback Daly Cherry-Evans will look to run at every opportunity and possesses a pinpoint kicking game together with organising five-eighth Blake Green.

Both playmakers, along with fullback Tom Trbojevic and centre Dylan Walker, are enjoying playing behind a dominant Sea Eagles forward pack containing Kiwis enforcer Martin Taupau and New South Wales State of Origin star Jake Trbojevic.

According to Tuivasa-Sheck, the Warriors will rely on their big men to contain Manly up front to help nullify their potent backline.

"We'll try and get into Martin Taupau early because if he gets a good start, he gets his chest up and gets their boys ready to go," Tuivasa-Sheck said yesterday. "Jake has been playing awesome and that whole middle pack in general, we need to take care of.

"Tom has been going awesome. We're just going to need a full line down there on the kick-chase to stop him from making those metres. If we can down there and get into them early and just stay with them for the full 80, it will work for us."

The Warriors are yet to register a win in eight visits to Western Australia and have won just one of their last 12 games against Manly. History might be against them but Kearney believes his side's best effort will put them in the frame to score an upset.

"We're confident that if we get our game right and we take close to our best performance to the stadium, then we give ourselves an opportunity."