NRL: Back to basics for the Warriors

Shaun Johnson (C) of the Warriors. New Zealand Herald Photograph by Sarah Ivey.

Getting back to basics should help the Warriors return to their winning ways when they host the Sydney Roosters at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday (8pm kick-off), says halfback Shaun Johnson.

The Warriors' chief playmaker explained coach Andrew McFadden didn't have to say too much in the wake of their 36-4 defeat to South Sydney in Perth last Saturday, with the players largely aware of where they went wrong.

"We let him [McFadden] down but we let ourselves down," Johnson said. "The areas we've been doing really well in and that probably kept us in games when we've been playing poorly this year just weren't there.

"Areas that we'd put a real focus on, so kick-chase, set finishes, creating habits, they just all fell away.

"That's what puts teams under pressure so we'll definitely be looking at doing that this weekend. Just getting back to doing what we've been doing for the first half of the comp."

The Roosters are also coming off a last-start defeat and searching for consistency in their performance after they were upset 10-4 by the Cronulla Sharks last Sunday - their first loss in a month.

Both the Warriors (14) and Roosters (20) committed too many errors last weekend and the two sides lead the competition in the mistakes department.

The Warriors are setting the standard with 152 errors to their name, with the Roosters behind them in second-spot with 141, narrowly ahead of Newcastle (140) and Cronulla (139).

The two sides remain locked together, along with the Bulldogs, on the NRL ladder with 14 competition points. The Roosters are in the sixth spot, the Bulldogs in the seventh, and the Warriors round out the top eight with a six-six win-loss record.

The home side know they will be confronted by a huge forward challenge from the Roosters' big men, and with NSW playmaker Mitchell Pearce missing from the No7 jersey, Johnson expects a big game from former Warriors five-eighth James Maloney.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from Jimmy [Maloney]," Johnson explained. "The last time he was out here he ran all over our edge so I'm looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we can give a bit back this time.

"Everything they do is off the back of a pretty physical forward pack so we need to measure up there first and jump on the back of that and that will be something that we put a real focus on."

Saturday's game also presents a chance for veteran Warriors wing Manu Vatuvei to achieve one of the most remarkable records in the history of the 13-man game.

He scored his ninth try of the season last week and should he cross the chalk for another against the Roosters he'll have the distinction of scoring 10 tries in 10 consecutive seasons, a mark no player has achieved since the competition began in 1908.

Now 13th equal on the all-time list with 144 tries in 205 games, Vatuvei is also within reach of becoming just the 11th player to score 150 tries in the competition; the only current players ahead of him are Melbourne's Billy Slater (172 tries in 277 games) and Manly's Brett Stewart (152 tries in 201 games) while South Sydney's Greg Inglis (129 tries in 213 games) ranks fourth among active players.