Richie Barnett: Danger of banking on returning stars

The standard of refereeing at the moment is appalling. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

When I was playing in England I used to watch the Warriors' matches on TV and shake my head at the decisions they copped from the NRL's referees.

Even as a total outsider you could see they were getting a rough deal. I've always thought it was purely down to the fact they were a New Zealand side playing in an Australian competition.

That was about seven years ago. You just couldn't believe some of the penalties that used to go against the Warriors. It has got a bit better since then, but you still feel that if a penalty can go either way it will always go against the Warriors.

The standard of refereeing at the moment is truly appalling. The biggest problem appears to be a total lack of accountability. Shayne Hayne was dreadful in that last Warriors match, but instead of being dumped he has been given two matches this week.

What sort of message does that send? It really hacks me off.

That the Warriors still managed to win that match shows you just how much resolve there is in that team at the moment. With an 11-3 penalty count it was an amazing effort just to be able to compete, let alone win.

The worrying thing this week is whether the players who are coming back from injury will upset the team's momentum. They are all top-quality players, but there is still a danger it could have a negative impact.

In recent weeks the Warriors have played a simple but effective style of football. The players have known they've been without some of their big guns and they've all lifted their games. They have defended brilliantly, worked hard for one another and have grown as a team.

A bunch of players - even star players - coming back into the mix can change all that. Teams try to play to the same structures, but the fact is that different players play differently even within a structure. That can affect a team's rhythm and balance. It usually takes a couple of games for that to come right.

And sometimes as a player when stars return you tend to sit back and think "they'll do it for us". That's a trap into which the Warriors must not fall.

There's an adage that the harder you work the easier it gets. If the Warriors sit back and rely on their big guns they will really struggle.

Hopefully Ivan Cleary has been drilling that message into them all week.

And hopefully the fact that the Warriors are out for revenge after getting thrashed in Melbourne should help offset some of the issues they face.

It's yet another tough test for them, but if they pass it they will be in great shape for the run-in to the playoffs.