Former world No 1 tennis player Stefan Edberg used to force himself to blink because his intense focus on the ball during long rallies would otherwise cause him eye problems.
Instead there are moments with the Warriors when the minds wander, even for just a fatal split second.
Like in the 39th minute of the grand final, when the Warriors clocked off for a second and Anthony Watmough's audacious kick sparked a length-of-the-field, ultimately game-deciding try.
Or later in that match, when no one anticipated William Hopoate's inside flick pass as he was forced over the sideline, allowing Glenn Stewart an open passage to the line.
Last Sunday, when Shaun Johnson, who otherwise had an excellent game, saw Kevin Locke fumble the ball on his own tryline, he froze for a second, then watched as the ever-alert Glenn Stewart dived on the ball for their final try.
Or earlier, when Manu Vatuvei, spilled a (admittedly difficult) pass with the line wide open and looked like he wasn't expecting it. Elijah Taylor also threw a misguided pass which ultimately ended in a Manly try.
Mistakes will always happen and, as Brian McClennan likes to say, league would be boring if there wasn't any.
This is about maximising the possibility of a potentially wonderful side. Gone are the days of 1995-96, when highly paid imports such as Dennis Betts, Andy Platt and Greg Alexander never gave the impression that they were willing to die for the cause. They were professionals and did a job but that was where it started and finished.
This is not the team of 1999-2000, where coach Mark Graham simply didn't have the players at his disposal, at times forced to select players straight from the Auckland Rugby League club competition.
This is not the franchise of 2004-05, when Mick Watson, who seemed to think that CEO stood for Chief Entertainment Officer, was always in the social pages and insisted on training with the team. Watson also employed the inexperienced Tony Kemp as coach.
This is not like 1997-98, a team that was chock full of superstars (Matthew Ridge, Sean Hoppe, Steve Kearney, Stacey Jones, Quentin Pongia, Kevin Iro et al) but who never gelled nor gave the impression of being a harmonious bunch.
As we saw last year, this current team has real belief and heart - best shown in their away performances last year, especially against the Storm (twice).
Gone are the days when the only thing the Warriors would return from Australia with was a tan.
There is courage, demonstrated last Sunday, when the Warriors kept coming back against a red-hot Manly outfit, despite kicking woes, injuries, a plague of errors and plenty of relative rookies (the Warriors had six players with just 75 NRL games between them.)
The sky is the limit for this Warriors team - if they can master their minds for 80 minutes. Every week.
