Warriors coach Matt Elliott described it as the difference in the agonising loss to the Rabbitohs last week while Shaun Johnson says it is a priority "work-on" for the team's playmakers.

They are still the nearly men, the Warriors, but at least they are beginning to look more like themselves.

The former Warriors player whose wife was paralysed in a flying-fox accident has told how her traumatic injury has changed their lives forever.

The Warriors have a dreadful record against the Raiders in Canberra but they will at least be able to field their strongest propping rotation for the first time in 17 matches.

The players appear to have awoken from a confusing slumber, writes Chris Rattue. A thriller at Mt Smart Stadium, a close loss for the Warriors, and to draw a longish bow, a couple of questions.

In the midst of a difficult start to the season for the Warriors, Ngani Laumape has been a breakthrough bonus.

As Manu Vatuvei returns to the field today, it is looking increasingly likely that the veteran winger will be at Mt Smart next year and beyond.

The Warriors got over a sizeable hurdle with their win over the Cowboys on Monday but it doesn't get any easier and the key will be approaching Sunday's matchup with the Rabbitohs with the same attitude.

The wife of former Warriors player Ben Lythe will never walk again after severing her spine when she hurtled off a flying fox and crashed into a pile of rubble.

A coach in the west Sydney junior grades once said the secret to getting the best out of Feleti Mateo was to convince him he was a ball-playing second rower rather than a playmaker. He maintained the latter term placed too much pressure on his talent.

Opinions vary regarding players announcing early in the season that they have signed with rival clubs for next year and beyond.

A trough. A hole. A jam. Whatever your preferred name for a sports disaster zone, the Warriors are in it, big time.

The Warriors might have hoped Cronulla could be a little vulnerable on Sunday, given the emotional drain of the past month with the drugs investigation across the Tasman, but all of that will go out the window if Shane Flanagan is back on deck.

The Warriors are keeping a watching brief on Todd Carney's movements and could attempt to lure him to Mt Smart if things don't work out at Cronulla.

Oh for a magic wand, and the chance to wave it around the footy fields of the world to call a few of our best Auckland players back home, writes Chris Rattue.