Graham Lowe: Forget top eight for now

The Warriors should put the top eight out of their minds for this year.

Surprisingly they have crumbled under the pressure of the season.

Now they just need to relax and get back to playing a good brand of football. Once they do that things may drop their way.

Against Cronulla last week I saw a side that looked empty, they had no answers and certainly couldn't match the Sharks' enthusiasm.

I heard former Warriors champion Duane Mann say earlier in the week the Warriors now need to come up with something unusual and I agree. Shock tactics - they are rarely used by coaches in today's game, but it is the unexpected the Warriors used to be so good at. They need to get back to it.

Mann suggested using players out of position and I understand what he was getting at. Imagine the damage Manu Vatuvei could do with a surprise stint in the backrow.

He's the most difficult Warrior to handle because of his sheer strength and size.

While he isn't conditioned to play in the backrow and he is certainly no tackling machine, his presence coming on to the ball at two or three wide of the ruck would cause panic.

At present, he runs the odd ball from dummy half as all wingers do, but a stint as a loose forward could change the midfield attack entirely.

Mann is on the money, but I doubt we will see anything that radical, which is a shame.

Last week a poor start once again gave the Warriors little chance and tonight against Newcastle Ivan Cleary cannot afford to let this happen again.

There is little any coach can do once a team takes the field, but he can inspire a little emotion in the dressing room for the players to take out on to the paddock.

It seems to me this has been missing. While most of the players have been under the microscope of public scrutiny another poor start will mean Cleary must examine his own methods.

His opposite tonight is Brian Smith, one of the best coaches I came across both in Britain and Australia.

Smith has done a great job with the Knights this year. But I think Cleary's selection of Ben Matulino and Lewis Brown in the secondrow of the Warriors pack is a good one. The forwards certainly have a better-balanced look about them with these two starting.

Matulino is shaping to be a very damaging secondrower and backs up his tough tackling with a great ability to offload.

I would imagine Smith has identified Matulino, Stacey Jones and Lance Hohaia as players that cannot be allowed to spread the ball, but I'd suggest the back three of Kevin Locke, Wade McKinnon and Vatuvei also present a danger.

Each has the ability to create something from nothing. It is critical the Warriors don't help to achieve that by running without support.

But the combination tonight of Hohaia at No6 alongside Jones at halfback gives them the best look the halves have had for a while.

They complement each other, unlike many previous combinations.

But while there is plenty of pressure on all the players to perform, Cleary will be beginning to feel it as well. This is inevitable. The pressure comes from many angles if your team is not travelling well.

Most fans are understanding, but they are also entitled to become impatient.

The most bizarre reaction I ever had from a fan was when I coached Wigan and dropped Andy Gregory from our team.

Andy was in great form, but I had discovered he was in secret negotiations with another club to leave us for a bigger money offer.

I saw this as disloyalty so I dropped him immediately.

I expected the roasting I got in the media, but I didn't expect the chilling late night death threats I received from a fan.

Eventually, after about a month Andy convinced me to have him back and all was forgiven.

The police never found the culprit. It took me months to stop checking under my car.

FANS RIGHT ON THE MONEY AGAIN

Ken Arthurson has more credentials in league than most. He has held leadership roles at club, state, country and international levels.

Arthurson played, coached and was later an administrator at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles club. He played halfback in the club's first grand final appearance in the 1951 season and later coached them to the 1957 grand final as a 27-year-old.

In 1984 he became chairman of the New South Wales Rugby League and later the Australia Rugby League. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988.

He was also my mentor.

In 1985 when I was coaching the Kiwis we were beaten in the dying moments of the second test against Australia at Carlaw Park.

We were convinced in our minds we had let the New Zealand public down by losing.

Ken said to me: "Always listen to public opinion, the fans are the guardians of the game and in many cases have had a lifetime of watching and analysing it. You ignore public opinion at your own peril."

That advice helped me through one of the most difficult weeks of my life.

As it turned out, the fans were still behind us. They proved this by filling Carlaw Park for the third test for our 18-0 victory.

Most of the advice I'm hearing from the fans is that Lance Hohaia should be starting every game - I agree.