KEY POINTS:
I spent too long as a footy coach to believe in fairytales.
But I've also idled away many hours in movie theatres around the world and I'm a big fan of a good Western.
One thing the great old heroes of the West taught me was to never go into a dark cave in the middle of winter.
And if you're foolish enough to do so, don't kick whatever's sleeping there.
Now there's a lesson for current NRL coaches because an increasing number of them are suffering the consequences of waking what appeared to be the hibernating Warriors.
Not so long ago the fans in the stands at Mt Smart Stadium could almost hear Ivan Cleary's mob snoring.
But something has certainly riled the sleeping grizzly in the past three weeks. In short order, the Warriors have clinically dispatched Cronulla, the Panthers and the Titans.
And they're even showing they're capable of visiting other caves to hand out a savaging.
Three gutsy wins in a row have put the NRL on notice that the Warriors are back in business and you awaken them at your peril.
Many in Australia see the team as a sleeping giant - and I agree.
It seems like hibernation in reverse - as the winter has come on they are starting to wake up.
I have to agree with Cleary when he said they weren't too far away from getting their act together. Much of their game since the beginning of the season has been good.
But one of the challenges for Cleary and his coaching staff now is understanding how they pulled off the hat-trick.
While previously they looked like they had much of their act together, a critical part wasn't working. For me that was the difference between winning and just dipping out.
It's obvious the ball is being put to better use over the past three weeks, and that must remain in the game plan as the competition heads into the business part of the season.
And staying in Australia since last weekend will have done the side good.
Being away together creates a dynamic that is difficult to reproduce with the week-in, week-out training routine.
They were predictable and beatable because of that.
I still have my doubts over the Warriors' kicking game. It's an area that badly needs improvement if the team are to go to the next level.
What is not a concern, except for opposing sides, is the great running of Wade McKinnon from fullback.
Each time he gets the ball, alarm bells start - or should - in the opposition defence. He is an absolute handful.
His ability to beat the first man immediately puts the defence on the back foot and creates a second phase for the Warriors attack.
Importantly, they are taking good advantage of it.
I said in this column before the Penrith game two weeks ago that I thought the match would spell out what was in store for the rest of the season for both clubs. In less-than-perfect conditions the Warriors found themselves and went on to a great win.
They will still cop the odd loss or two but they won't fall into the abyss again.
The NRL is not a place where any team can afford to take their foot off the accelerator. There are no slow lanes and that is why you need to be good at leap frog. The grim reaper is starting to look around for candidates ...
THE Warriors should be too good for the Cowboys in North Queensland. It's a hard place to get an away win but the boys from Mt Smart will not allow themselves to walk into an ambush.
The Cowboys - favourites to win the competition this year - are in trouble and the pressure is all on them.
After watching the Warriors' last few games, Cowboys coach Graham Murray will be well aware there is a new sheriff in town who goes by the name of Wade McKinnon.
He has the form to match any of Murray's gunslingers in broken play and this is where the Cowboys struggle.
They do like turning defence into attack but they can't cop it in return and it is here the Warriors need to pounce.
I'VE had the feeling lately that the Bulldogs' Kiwis second-rower, Sonny Bill Williams, has been on the verge of exploding into another level of football skill.
It happened on Monday night as Williams toyed with a never-give-up Roosters side, scoring two tries and almost getting two more, as well as making two others.
His display was nothing short of astounding, such was his offloading and playmaking skills. I asked myself again: "Is he the greatest I have seen?"
The pendulum has moved further to confirming it - "probably" is where I'm now at.
