KEY POINTS:
The season might be new but New Zealand Warrior Michael Witt is continuing his hot goalkicking form of old in the National Rugby League.
The five-eighth has landed all eight shots at goal in the opening two rounds, despite having to tee up many attempts from wide out.
As he prepared for a trip back to former club Manly on Monday night, Witt's faith in his routine is such that he expects to see the ball go over the crossbar every time he lines up.
"Every time I set up for a kick, I expect it to go over and I'm dirty on myself it if doesn't," he said.
"I know that I've got the confidence in myself whenever I'm kicking. I know I can get it if I go through the process and do everything properly. Usually if I miss, I've done something wrong."
Witt, 24, kicked 62 goals from 67 attempts in his first season with the Warriors last year, a 93 per cent success rate which was the best in the league.
At one stage, he looked like he might threaten Bulldog Hazem El Masri's NRL record of 35 for consecutive successful kicks, getting to 28 before hooking one just wide.
Witt has avoided tinkering with his goal-kicking technique in the off-season, remaining with the tried and true.
"I'm pretty much just going through the same process as I always have and keep doing my practice," he said.
"I feel like I'm doing it alright at the moment. Hopefully I can keep going."
The Warriors head to Sydney's northern suburbs with a 50 per cent record from the first fortnight of the new campaign.
A defeat away to reigning premiers Melbourne was followed by a home victory over Parramatta last weekend.
Witt said the main reason for the change in fortunes was a reduced mistake rate.
"We cut out a few of our silly errors we made at crucial times in Melbourne," he said.
"We made error after error down there and they seemed to get on a run and a bit of momentum, and we couldn't stop that."
Manly, beaten grand finalists six months ago, are still looking for a win in 2008.
But their two defeats have both been close, and they were edged out only in extra time by Newcastle last weekend.
The Sea Eagles have been boosted by the availability of prop Josh Perry, who successfully fought a striking charge arising from the defeat to the Knights.
The Warriors have had to make a change to the line-up they had planned to field, with centre Jerome Ropati out with ankle ligament damage and replaced by Wairangi Koopu.
They will head to Brookvale Oval as outsiders with bookmakers and most tipsters, and Witt said the Warriors were bracing for a tough reception.
"Manly are a class side - they showed that with what they did last year," he said.
"I'm sure they'll be pretty unhappy with the way they've started the year and obviously determined to get a win. They love playing at Brookvale and they don't often lose two in a row there.
"They're going to come out firing. I think we'll be ready for that."
The match is the second Monday night fixture for the Warriors in three rounds and Witt agreed that the extra wait to get on the field could be difficult.
"The week seems to drag on a bit and you have to watch all the other games before you get a crack," he said.
"But having already played a Monday night game this year will hold us good stead."
- NZPA
