KEY POINTS:
It's a foregone conclusion that the Sydney Roosters will run on to the turf at Mt Smart Stadium fired up to test the Warriors forwards in the middle of the park as they did Brisbane. And the early collisions in tonight's match will be heard in the stands.
This is finals football and the intimidation factor and the domination it brings up front cannot be underestimated.
Weather that, and it could well be the Warriors' little guys that torment the Roosters.
The Warriors forwards are always touted by Aussie commentators as being a "monster pack" but they are not, in fact they're pretty average in terms of size.
They would be dwarfed if Willie Mason were with the Sydneysiders, but he's missing out with a knee injury. David Shillington will be the biggest man on the field, 195cm and 115kg, 2cm and 8kg on Steve Price.
Mark O'Meley likes to throw his weight around, as Dragon Ben Creagh can testify after being KO'd last week, and they have another State of Origin prop in Nate Myles.
There is no doubt Price and vice-captain Ruben Wiki can be relied on to put themselves at the forefront of stopping the Roosters roll-on.
Sam Rapira and Evarn Tuimavave will need to throw themselves in with similar effect to hobble the visitors.
"It won't be any place for the faint-hearted [early on]," said coach Ivan Cleary. "[The Roosters] always start the game really fast."
But after 20 or so minutes there will be holes appearing, as was the case in Melbourne where a furious pace sucked the air from the forwards' lungs. Both teams had very physical games last weekend, which will tell in the second playoff round.
"Our big men are laying a really good platform," said halfback Nathan Fien, 12 weeks in the job after converting from hooker, his kicking game improving by the week, as is that of Michael Witt, as the pair are given time and space.
But Fien knows what to expect tonight. "It's going to be massive up front and the way they started against the Broncos it's quite scary really. They'll ... try and bully us."
The Warriors' kicking game - and a good chase to limit the return from Anthony Minichiello and Amos Roberts - will be all-important, he said. "I think field position will go a long way to winning it."
The Warriors have club legend Stacey Jones to thank for the improvement in their ground gain and success in goal-line attack kicks. He conducts regular sessions with the club's kickers.
Victories over top sides through the season and the points-scoring runs against the Panthers and Eels had instilled some confidence, there was better cohesion in the side.
"We've had a lot more certainty about things in recent games," Fien said. "Everyone is switched on to what we want to do and everyone is doing their job. The set plays on tackle six are running better."
They're getting started better, from the dummy-half running early in their sets of six.
Ian Henderson made eight darts from the play-the-ball against Melbourne and gained 10m on average, better than Storm and Aussie test captain Cameron Smith.
Aidan Kirk, Manu Vatuvei and Brent Tate all had quick one-out runs.
As defenders retreat mid-set, Lance Hohaia has come in from fullback to run in traffic, with great success. Grant Rovelli is playing with more confidence and both his and Fien's short stabs at the line more frequently find space now.
Fien's shift to 7, made possible by Henderson taking over the 9 jersey and playing long game-time, has improved the threat off rucks and scrums. Witt's kicking game has got more length lately.
The centres both sides, Brent Tate and Jerome Ropati, are prospering from better and quicker ball, as are the wingers. And those wingers are scoring more frequently from kicks.
But the Warriors know there are major threats from the Roosters' two main kickers, halfback Mitchell Pearce and five-eighth Braith Anasta.
Last weekend Anasta grabbed 375m from the Dragons with 12 kicks, an average 30m gain. Pearce can kick longer, an average gain over the season of 32m. And James Aubusson longer still, at 34m. Witt is the Warriors' best at 26m average.
"Anasta is a creative guy with a lot of tricks," Hohaia said, confirming he was prepared to face high balls. The utility-cum-fullback said the Warriors had renewed cohesion in the team on defence, with more talk and more cover for the ball receiver. "As the year goes by you get to know everyone's game more."
Hohaia is enjoying fullback. But he knows Wade McKinnon is due to return from his three-week suspension and walk straight into the No 1 jersey if they survive until week three. So he needs a good outing.
"They've got some big forwards and when they tire we'll be trying to exploit that with good dummy-half running," Hohaia said. "We're getting confidence from our defence, it all starts there."