Twelve months on and I'm prepared to say they look every bit finals contenders. There is definitely something about this character in this side to suggest they can give the competition a shake.
The Warriors shouldn't have been in that contest after the opening 15 minutes where the Raiders had almost exclusive possession of the football. A 6-1 penalty count, Adam Blair sitting in the sin bin and fired up Raiders side meant they were forced to defend their line for what seemed like an age.
Sure, they eventually conceded a couple of tries but the Warriors of last season would have been 24-0 at that point. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's second incredible try-saver in three games typified the intent the Warriors showed without the ball. That was extremely impressive.
While the Warriors fought back in the back end of the first half and in the second spell the game was really there for Canberra to put them away with five minutes to play.
The Warriors always looked likely to score if they could stay composed and ask a few questions of the Canberra defence. They did that when Issac Luke saw a big gap and scored to get the Warriors to within a point.
They then produced a smart set, got themselves organised for a shot at the one point to draw level. We haven't seen the Warriors do that efficiently at any stage in the side's history.
To prove it was no fluke, they did it again to win the game in regulation and avoid golden point.
The last two wins over the Titans and Raiders weren't pretty. They made a lot of mistakes, conceded too many penalties and were a bit helter skelter when on attack. But the intent, defensive effort and ability to get it right in the clutch make me think this side has the DNA to make a serious run in 2018.
