KEY POINTS:
The Warriors face the near-impossible task of getting past the minor premiership winners the Storm in Melbourne if they are to progress beyond week one of the finals, but at least they go in at full strength, bar suspended fullback Wade McKinnon.
Last night, the Storm needed 26
points or more over South Sydney to take the minor premiership ahead of Manly. They demolished the error-prone Rabbitohs 42-4.
The Warriors were beaten 32-18 at Olympic Park early in the season but will take some confidence from a 24-20 win in 2006 and the fact the all-up score is Storm 9-11. No eighth-placed team has beaten the team in first place since the McIntyre Finals System was introduced in 1999.
The last time the Warriors were eighth, in 2001, they were beaten 54-12 at Parramatta, where they had won just once, in 1995, before Saturday.
That 28-6 victory earns their fifth appearance in the finals in 14 seasons after 2002's grand final against the Roosters, 2003 when they were beaten in the second-to-last game by eventual winners Penrith, and 2007 when they lost to the Eels and Cowboys.
They were solid on Saturday night, mechanical in getting the basics right and completing their sets then ensuring a good kick and chase. There is no doubt the cold and wet helped - the Warriors coping better with it after plenty of practice in those conditions at Mt Smart in recent weeks.
It was their little guys Ian Henderson, Nathan Fien, Michael Witt, Grant Rovelli and Lance Hohaia who cut the holes around the ruck and had their big men on the better roll. That allowed Brent Tate to get over twice and Manu Vatuvei three times, the wing erasing memories of the horror night he had with his hands at Parramatta in a 30-6 loss last year.
Fien's kicking game has improved markedly to add threat and the backs look more cohesive. But there was not enough shown in attack to suggest they can beat any of the top four sides.
By halftime, the Eels had completed 13 of 18 sets of six, the Warriors 15/18; the tackle count was Eels 186 to the Warriors' 134 and at the back end of the game that told.
The Sea Eagles' 34-16 win over Penrith left them behind the Storm on points differential.
Cronulla will host the Raiders at Shark Park, where just 7057 saw the 28-22 win over North Queensland, against their season average of 13,500.
The Roosters' tough 10-0 win over the Dragons on Friday kept them in fourth spot and won a home playoff against the Broncos in the first game of the finals series on Friday night.
But Willie Mason left the field after 10 minutes with what is believed to be a bad anterior cruciate ligament tear and is scheduled for season-ending surgery while Mark O'Meley faces suspension for a high tackle.
The Bulldogs get the wooden spoon after going down 52-34 in Canberra yesterday.