KEY POINTS:
Field position is seen as key as the New Zealand Warriors seek to neutralise the aerial threat that defending National Rugby League champions Melbourne will pose in Auckland on Sunday.
The Storm have two of the game's best exponents of scoring from bombs in Israel Folau and Greg Inglis, Folau reinforcing his reputation with a remarkable try in the fiery win over St George Illawarra last Monday night.
For Warriors coach Ivan Cleary, defending against the likes of Folau required more than just good work under the high ball by individual defenders.
It needed an "all-round package" that began further up the field and restricted the opposition's incursions deep into the Warriors' territory.
"It's very hard to outjump him, he's already shown that," Cleary said.
"Probably the best way to combat that is in all parts of the game and to reduce the time they're down there."
That included dominating the battle up the middle and also putting pressure on playmakers like halfback Cooper Cronk.
Cleary said the formula was no different from what applied against many other teams.
"You stop their yardage game as best you can and put some pressure on their key guys," he said.
"It gives you a much better chance of stopping other parts of their game."
Melbourne, who beat the Warriors 32-18 in round one and are chasing their third minor premiership in a row, lie second on the table, two points behind Manly with seven rounds to go.
They are without another of their attacking weapons, fullback Billy Slater, who is sitting out a one-game ban for his involvement in the all-in brawl that erupted against the Dragons.
But they will still be hot favourites against the Warriors, who are back in 11th spot.
While the Warriors are just one point below eighth-placed Penrith, their playoff hopes remain finely balanced.
They have a poor points differential and a run-in that has them facing five teams in the top eight.
However, three wins in a row has boosted confidence and Cleary was happy the Warriors now had the chance to measure themselves against the benchmark that was the Storm.
"I think it's a good time to play them," he said.
"We're certainly going a lot better than we were a month or so ago and I still think our best performance is in front of us, so it's not a bad spot to be."
As a sign of the upturn, Cleary has named an unchanged line-up for the third week in a row.
He said the consistency in selection also showed players that good performances would be rewarded by their keeping their spot in the 17.
Among those retained is winger Malo Solomona, who will be making his fourth NRL appearance.
Solomona, 21, has held his place since making his first-grade debut when the Warriors started their present winning streak by beating the Wests Tigers in Sydney last month.
He snared his first NRL try against the Bulldogs last weekend on the way to completing a hat-trick, his final effort sealing a 40-22 victory.
"I was waiting for the first one to come," he said.
"It was a great feeling when it did. When the next two came, I was just blank. It was pretty exciting."
The nephew of former Kiwi Se'e Solomona, who also played for the Warriors, he said his one previous hat-trick was for the Auckland Lions in the New South Wales Premier League last year.
Having achieved his pre-season goal of breaking into first-grade, the Samoa representative said his aim now was to cement his spot.
- NZPA
