KEY POINTS:
Manly know Michael Witt's game - he was there in 2005/06.
They let him go to the market, so clearly they thought he had failings and they had someone better.
Witt has played well for the Warriors in their winning run of recent weeks. But when his forward pack hit go-forward trouble against the Raiders last weekend, the five-eighth's impact dropped away.
It all adds up to pressure for the Warriors No 6 when the Sea Eagles come to Mt Smart on Sunday.
The Eagles' back row is sure to run at Witt to try and force him into a heavy tackle count and take the sting out of his attack.
Motivation would not be a problem but there was nothing extra because it was his old club.
"I expect a few jibes on the field."
The Warriors fell into trouble with their last-tackle kicks at Canberra and it's something Witt knows he has to repair.
"That's part of my job and it wasn't as good on the weekend as it should have been."
The struggle to make headway against the Raiders forwards played a part.
"If you get the good go-forward it makes everything else easier. This type of game [Manly] - pretty well every game - is won and lost in the middle."
Witt's kicking towards and inside the in-goal have improved through the season and produced tries for the Warriors in Canberra.
But the lack of incision in midfield was the difference between that game and the previous eight which produced seven wins and a draw.
And on Sunday they would also be looking to rectify the poor start they made in Canberra, just as the Eagles would be looking to make amends for the loss to Souths on Monday night.
Originally a halfback, Witt played a fill-in role at the Eels and Sea Eagles.
He came to Auckland seeking more game-time and has had it, playing all bar one game this season.
The Warriors were well aware of the Queensland-born player's goal-kicking ability when they hired him.
After taking over that job from Tony Martin when the centre was injured Witt has amassed the best record for accuracy in the NRL at 96 per cent. It's a lift for the team to know he will generally turn four points into six.
But Witt says the kicking success does not necessarily flow on to other parts of his game.
"It does help your confidence but it doesn't instantly mean I'm playing well. They are separate parts of the game."
Ball control will be a big factor against Manly, he feels. The Warriors had made too many errors in too many games and that had resulted in too much tackling, often 300-plus as against the Raiders. It's not something they could afford to do against the competition's number two side.
"It won't be a factor this weekend," he says.
They couldn't afford to drop the ball and get on the back foot, especially if they wanted to draw the sell-out crowd into the contest.
"We have to be doing the right thing on the park for the crowd to get into it."
Witt doesn't think the Warriors need to change much to get back to their winning ways. "Trust in what we've been doing ... if we do, things should work out for us."
