NRL: All the way, declares Elliott

Matt Elliott. Photo / Greg Bowker

The Warriors will have to achieve something never done in their history - and may need to rely on other results going their way - but coach Matt Elliott remains incredibly bullish his team can make the playoffs.

Step one for the Auckland club is to beat the Dragons at Wollongong for the first time, and then wait to see if the other cards fall their way.

Because of their points differential - which received a boost last night but is still inferior to their rivals (-50) - they will need the Cowboys to lose one of their remaining two matches (they face the Sharks today), or the Eels to upset the Knights next week. The Titans and Panthers are probably out of the equation.

But Elliott refuses to contemplate any other scenario apart from what would be an eighth finals appearance for the Warriors.

"We are not missing out," said Elliott. "We are going to get to 28 points and we are not missing out so I won't have to deal with that emotion. I'm not dismissing the Dragons but we are at the stage of the year where you have to have that belief. If you dilute it with 'could bes', 'should bes' and maybes, you will lose track. The intention is we go there and do what we haven't done before as a club and then we play semifinal football the week after."

It's a bittersweet feeling for Warriors fans this morning. Last night showed this team have the ammunition (and thankfully once again the mindset) to make a real impression on the finals but they may still be pipped. In some ways they had no right to get this close, after losing eight of their first 10 matches to be bottom of the table. They have since won nine of 13, including victories over three of the top four - but it may not be enough.

"We can't do anything about the fact that destiny is not in our hands," said Elliott. "I've tried to push the rewind button plenty of times as a coach and it doesn't work. You can reflect on a fair few games this season if you wanted to but all that does is leave you bitter and twisted. We need to be clear and focused on our objectives this week."

If the Warriors do retain eighth position on the ladder they will face the Sharks in the first week of the playoffs. The Cronulla side have had their measure in both clashes this year but it would still be seen as a highly winnable game, especially as the Warriors were strangely off colour in both previous games.

The final countdown - round 26

Dragons vs Warriors (26)

Knights (27) vs Eels

Storm vs Titans (24#)

Cowboys (24*) vs West Tigers

Sea Eagles vs Panthers (24)

*Playing Sharks (a) today

#Playing Roosters (a) today