Warriors coach Ivan Cleary concedes they must beat Brisbane on Friday to turn their season around and have any hope of making the playoffs.
The Warriors slumped to their eighth loss of the season in the 28-12 loss to the Titans last night, meaning they are close to being invited
for a drink at the Last Chance Saloon.
They are still only three points off the top eight with 10 games remaining but are not playing anywhere like playoff contenders and have failed to build any momentum all year. They have recorded just five wins all season and two of those came in the opening fortnight.
"It just means the screws get tightened a little bit harder," Cleary said after last night's defeat. "It's fair to say [we must beat the Broncos on Friday]."
The Warriors have a decent record against the six-time premiers, having won five of the last 10 games between the two sides. The last time they beat the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium was in 2005, however, when they triumphed 24-12 in round two.
While defeat on Friday wouldn't be terminal, the Warriors already face an uphill battle to rescue their season and life doesn't get any easier given they meet the table-topping Bulldogs and Dragons in the next month.
The Warriors will remain in camp in Queensland before Friday's game, which will give Cleary a chance to address his side's lack of poise and self-belief on attack.
"We are down on confidence," Cleary admitted. "I felt we didn't execute well enough. We showed a lack of composure that comes from a lack of confidence and anxiety.
"We have to keep our heads up. The effort the guys put in was there and we just have to keep working hard and improve our execution. We need to have a good week together and make some improvements quickly for next week and beyond. Hopefully we can build some momentum from that.
"We have plenty to fix but there were a fair few positives as well. I don't think the scoreline reflected the game. Defensively we were not too bad. They scored every time they got a sniff and scored from two intercepts and made a couple of long breaks. Some of our younger players also played well."
