NRL: I've made some mistakes - McFadden

Injuries have forced Andrew McFadden to rely on more emerging players than he would have liked this season. Photo / Nick Reed

Warriors coach Andrew McFadden admits he has made selection mistakes this season, but believes he is entitled to expect individuals would produce the effort expected of NRL players each time they took the field.

Injuries have forced the Warriors to rely on more emerging players than they would have liked this season, with six rookies - Solomone Kata, Sam Lisone, Albert Vete, Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Ken Maumalo and Mason Lino - being called upon to start in first grade.

The results have been mixed with most of that group performing well, but individuals found it difficult to maintain their form throughout the relentless grind of the past 25 rounds.

Among his selections, McFadden raised eyebrows when he elevated 20-year-old utility Tui Lolohea into the halfback role after Shaun Johnson's season was ended by a broken ankle; many critics had judged departing England fullback Sam Tomkins as the more reliable option.

Without going into specific examples, he acknowledged he has made mistakes in choosing some youngsters, and added that the late season slide had taken a toll on some inexperienced players.

"Look, in hindsight I could probably say that I've made mistakes," said McFadden.

"But at the end of the day that's done and we need to have expectations about anyone who takes the field and how they perform from an effort level.

"Some guys at the moment are struggling with that. There's a lot of pressure on these young players. You've probably got to understand that we're all feeling it.

"It's hurting really hard at the moment and that has an impact on people.

"At training we're trying hard, we're working very hard, we know we need to learn very fast but at the moment we're learning the hard way on the field."

Despite losing 50-16 in both of their past two games against the North Queensland Cowboys and Wests Tigers, the Warriors had shown promise and led early on, but were unable to maintain their intensity.

McFadden conceded his side's defence was brittle and unable to cope once opposition sides applied some attacking heat. Despite their woes he insists the side is desperate to finish the season with a win over the Canterbury Bulldogs in Sunday's tough final round away match.

"We're still fighting hard and the spirit, believe it or not, is pretty good considering."