NRL: Mannering calls for improved defensive effort

Simon Mannering says it was technique, not attitude, that let the Warriors down against the Broncos. Photo / Getty Images

Second rower Simon Mannering cites defence as the area for improvement as the New Zealand Warriors look to bounce back from their first National Rugby League loss of the season.

The hype over the Warriors' title credentials was dampened on Saturday night when they fell to a 26-10 defeat against an impressive Brisbane outfit in Auckland.

To make matter worse, star centre Brent Tate succumbed to a knee injury that will see him sidelined for the rest of the year.

The Warriors have the advantage of being able to regroup at home this week, with a second successive match at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday.

The visitors will be South Sydney, who have a 2-1 win-loss record after downing Newcastle 22-12 yesterday, and Mannering didn't want to see another 26 points conceded.

He believed the issue against Brisbane wasn't one of attitude and the situation was different from the early half of last year, when opposition teams were regularly putting 30-plus points past the Warriors.

"I think it was a few silly errors, poor reads and missed tackles, and the Broncos were getting through," he said.

"Everyone was turning up for each other, but we just weren't making the plays, so it was disappointing."

Mannering said what Brisbane, now the only unbeaten side in the competition, had shown was the standard the Warriors needed to attain.

The Broncos dominated for much of the first hour, running in five tries to open out a 26-0 lead to silence a near-capacity crowd of more than 24,000.

Mannering finally got the Warriors on the board, and the home side got another consolation through rookie forward Ukuma Ta'ai, but Brisbane always had victory firmly in their grasp.

"There was probably just a bit of misdirection around the field in general," Mannering said.

"I think that came from us being under pressure from letting in too many early points."

The fixture against Souths will double as a tribute to young Warrior Sonny Fai, who is presumed to have drowned when rescuing his brother and cousins at a west Auckland beach in early January.

"He's going to be with us all year but this is going to be a big afternoon for the fans to be involved in honouring his life," Mannering said.

"There'll be nothing better than to get a win."

Coach Ivan Cleary agreed that the Warriors needed to tighten their defence against the Rabbitohs.

"I think defensively we just let ourselves down a little bit," he said.

"It was just one of those nights where we needed to grind it out."

Cleary was philosophical about the club's growing casualty list.

Apart from Tate's certain absence, winger Manu Vatuvei, utility Lance Hohaia and young forwards Ben Matulino and Leeson Ah Mau are unlikely to be available against Souths because of injuries picked up in the first two rounds.

"We're paying the price for our efforts at the moment," Cleary said.

"But what can you do? We just have to get ourselves ready for the next game."

- NZPA