NRL: Momentum key in Warriors' playoff dash

The Warriors must maintain their form if they want to go all the way in the playoffs. Photo / Getty Images

Three wins will get the Warriors back into the NRL playoffs. Two could well do it. But neither of those numbers will set the team up to do anything when they get there.

Limping into seventh or eight place on the back of a couple of losses is a recipe for an early exit and an off-season of "what might have beens".

Momentum is crucial. That's the lesson of previous playoff campaigns.

"Once you are there and you are a side playing with confidence then anything can happen," says Awen Guttenbeil, the back rower who ranks third on the club's all-time appearance list and was a fixture in the playoff seasons of 2001-2003.

The Warriors' run-in features winnable games against the Sharks and Knights, but it is the matches against the likes of Manly, Brisbane and Parramatta that are vital, says Guttenbeil.

A defence that is allowing an average of 12 points a game over the present five-match winning run - and six points a game over the past three weeks - is the biggest reason to be hopeful 2010 may produce a decent playoff run.

"Teams are judged on their defence and at the moment the Warriors are defending extremely well," Guttenbeil says. "The best defensive sides normally find themselves in the playoffs and ultimately winning the comp. If [the Warriors] can continue with that they will give themselves the best shot."

There are some encouraging parallels between the current side and the class of 2002, when the Warriors claimed the minor premiership and qualified for their only Grand Final.

"In 2002 we had one or two poor performances, but as long as you learn from that and react to it you become a better side," says Guttenbeil. "That is what this Warriors side is doing."

The 2002 side, though, had one key asset the current team lacks - a world-class halfback at the peak of his powers.

"You can't go past the fact that Stacey [Jones] was at that time one of the best halfbacks in the world," Guttenbeil says. "So it's hard to compare apples with apples. And alongside him we had Motu Tony and Lance Hohaia coming through.

"But I would say that the two halves that are there now are playing well together.

"The big thing is the forwards are all contributing and performing well."

Perhaps the biggest danger is that the Warriors start believing the hype. A loss on Sunday to the Rabbitohs could drop the team as low as eighth and back into a dogfight for a playoff spot, Guttenbeil points out.

"Everyone is talking them up, that they are going to finish in the eight or the top four. But this competition is so tough that they just have to concentrate on each week. Although they have travelled well they still need to continue with it and improve."

Key questions, such as whether coach Ivan Cleary could still push the players' buttons and whether the players coming through could step up, have been answered this season. The high injury toll early in the season forced players into a baptism of fire.

Now they have come through it, the club is in a strong position, not just for this season but for years to come, says Guttenbeil.

"It is a nice feeling to be in a club that is tasting some success and there is some solidity, knowing where everybody is going to be and that the coaches are working.

"All of the boys at the Warriors are really buzzing and happy but still firmly with their feet on the ground. They weren't playing their best a month into the comp. They know what that feeling is like, so they are just going about their business with their heads down and bums up.

"It is pretty easy to get carried away with the five [wins] in a row and start talking them up, but you've just got to go game to game.

"It is 26 rounds of some of the toughest footy in the world. You've just got to put yourself in the mix come September and see what happens."

WARRIORS' PLAYOFF RUNS

2001
After seven years of trying the Warriors finally crack the playoffs, squeaking into eighth place with a 12 win 12 loss 2 draw record. Putting it mildly, things didn't go quite as well as they'd hope, with the first-placed Eels smashing them 56-12 in Sydney.

2002
If their debut finals appearance was an anticlimax, the follow up in 2002 was quite the opposite. The Bulldogs won 20 of 24 matches but finished last thanks to a massive salary cap breach (a good omen perhaps?) leaving the Warriors to top the ladder and claim the minor premiership ahead of the Knights on points differential. After hammering the Raiders in Auckland the Warriors sat out the following week before beating Cronulla 16-10 in Sydney to book their Grand Final spot. The Roosters scored early in the GF before Ivan Cleary pegged them back with a penalty. In the 46th minute Stacey Jones scored and Cleary converted to put the Warriors in front. They held the lead until the 60th minute when Craig Wing scored. Three more Roosters tries in the final 15 minutes sealed a 30-8 victory.

2003
A solid 15-9 record saw the Warriors book their third straight finals ticket with a sixth-placed finish. Francis Meli scores five tries as the Warriors thrash the Bulldogs 48-22 in Sydney. A 17-16 victory over the Raiders then takes the Warriors within a game of returning to the Grand Final but the dream comes up short with a 20-28 defeat to eventual champions Penrith in the preliminary final.

2007
After a three year absence the Warriors return to the finals with a fourth place finish. Things don't go to plan, however, with a 10-12 home defeat by the Eels followed by a 49-12 humiliation at the hands of the Cowboys in Townsville.

2008
After a disappointing start the Warriors win eight of their final 10 regular season matches to sneak into eighth place. That sends them to Melbourne where they pull off a remarkable victory after Michael Witt eventually puts the damn ball down for the winning try. The following week the Roosters are humbled 30-13 in Auckland. Once again the Warriors are within a game of a Grand Final but again they fall short, soundly beaten 32-6 by Manly.

Overall record
Played - 12
Won - 6
Lost - 6