The Warriors are heading into a vital stretch of their NRL campaign. Photo / Photosport
The Warriors are heading into a vital stretch of their NRL campaign. Photo / Photosport
The Warriors' hunt for the elusive 80-minute performance is now heading into its 11th week.
It's an idea that, in theory, should not be unattainable. But for the past 10 weeks the club have not come close to reaching that mark, and coach Nathan Brown has repeatedly noted consistency isgoing to be key for the side moving forward.
That message didn't change ahead of this Saturday's clash against the St George Illawarra Dragons, the first match in what shapes up as a pivotal stretch of games in their season.
Results are not something that have come willingly for the Warriors so far this season. Of their four wins, only one has been by a margin of more than four points – their 20-6 win over the Brisbane Broncos back in round four. That match was one of just two this season in which they had not surrendered the first points of the match – the other being the round six defeat to the Sydney Roosters.
In eight matches this season, they have conceded the first points of the game within the opening seven minutes.
While they have had some big finishes through their campaign, and came close to pulling another one off in last weekend's loss to the Rabbitohs, their apparent need to ease into the game has been costly.
"You don't want to become a football team that allows teams to get big starts, then you have a great fight back and just get beat," Brown admitted.
"If you fight back and win, I suppose you look at it as an acceptable thing, but we certainly don't want to be happy because we were down by such a margin and just got beat. Addressing what the problem was and what caused it is important, and also, why did we get back in the game? And did we get that from the start? Starting games well is really, really important. The good sides and the leading sides start well and hang on.
"That's the challenge – get our start right, then come out in the second half and play well again. At the moment, that's proving to be a little challenge for us."
Warriors coach Nathan Brown. Photo / Photosport
With a 4-6 record, the Warriors find themselves caught in the mid-table rat race. Only four points separates the eighth-placed South Sydney Rabbitohs from the 14th-placed Newcastle Knights, with all the teams between scrapping for standings.
Over the next three weeks, the Warriors play matches exclusively against opponents in the same boat as them. It's an important time of the year where those sorts of teams can take points from the others and look to make a move up the ladder before the State of Origin break, and it's one Brown knows his club needs to take advantage of.
"It gets to that stage where we're one win out of the (top) eight and there are a fair chunk of sides around that eight and 10 points mark," Brown said.
"There's going to be some that are going to get some real consistency and some growth in their game and push forward on the ladder, and there are going to be some that you look at in four or five weeks' time and they'll be in a similar spot.
"The challenge for us is being one of the sides that pushes forward so when we do get to go back to New Zealand (in early July) we're going back with whether you call it momentum or whether you call it a good position on the ladder. That's a real challenge for us in the next four or five weeks."
