NRL: Warriors back in hunt for home semi

The Cowboys are holding on to fourth place. Photo / Getty Images

Having put a gun to their heads and then somehow dodged the bullet on Saturday night against the Knights, the Warriors are right back in the hunt for a home NRL semifinal.

The Dragons' shock defeat to the Roosters yesterday coupled with the Cowboys' Friday night loss to the Broncos means the Warriors are just two competition points out of fourth place with three matches remaining.

"We haven't spoken about it but if we can win our last three games I think we'll go close to getting a home semi," in-form hooker Aaron Heremaia said.

The fixture list has become the Warriors' friend. With the Dragons (away) and Cowboys (home) to follow next week's trip to Sydney to face Penrith, fate has thrown them the chance to go head-to-head with their main rivals for the all-important fourth spot on the NRL ladder. Capturing it would see them play their first finals match at Mt Smart Stadium on the opening night of the Rugby World Cup.

Having notched just two wins in their last 10 matches, the Dragons now face a trip to leaders Melbourne, while the Cowboys next face a Rabbitohs side that yesterday demolished the Raiders to keep their faint finals hopes alive.

With games against the lowly Eels, Titans and Sharks to come, a Tigers side that's won five straight loom as potential spoilers for the Warriors.

All that remains purely hypothetical. If the Warriors turn in any more efforts like Saturday night's error-infested first-half against the Knights, their dreams of bringing finals football to Auckland will remain just that.

"We used our get-out-of-jail card on that one," Heremaia admitted.

"We tried to throw the ball around too much, we were the Harlem Globe Trotters for a bit there. But as soon as we held the ball and started completing sets, things started to happen for us."

Faced with a Knights defensive line that had its own interpretation of the 10m rule and pushed up with remarkable speed, the Warriors responded with a rash of errors, injudicious passes and ill-discipline. After stringing together some remarkable passages of play a week earlier in Brisbane, their attacking potential seemed to have seduced the Warriors into a costly disrespect for possession.

"If we do that against a top team we'll be 20 or 30 points behind, not just the eight points that we were at halftime," Heremaia said.

Escape from their 4-12 halftime jam was down to a stellar forward effort led by props Sam Rapira and Jacob Lillyman and captain Simon Mannering. Russell Packer might not always be as busy or direct as some of fellow front-rowers, but he does possess a rare ability to pass right at the line. Packer's classy delivery to Manu Vatuvei created a break finished by Shaun Johnson that turned the game the Warriors' way.

After Mannering's opportunistic try from a kick, Heremaia struck the killer blow, carving up the Knights out of dummy half and linking with James Maloney, who sent Feleti Mateo over between the posts.

Heremaia is bound for Hull FC at the end of the season, but insisted he didn't have any conflicting emotions about producing his career-best form with his departure imminent.

"There are a few of us leaving at the end of the year and [coach] Ivan [Cleary] is leaving as well, so we all want to go out on a high. Especially after last year when the way we went out didn't feel like [the finals defeat to Gold Coast] was our last game."

RACE FOR FOURTH

Cowboys (4th, 30 points)

* v Rabbitohs (a)
* v Sharks (h)
* v Warriors (a)

Dragons (5th, 29 points)

* v Storm (a)
* v Warriors (h)
* v Panthers (h)

Warriors (6th, 28 points)

* v Panthers (a)
* v Dragons (a)
* v Cowboys (h)

Tigers (7th, 28 points)

* v Eels (h)
* v Titans (h)
* v Sharks (a)