"We overplayed our hand," McFadden said. "We went for the kill but we didn't need to. We needed to be measured but we went for the big knockout blow, made errors and allowed them to get back into it. If we had been a bit smarter we would have got away with that one."
The Warriors lacked structure in the second half, compounded by a poor kicking game. Shaun Johnson and Chad Townsend won't enjoy the video review, as they both played below their best.
There were poor options and the kind of errors - missing touch from a penalty, kicking out on the full - not expected at NRL level. But most costly was the failure of either playmaker to deliver when it really counted.
"[Shaun] was obviously disappointing," McFadden said. "In the big moments at the end he needed to come up with a bit better. There were certain individuals that missed their assignments ... especially when we needed it."
More than the dropped competition points, it was a missed chance at momentum. Now they will need to recover that in Canberra before hosting a confident Parramatta side.
Still, there were several positive signs, especially the performance of a quartet of young guns, the solidity of the back row and the defence in the first half.
Tuimoala Lolohea carried for more than 200m and also made 10 tackle breaks from fullback. Albert Vete and Sam Lisone showed their promise on debut and fellow newcomer Solomone Kata competed well on the wing.
Ryan Hoffman was impressive on the left edge, with 15 carries, 16 tackles, seven tackle breaks and an important try. Fellow back-rowers Bodene Thompson and Simon Mannering (51 tackles) also excelled.
The Warriors limited the Knights to one try in the first 57 minutes, with some good scrambling defence, before they caved in the last period.
The Auckland club weren't helped by injuries; Sam Tomkins and Ken Maumalo before the match and Konrad Hurrell (knee) early in the first half.
Tomkins is expected to be available for Sunday's match at GIO Stadium, with Hurrell's fitness to be assessed later this week.
