Warriors confident ahead of Sharks clash

Mason Lino looks to pass during the Warriors' clash against the Cowboys on Saturday. Photo / Photosport.

Rookie Warriors halfback Mason Lino believes they can stay in the race for the NRL playoffs and take plenty of confidence into Friday's crucial clash against Cronulla.

Most pundits have already drawn a line through the Warriors season as they need at least five wins from their remaining six games to have any hope sneaking into the top eight.

Despite the enormity of the challenge, Lino insists there is strong belief among the players that they can upset the Sharks at Mt Smart Stadium to keep their faint finals hopes alive.

The 23-year-old is expected to again wear the No7 jersey against the reigning premiers after producing a solid performance filling in for star halfback Shaun Johnson in Saturday night's 24-12 loss to North Queensland.

The Warriors held the Cowboys to 12-12 at halftime in Townsville, but sloppy execution and ill-discipline let them down in a tight second-half before the Cowboys sealed victory with a try right on fulltime.

"We've still got belief, especially after the effort on the weekend," said Lino.

"Anything can happen in this game. We know that with a few (improvements) and the same sort of effort that we can definitely bring home two points.

"(Cronulla) have got a pretty big forward pack so if we can contain them and get some good finishes to our sets it will definitely put us in a good position to come away with the win."

In just his fourth NRL game and his first in two years, Lino ran strongly and came close to scoring a first-half try, while his short-range kicking helped build pressure on the Cowboys line. The fast pace of first grade saw him forced into a couple of mistakes on the fifth tackle but he is confident he will be better for the run this weekend.

"Some of my last play options were pretty poor and put us under a lot of pressure," he said.

"I'm still learning and hopefully if I get another crack this week I'll definitely be better at it."

With Johnson expected to miss at least another month with a knee injury, Lino looks set to enjoy a prolonged stint alongside five-eighth Kieran Foran.

"He just told me to worry about the last plays and he'll take care of the rest which I was happy with.

"I was a bit nervous but he definitely calmed me down and told me to play the way I usually play."

Meanwhile, an early guilty plea means Warriors centre Solomone Kata is free to play the Sharks after he was slapped with a grade one dangerous contact charge for an incident involving Cowboys hooker Jake Granville.