Warriors: Seymour to keep lid on emotions

Warriors halfback Brett Seymour. Photo / Getty Images

Halfback Brett Seymour will look to keep his emotions in check when the New Zealand Warriors try to get their National Rugby League (NRL) playoff hopes back on track on Saturday night.

Seymour will be up against Cronulla for the first time since his contract was terminated by the Sydney club last year because of alcohol-related incidents.

The 25-year-old Queenslander said today that he felt no bitterness over the manner of his departure from the Sharks midway through his third season with them.

It was "the way the cookie crumbled" and he was happy with where he was at the moment.

Still, having missed the Warriors' round-two win over Cronulla in Auckland in March because of injury, Seymour was eagerly awaiting the return clash at Toyota Stadium.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to the game," he said.

"It's a place I was at for a few years and had a little bit of success there.

"It will be a good night. I'll have to keep the emotions in check and worry about the footy in front of me."

Like many of the Warriors' frontline personnel, Seymour has spent a significant portion of this season sidelined with injury.

He broke a thumb on his Warriors debut and missed seven matches, then suffered a leg fracture that kept him out for another month and a half.

In all, he has managed to appear in just seven of the Warriors' 19 matches.

After building up a good partnership with another Warriors new boy in five-eighth James Maloney, the pair were below par in the 28-20 home defeat to Gold Coast last weekend.

They found themselves overshadowed by the opposition halves paring of Scott Prince and Mat Rogers, as the Titans climbed to fifth on the table and the Warriors dropped to eighth.

Seymour said lapses in concentration and "a few silly errors" cost the Warriors, who let slip an early 12-0 lead, and he and Maloney "can take a little of the rap for that".

"We probably took a step back, James and myself," he said.

"When we could have put our foot on the throat, we turned over possession, and Princey put us away, him and Rogers. We're expecting a better performance out of both of us, especially myself."

Seymour said the couple of passes of his that failed to find their mark weren't the result of any lingering issues with his thumb.

"It's just skill and I'll sort that out," he said.

"I'm sure it won't be a problem this weekend.

While the Sharks, who have only Melbourne below them on the table, are out of playoff contention, Seymour said the likes of lock Paul Gallen, five-eighth Trent Barrett and prop Kade Snowden gave them a dangerous look.

"They will certainly want to win this game," he said.

"They always play well against New Zealand and it's no different this week. We expect a really tough battle."

- NZPA