Warriors remain upbeat of finals

THE maths looks increasingly grim for the Warriors – but a flicker of NRL finals hope continues to burn.

With six regular season matches remaining, Stephen Kearney’s troops need at least five wins to hit the traditional 28-point finals barrier – yet, beyond tonight’s clash with the high-flying Sharks, that challenge doesn’t seem insurmountable.

Matches against fellow battlers Newcastle, Canberra and South Sydney will follow, before a major test at home in the form of sixth-placed Manly.

Warriors skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck believes there’s no reason why his 12th-placed side can’t sneak into the top eight – or even cause an upset this weekend over the fourthplaced Sharks, who have lost three of their past six games.

“The Sharks, they’re another similar team to the Cowboys – a big forward pack,” TuivasaSheck said.

“If we can continue to have our middles play that physical game upfront, and a few of us fix our execution plays – that’s where we lost in the last game – against the Sharks, we can fix it up and come away with the points.”