Warriors look for quick recovery
It may be early in the season and they’ve only lost one game, but Friday night’s NRL clash against the Dragons has become a pivotal one.
The 27-18 defeat to the Broncos at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday was one where the Warriors couldn’t match the physicality or mental strength of the Wayne Bennett-coached team.
They next take on the undefeated Dragons, in Auckland and it’s a game where they’ll show their true credentials. Are they one of the standout teams this season? Or will they slip back into the pack?
‘‘You don’t want to have backto-back losses, for sure,’’ the Warriors’ Simon Mannering said.
‘‘You never want to focus just on the result, but we know we needed to perform well and against the Broncos, we didn’t.
‘‘We talked about it after the game and we’ll look to work on things this week and then get
"We didn't quite match the Broncos in a physical game and that carried on throughout." Simon Mannering
excited about playing at home on Friday night.’’
Cory Oates scored the Broncos’ first try four minutes into Saturday’s game and although the Warriors were able to stay in contention for the first half, they could never be described as the team playing the better footy.
‘‘We were just off tonight,’’ admitted Mannering. ‘‘You saw it from the outset, we didn’t quite match the Broncos in a physical game and that carried on throughout.
‘‘We went in at halftime down by a point, but we were nowhere near playing good football.
‘‘Towards the end of the game we were still going at them, so it’s
a good reality check.
‘‘We had it going pretty good the first five weeks and it wasn’t always going to keep going that way.’’
None of the players or coach Stephen Kearney felt the Warriors went into Saturday’s game feeling complacent because of their great start to the season.
However, it’s a wakeup call the team that they need to have the same intensity every week.
‘‘It was never going to be plain sailing, week after week, right through the season, it’s too tough a comp for that,’’ Mannering said.
‘‘But credit to the Broncos, they really took it to us and were desperate.
‘‘You can see that right across the comp. It’s the teams showing that desperation who are getting the wins.
‘‘It’s not necessarily the best trick plays or the best game plans, it’s just if you show that desperation you generally get the win.’’
This was just the second run out this season for Mannering, who missed the first four games because of a shoulder injury. He sat out the first 20 minutes of games, but then played the last hour.
That could change against the Dragons, as second rower Leivaha Pulu appeared to pick up a serious foot injury and could be out for a while. Centre Solomone Kata could also be out for a while with a leg injury.
‘‘The last two weeks I wanted to slot back into the team without disrupting what they were doing,’’ Mannering said.
‘‘They were playing some really good football and Leivaha has been playing awesome.
‘‘We’ll see what happens but I’ll take whatever job I’m given.’’