Warriors optimistic of a late playoffs surge
They may be on a three-game losing slump and chances of making the playoffs are slim, but confidence is high at the Warriors.
They take on the Sharks at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland tonight, a game they’re outsiders to win, but Warriors centre Blake Ayshford says they took a lot of positives out of last weekend’s 24-12 loss to the Cowboys.
It was a spirited performance, with the scoreline not reflecting the closeness between the two teams, however, it still goes down as another loss for the club.
‘‘We spoke about that performance, but the thing is that after all of that we didn’t come away with the two points,’’ Ayshford said.
‘‘We put ourselves in a position at the end of the game where we put a kick in the corner and it didn’t come off. If it went to hand we probably would have scored and tied the game up, but we didn’t
‘‘The good thing is though that we hung in there right to the end of the game and gave ourselves a chance, which we haven’t been doing. In a lot of the other games we’ve been switching off.
‘‘That’s a positive, so if we fix up our execution and come with that same discipline and defence, we’ll win more games than we lose.’’
But time is running out on the 2017 NRL season and the signs point to this being the sixth straight year where the Warriors have failed to finish in the top eight on the ladder.
‘‘We had an opportunity to cement our spot in that eight and we let it slip in the last couple of games,’’ Ayshford lamented.
‘‘We turned up last weekend and execution let us down and we didn’t get the two points.
‘‘But I know that we all had a crack for each other and Mooks [Stephen Kearney] is proud of us for ripping.
‘‘So we’ve got to turn up against the Sharks because fate is still in our hands. As long as that’s the case we’ve got to turn up and play with some pride in ourselves and the jersey.’’
The general consensus is the Warriors need to win five of their six remaining games to make the top eight.
After this weekend’s game against the current NRL Premiers, the Warriors draw does get easier, with games against the Knights, Raiders, Rabbitohs, Sea Eagles and Wests Tigers to follow.
‘‘If we win our last six and give ourselves a chance to get in there, then it’s a whole new competition,’’ Ayshford said.
‘‘Once you’re in there, it’s almost do or die.
‘‘We’re at this stage now where we’ve got to keep winning these games and if we do, we’ll go into it with a lot of confidence. We’ve got a lot of confidence going into the Sharks game because of last week.’’