Warriors ready for tougher challenges

The Warriors may have won 18-0 over the Dragons last weekend, but they go into tonight’s game against the Panthers once again as underdogs.

While the Warriors were good, there’s no escaping the fact that the Dragons were dreadful and it will be a truer indication of how much the Warriors have improved when they take on the Panthers.

However, one thing the Warriors won’t be lacking is confidence. They completed their first 44 sets against the Dragons, and while it would be unrealistic to expect them to do the same against the Panthers, second rower Tohu Harris said keeping hold of the ball would be crucial.

‘‘That’s the focus for every team,’’ he said.

‘‘You see on all the games over the weekend, the team that completed more than the other pretty much won the game.

‘‘So it’s the speed of the game and that six again rule, it makes possession paramount. ‘‘We’ve got a base,’’ he added. ‘‘We have to make sure it gets better from there, because the games are only going to get harder once teams figure out how to navigate around the rules, how the change of speed is. So our effort has to stay really high.’’

The Warriors were hailed as one of the teams that had adapted best to the rule changes.

But Harris said rather than adapting to the new rules, they made changes that they needed to make after the first-up losses to the Knights and Raiders.

‘‘To be honest, we weren’t making changes because of the

At a glance

What: When, where:

Panthers v Warriors

Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney; 8pm today Matt Cecchin

Caleb Aekins, Josh Mansour, Dean Whare, Stephen Crichton, Brian To’o, Matt Burton, Jarome Luai, James Tamou (c), Apisai Koroisau, James FisherHarris, Viliame Kikau, Kurt Capewell, Isaah Yeo. Interchange (from): Brent Naden, Billy Burns, Jack Hetherington, Charlie Staines.

Referee: Panthers:

Warriors:

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Patrick Herbert, Karl Lawton, Gerard Beale, Ken Maumalo, Kodi Nikorima, Blake Green, Jamayne Taumoa-Brown, Wayde Egan, Adam Blair, Eliesa Katoa, Tohu Harris, Isaiah Papali’i. Interchange (from): Jack Murchie, Poasa Faamausili, King Vuniyayawa, Josh Curran, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Hayze Perham, Adam Pompey, Leivaha Pulu.

rules, we were making changes because of our performances in the first two rounds,’’ Harris said.

The Panthers will again be without playmaker Nathan Cleary, as he’ll complete his twogame suspension for his isolationbreaking Tiktok post.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary joined those praising the Warriors for leaving their families back in New Zealand for up to five months so they could remain in this season’s competition.

‘‘You can’t really imagine what they’re going through, but they’ve made a good sacrifice for the game,’’ Cleary said.

‘‘I’ve still got a soft spot for that club, I had 10 years of my life there. It was good to see them get up and have a win last week, hopefully they won’t have another one this week.’’