At a glance
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.
‘‘We’ll take this for what it is and there’s a short turnaround and another good challenge on Friday.’’
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 for 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.
‘‘It was unfortunate that we did put in a performance like that, especially at home.
‘‘But credit to the Broncos, they really took it to us and were desperate.
‘‘You can see that right across Broncos 27 (Cory Oates, 2 Jamayne Isaako, Jaydn Su’a tries; Jamayne Isaako 5 goals, Anthony Milford field goal) Warriors 18 (David Fusitu’a, Blake Green, Shaun Johnson tries; Shaun Johnson 3 goals). HT: 15-14. 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.
On his comeback, he’s 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.
‘‘I was stoked to get a spot on the bench and play some minutes last week and then did the same this week.
‘‘It’s a decision for Mooks (Kearney) , there are a couple of boys to come back.’’