Warriors to crucial triumph

Roger’s all about.’’ Tuivasa-Sheck played down his try-saving heroics. But after getting caught up worrying about the team’s inconsistent form over the last two weeks, he put the onus back on himself against the Dragons.

‘‘I tried to get my hand underneath the ball and it worked out in my favour,’’ Tuivasa-Sheck said of his stop on Lafai.

‘‘I just had to take it a bit personal, come out and make sure I had myself ready to go.

‘‘There were too many times where I was trying to get the team up and pumping, but I think I forgot about my own performance and my own preparation. That’s what today was about.’’ Saturday’s result was groundbreaking on two fronts for the Warriors.

Not only was it their first victory over the Dragons in Wollongong in 11 attempts, they set a new club record for most away wins in a season with eight.

Most importantly, the Warriors took a big step towards breaking their seven-year playoff drought.

They remain in eighth place, but have improved to 26 points, four points above the Wests Tigers, and are still in with a strong chance to finish in the top four.

The Warriors have a favourable run over the last four rounds. But after performing so well on the road, they need to get the job done at home.

Kearney’s side have lost their last four games at Mt Smart Stadium and have the chance to break that streak against the Knights on Friday.

‘‘We’ve got three games out of the next four at home and we haven’t won at home in a while. We’ve played some pretty good teams,’’ the coach said.

‘‘So our focus is making sure that we recover well over the next few days and have a really strong performance on Friday night.’’