Warriors’ complacency means pressure is on – again

IT IS, in the words of veteran prop Jacob Lillyman, “not quite a case of all or nothing yet”. But for the Warriors, that day is most certainly looming.

Tonight at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, they take on the Wayne Bennett-coached Newcastle Knights, who have won three of their past four matches.

A loss would see the Warriors drift further out of the NRL’s top eight while a win, on the other hand, will keep them in the hunt. On the back of last year’s fairytale run to the grand final, the Warriors weren’t supposed to be in this position.

Before a single ball had been kicked in anger, the pundits had already begun to predict big things for Brian McClennan’s young but supremely talented

“The Warriors are notorious for leaving our run a bit late but that, I think, is when the team plays its best footy and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can produce over the next few weeks.

“It’s probably not quite a case of all or nothing yet. But it’s probably not far off it.”

Lillyman believes the club’s problems stem from a degree of complacency and a lack of mental toughness.

“For myself, I think it’s probably a case where you can get into your comfort zone a little bit in the sense that you can look around the team and think – ‘we’ve got such a good team with so much strike power and we are so physical so it’s got to happen’,” he said. “But it’s such a tough competition that wins don’t just happen.’’