Warriors’ win a ‘wake-up call’
Last weekend’s struggle against the Sharks was a timely reminder for the Warriors that it’s not going to be plain sailing for them to finish in the top eight this season.
Their 54-18 thrashing of the Raiders the week before and a fairly easy draw for the rest of the season, may have lured the players into a false sense of security that they were as good as in the finals already.
However, those thoughts should have been dispersed after their struggle at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday, where they were fortunate to get away with a 16-12 win.
‘‘We felt pleased to get the two points, but we know there were some patches in the second half that we weren’t happy about,’’ Warriors centre Ngani Laumape told Fairfax Media.
‘‘When we went back to training we were focusing on those points.
‘‘It was definitely a wake-up call, me and the boys know that the Knights won’t give up easily against us.
‘‘We also know they’ll play for 80 minutes, like they did against the Melbourne Storm, so we have to be on our toes and that it will be defence that wins us the games.’’
Laumape is right about the Knights. They pulled off the comeback of the season defeating the Storm last weekend. With three minutes to go they trailed 30-20 at Hunter Stadium, but then scored two tries to snatch a victory that, mathematically at least, means they’re still in the hunt for a top eight spot.
What may be of concern to Warriors coach, Andrew McFadden, is that in their last two games they’ve come off the boil towards the end of the contest and when you consider the Knights’ recent miraculous finish, it does add up to a potential problem.
‘‘It definitely is a worry, because championship teams play for the full 80 minutes and that’s something we’re looking to improve on,’’ Laumape said.
‘‘It’s all about concentration and we need to do that for the whole game on Sunday, as well as concentrate on our jobs.’’
Laumape is back at his pre- ferred position of centre this week, having played on the wing against the Sharks. This move has occurred because David Fusitu’a has recovered from his niggly injuries and Dane Nielsen and Konrad Hurrell are both out.
Also moving into the centres is Ben Henry, a player Laumape has huge admiration for .
‘‘He’s real class, he’s a top centre and I love playing alongside him, because I trust him in those reads of plays and he usually gets them right.’’