Do you guys think it's possible the Warriors peaked too early?
I've seen this happen to many teams in my time watching Rugby League. They would start off the season on top of the world and when it gets to the business end, they start to drop off and eventually bow out of the finals.
The big issue for the Warriors is that when they cop injury to key forwards they don't have the depth to cover it.
That early season peak coincided with having a fully fit
Afoa,
Pulu and
Harris out there.
Once
Pulu dropped things got a bit weaker, then when
Harris went the team got their first raping by the Storm.
In other words our back up forwards are not quite at the level they need to be.
The other player they can't win without is Luke.
I think you will see a massive slump followed by a meteoric turn around when
Harris Pulu and
Afoa return at seasons end (anticipating they don't lose any key infrastructure at the same time).
We can win without
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Mannering and
Johnson, in that regard the teams overall depth and ability to adjust has had an often overlooked transformation.
It is up front where they are riding an already lean mix of forwards that their fate rests.
If they are within striking distance when and they get their key players back in time they will be in the mix in a big way.
If not they are no chance in hell.