From tvnz.co.nz
By Dale Budge
Ok so they can play, question is now can they do it back-to-back against a red-hot team with 30,000 patriotic fans screaming for the opposition.
The Warriors performance against the defending champion Wests Tigers in Christchurch on Saturday night was as dominant as any match they have played since Steve Price and Ruben Wiki joined the club.
They were sound defensively for the most part and looked dangerous on attack. Unlike the two first up losses to Melbourne and Parramatta, the Warriors back-line had a deep look to it's attack and more importantly they had plenty of players in motion, creating doubt and asking questions of the opposing defensive line.
Every player from one through to 17 had impressive games and the team was clearly stoked afterwards but while the victory should be celebrated, the side will have a lot to think about ahead of their clash with the Newcastle Knights on Sunday.
The Knights have gone from the wooden spoon winners in 2005 to being made premiership favourites at betting agencies across the Tasman, all after three terrific outings to open the new season.
So while a win, and a good one at that, will do wonders for the Warriors' confidence the real test will be if they can overcome their 'real hoodoo' and create a winning streak for the first time since 2003.
The side won back-to-back just twice in 2005 and not at all in 2004 and has not completed three successive wins since they made the playoffs in 2003.
The difference between contenders and also-rans in recent years is that good teams seem to create momentum by stringing wins together - something the Warriors have found hard to do in such an even competition.
To overcome the four-point points deducted for the salary cap breach and make the playoffs, the Warriors have to create momentum in winning games back-to-back.
A win over the in-form Knights in Newcastle would be the beginning of that.
Should the Warriors get that sort of momentum that we saw in 2002 and 2003, they become a very dangerous foe and from there anything can happen.
They will need George Gatis to run against the Knights just as he did against the Tigers. They will need Clinton Toopi to get the ball in space and create all sorts of problems for a sliding defence. They need to concentrate defensively for 80 minutes, particularly against the brilliant Andrew Johns and they will need to get the platform set by Price, Wiki, Evarn Tuimavave and Epalahame Lauaki.
Should they achieve that, we could be seeing the start of something special. If not, the win over the Tigers will count for very little.
By Dale Budge
Ok so they can play, question is now can they do it back-to-back against a red-hot team with 30,000 patriotic fans screaming for the opposition.
The Warriors performance against the defending champion Wests Tigers in Christchurch on Saturday night was as dominant as any match they have played since Steve Price and Ruben Wiki joined the club.
They were sound defensively for the most part and looked dangerous on attack. Unlike the two first up losses to Melbourne and Parramatta, the Warriors back-line had a deep look to it's attack and more importantly they had plenty of players in motion, creating doubt and asking questions of the opposing defensive line.
Every player from one through to 17 had impressive games and the team was clearly stoked afterwards but while the victory should be celebrated, the side will have a lot to think about ahead of their clash with the Newcastle Knights on Sunday.
The Knights have gone from the wooden spoon winners in 2005 to being made premiership favourites at betting agencies across the Tasman, all after three terrific outings to open the new season.
So while a win, and a good one at that, will do wonders for the Warriors' confidence the real test will be if they can overcome their 'real hoodoo' and create a winning streak for the first time since 2003.
The side won back-to-back just twice in 2005 and not at all in 2004 and has not completed three successive wins since they made the playoffs in 2003.
The difference between contenders and also-rans in recent years is that good teams seem to create momentum by stringing wins together - something the Warriors have found hard to do in such an even competition.
To overcome the four-point points deducted for the salary cap breach and make the playoffs, the Warriors have to create momentum in winning games back-to-back.
A win over the in-form Knights in Newcastle would be the beginning of that.
Should the Warriors get that sort of momentum that we saw in 2002 and 2003, they become a very dangerous foe and from there anything can happen.
They will need George Gatis to run against the Knights just as he did against the Tigers. They will need Clinton Toopi to get the ball in space and create all sorts of problems for a sliding defence. They need to concentrate defensively for 80 minutes, particularly against the brilliant Andrew Johns and they will need to get the platform set by Price, Wiki, Evarn Tuimavave and Epalahame Lauaki.
Should they achieve that, we could be seeing the start of something special. If not, the win over the Tigers will count for very little.
