Richie Barnett: Titans on track for final berth

Warriors player Lance Hohaia slides in for a try during in the last game against the Titans. Photo / Dean Purcell

Opinion

At the start of the season I tipped the Warriors to make the top eight and return to finals footy and the Titans to win the whole thing.

So far, so good.

It would be nice to think that situation might be reversed, but I'm sticking to my original call. I haven't really seen any reason to change it. The Titans will win tonight.

That said, the Warriors are in the best shape I have seen them at this stage of the season. Their conditioning looks great. They look fresh. And they are playing above their age and experience. You look at them and think they are semifinal material at least.

But there's no doubt the Titans have the wood on the Warriors. They've won the past five matches between the clubs.

I looked at the stats a couple of weeks ago and the Titans had won eight of 10 close matches this season. Now that figure is probably up to about 10 out of 12. They know how to get the job done.

I know they've got a few guys with injury concerns, but I suspect they'll turn up tonight with something pretty close to their strongest team.

Just look at their usual back row - Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Minichiello and Ashly Harrison. That's an Origin back row. Laffranchi has been named at prop for this match so Greg Bird can slip into the back row but they won't exactly lose much there. I actually think it's a pretty good move for them. Laffranchi is big, strong and fast. He'll be a real handful in the front row.

Having bombed out last year, the Titans will also be extremely motivated.

After losing their way a bit mid-season, they have changed the way they play and it has worked for them. When he was playing at five-eighths, Bird used to push through the line and look to promote the ball.

Mat Rogers is a different type of player. He likes to push the ball wide early, which allows the Titans to use their speed on the flanks and gives a real advantage to their devastating fringe-running back rowers.

They'll look to pepper the Warriors on those fringes. It will be relentless.

The Warriors will know what is coming and they will be backing themselves to deal with it.

The Warriors' defence has been superb over the second half of the season. Over the past month it has been the best in the competition.

That defence and the ability to stick to their game plan have been the Warriors' greatest strength this season. They've certainly been tested. Last week, Parramatta threw the ball around all over the place, but the Warriors stuck to their guns. They kept their heads, they didn't get flustered and they ground out the result. It was impressive.

The Titans have got the edge when it comes to individual brilliance and the ability to produce a vital scoring play. For the Warriors, the big play could well come in the form of a desperate tackle when they really need it.

Their game plan is simple. They've got a great kicking game that makes the most of star winger Manu Vatuvei, the backs come in and do heaps of work and the forwards then look to push through the line.

They won't change that tonight. It's not about fancy plays for the Warriors. It's about everyone pushing up on defence, working hard in numbers on the inside, scrambling and turning up for each other. It's about players making that extra effort to pull off that tackle, it's about the kicker putting the ball into the corners and getting numbers around the receiver to shut down their options.

The Warriors will want the match to come down to who works the hardest and who wants it the most. That's where they'll back themselves.