The expression all mouth and no trousers springs to mind, or maybe all trousers and no brains. The Warriors played like a bunch of excited teenage boys at a girls' college disco. The lack of composure under pressure was breathtaking. And yet it was the Broncos who went into the match boasting a clutch of finals rookies and shouldering the weight of a remarkably poor 1-5 recent finals run at Suncorp.
Many of the Warriors have been here and, unfortunately, done this before. "We had a huge opportunity to play well on a big stage and we didn't," veteran lock Micheal Luck said. "You can't run away from it. It is disappointing."
Some serious soul-searching would be required for the Warriors to turn things around against the Tigers.
"We've all got to be honest with ourselves," Luck said. "There wouldn't be one bloke on the field who could put their hand up and say they didn't do something that wasn't in the game-plan, myself included.
"It is pride in your own performance, earning respect for what you do. We didn't do that [on Saturday night]."
A nasty leg dislocation to centre Joel Moon that required surgery will force a reshuffle. Coach Ivan Cleary said he did not know if Shaun Berrigan would be fit to return, however that seems unlikely. Other options include recalling Krisnan Inu or perhaps switching captain Simon Mannering to centre, however Mannering's mobility was hampered by a knee injury on Saturday night and he may be in doubt.
Luck felt Saturday night's effort was an aberration from which the Warriors could recover.
"We haven't played like that for months. Maybe the Cowboys game in Townsville is the only game that resembles what we tossed up on [Saturday night]."
With Benji Marshall's Tigers side who have now won nine straight matches laying in wait, Luck knows things aren't about to get any easier.
"If we give them as much ball as the Broncs they will do the same thing. We've got to get back to what has got us this far - completing sets, kick-chase, building pressure. You can't consistently give the opposition ball in good field position at this level and expect not to pay the price. We'll take the lesson."
If the Warriors are looking for some encouragement they should review the opening three and a half minutes of Saturday night's game, when their forwards rolled the Broncos down the field with ease and looked more than capable of laying the foundation for a victory. The mayhem that followed in the remaining 76 and a half minutes is probably best erased from the memory banks as soon as possible.
Asked if Saturday's match had been finals footy, Cleary said: "It was from one team - not ours."
HOME FINALS
Tigers v Warriors
Sydney, Friday
Broncos v Dragons
Brisbane, Saturda
