1. Bright lights
Benji Marshall's form slump has come at just the wrong time with reports suggesting some on the Wests Tigers board are balking at plans to offer him a new A$4 million ($4.8 million) five-year contract. His plans to be a one-club man might be thrown into chaos but he's not likely to find much love from the Warriors, if coach Matt Elliott's response is anything to go by. "I don't know if we would be able to afford the plane fares to The Footy Show, and all that sort of stuff," Elliott joked.
2. Weighty issues
One of the myths of the NRL is that the Warriors have a big pack. It's something that has been perpetuated since the Daniel Anderson era when big boppers was a term freely used. Rugby league commentator Andrew Voss, however, thinks the Warriors now look alarmingly small and have been outmuscled over the past couple of weeks by both the Bulldogs and Panthers. "Once the other team was on a roll, the Warriors looked small," Voss said. "They may be fit, but physically, when the other team gets a bit of possession, you get big man running at you after big man. The Warriors don't quite have that size and that sounds odd saying that about a Warriors team." Against the Panthers, the starting packs were almost identical - the Warriors were only 1kg heavier with a combined weight of 615kg. Against the Doggies, however, they gave up 36kg but it was probably even more given Sam Kasiano is said to be considerably heavier than his official weight of 122kg. This weekend the Knights will field a starting pack weighing 631kg, led by prop Willie Mason (121kg). Bearded prop Russell Packer is the heaviest Warriors forward at 112kg.
3. Turning back time