KEY POINTS:
It will be extremely frustrating for the Warriors owners, senior management and the coaching staff that their number one attacking weapon has effectively put himself out of what is potentially their most crucial game of the year in Parramatta tomorrow night.
The NRL judiciary was always going to
back its officials, that's why they are out there.
While many may say that McKinnon's temperament is one of the reasons he is such a good player, his tendency to argue with referees had already made him a target prior to last Sunday's incident in the game against Penrith and he cannot afford to continue in this direction or he will continue to let his teammates down.
Surely McKinnon must understand by now that spitting in the general direction of an official is no way to get a bad decision changed. McKinnon has argued black and blue that he didn't do it but the opinions that count are those of the touch judge and the three-man judiciary panel.
I don't know how the coaches can curb the angry outbursts without nullifying his attacking flair and aggression, which is why I'm a commentator and not a coach.
McKinnon's omission does not ring the death knell for the Warriors against the Eels. It would no doubt have increased the club's chances of victory in Parramatta but the team has shown in recent weeks that it is capable of beating top sides without him.
The only other games I care about this weekend are the Broncos-Knights clash in Brisbane tonight and the Raiders-Bulldogs match in Canberra. I see both home teams winning.
The Warriors have some control over their own destiny - they must rely on either Brisbane or the Bulldogs to win but if they lose in Parramatta they are gone regardless. Like all fans I hope they do make the top eight because the football they have been playing in recent weeks has been very entertaining and they have proved that they can topple the best.
To win in Parramatta the Warriors need to do what every winning rugby league side does - complete their sets of six and make good metres while doing it, employ a solid kicking game and ensure they make their tackles. It isn't rocket science but then rugby league is not played nor commented on by a bunch of Albert Einsteins.
I have to forward an apology to the Warriors coaches and management after roundly criticising them for allowing the players to believe they could lose to St George last weekend and still make the finals series. At the team golf day this week they got right up me about my misinterpretation of comments made in the build-up and assured me they went in with the right attitude and that they would do so again tomorrow night.
What I do know for sure is that if they replicate the last 30 minutes of the first half they played against the Panthers last weekend the Eels will have no chance.
It was some of the finest and most entertaining football I have ever seen, and that's really saying something.
