Graham Lowe: Once were Warriors will become the catch cry

Fans can afford to be cosy at this time of year, but football sides definitely cannot.

Yet that's how the Warriors have looked to me for most of the year. Everything seems a little too cosy and unaccountable.

The Warriors coaching staff now face the unenviable task over the next few weeks of trying to reinvent their season. What they have been doing so far has not worked and needs immediate attention because reputations are at stake.

It will be getting close to the time when chief executive Wayne Scurrah will have to ask the coaching staff "what the hell is going on"?

John Hart as director of football must also not look forward to his phone calls to Eric Watson explaining the team's poor performance. It must be uncomfortable for all involved.

Scurrah has earned well-deserved respect in the game, but he is being let down at the Warriors on the field. And a worrying thing for him is that there seems to be no sign of improvement in a single player this season. In fact some players have gone backwards.

There is plenty of natural talent in the club, but as a team in many cases it looks like they have just met.

But even more worrying is that after 17 rounds the Warriors still do not seem to know who their best team is. Combine that with a poor brand of football and it's a recipe for disaster.

The loss against the Broncos last Friday night summed up the Warriors season.

They let themselves down as the game went on by not creating enough try-scoring opportunities. I believe this is at the core of the disappointing results. They have developed a negative style of play. This is strange for a team many, including myself, regarded as potential grand finalists this year.

Compare this to their opponents this week.

The Bulldogs started this year carrying the heavy wooden spoon from 2008. But they recruited wisely and quickly produced a style of play that has put them in second place on the NRL ladder. They lost in a tough encounter with Manly on Monday night but they gave themselves every chance of winning.

And Manly have now managed to propel themselves into serious contention again for the grand final. This follows on from the worst start any club could have to a season.

But it is noticeable that both clubs have a fierce determination in everything they do and play a very attacking style of game with or without the ball. On the other hand the Warriors are still struggling to find their best team and are playing what may be the worst brand of footy in the NRL.

This is all in stark contrast to what was a great season launch for the Warriors filled with plenty of optimism.

What is needed now is a sign of some sort of recovery.

I wouldn't hesitate to throw in all of Tony Iro's best players from his under-20 squad and also any player from Bernie Perenara's Auckland Vulcans who's showing promise. At least they will bring an unpredictability that is hard to coach against. I'd much rather see a team of young blokes go down with all guns blazing than a team lacking the passion and the incentive to win.

The dilemma Cleary has now is that he will be forced to use players he should have tried in the top grade earlier in the year as soon as the wheels started to wobble.

Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore and his assistant Jim Dymock have done a remarkable job this season but it comes as no surprise. Dymock was a great reader of the game as a player and Kevin Moore has the genes of his dad, the late and great Peter "Bullfrog" Moore, the head Dog for many years.

As a chief executive, Peter Moore was a visionary leader with a style based around loyalty and trust. It is no doubt he built the Bulldogs into the great club it is today.

But despite the Dogs great form this year, I'm expecting the Warriors at home to beat the under-strength visitors on Sunday even though they will be without Steve Price.

To do so, however, will take a little more imagination than has been shown so far.

This Warriors club is better than what the results are showing.

It's time to take a big breath and jump in, boots-and-all, and either sink or swim.