Graham Lowe: Warriors kids are alright

Last Saturday's disappointing loss at the hands of a red-hot Broncos side should not have kept Warriors' coach Ivan Cleary from peaceful sleep during the week.

In fact it's critical that the coach, along with the club and its growing fanbase, keeps the under-powered performance firmly in perspective. It was just a loss, not something that's going to make the club's 10 worst moments of the year.

The fact is the NRL is so close this year that after only three rounds, there's just one unbeaten side and that is the brilliantly organised Broncos.

It's been a blazing opening to the season, with a raft of extremely close contests. Last year's premiers and World Club champions, Manly, are still winless and at the bottom of the table. The competition is so tough that I can see all teams suffering losses when they least expect to.

One of the key success factors for each club will be managing their way through the season. There's a long way to go and the winning path is through an injury minefield. Only good luck will see teams stepping in the right place each week.

In such a physically demanding competition, teams do need to be intensively managed, because the NRL is a war of attrition.

It becomes relentless, with no rest in sight. But you can't afford to let the other clubs get a hint you are struggling.

The loss to injury of Warriors captain Steve Price highlights this. Now the young guys have to step up. They didn't when the heat went on from the Broncos, but these players should not need their hands held.

Now is the right time to introduce younger players and just see if they are up to it. It's far better to try them now than to risk everything when it's do or die at the end of the season.

In these pages back in 2007, I suggested young Kevin Locke wouldn't be out of place anywhere in the backline of the Warriors. At that time, while he was only 17, he was showing plenty of class in the Auckland Vulcans (then Lions) team.

Now Locke is one of the stars of Tony Iro's Warriors Under-20s team. He still seems to have the goods and in top company would shine. With this season shaping up as the most demanding yet, all clubs will have to have faith in their younger, untried players.

Tony Iro and his Under-20 manager Dean Bell shouldn't need any convincing. As players for Wigan they will remember one of the most-demanding workloads any team would face.

We were forced to play four games in seven days, then after the fourth game on the Sunday, play Manly for the inaugural World Club Championship on the Tuesday evening. We won each of the games and, while it may have been down to luck rather than good management, I would like to think our planning was a key factor. Certainly the endurance and toughness of the players who went through that schedule will remain in my mind forever.

Each of the games was a battle and the players did well just to survive. But one of the reasons we were successful was the introduction of a player few thought good enough to make the club, let alone the top team.

He was a small, previously unheard of guy called Jed Byrne from Salford, who was a utility back. Byrne turned out to be a great asset.

We just put Byrne in to see if he was up to it, and given the chance in better company he repaid our faith.

Byrne may have won the World Club title for us when he knocked out Manly hardman Ronnie Gibbs with a bone-rattling front-on tackle early in the game. No video referees in those days, thank goodness.

It was certainly a cruel blow for the Warriors to lose Brent Tate because he has genuine class and that is never easy to replace. Butat this early stage, there is certainly no reason to lose confidence about the season ahead.

Analysing the loss against the Broncos, I can't help but think the Warriors were blindsided by a well-rehearsed set of backline plays run by the dynamic Darren Lockyer.

The Broncos would have pored over the Warriors performances against the Eels and Manly and would have come to an obvious conclusion. The speed and enthusiasm the Warriors displayed in their defence in those two games was very good and played a major part in both wins.

To help minimise the effect of that rushing defence, the Broncos played with extra depth in attack. As a result the Warriors defence was never a threat to Lockyer's slick backline plays. In fact, the Warriors backline defence was taken out of the game.

If anything, I was a little concerned about just how long the Warriors took to get going and their attitude was not what it should have been. They seemed to be labouring after the effort of the first two games of the season, and they will have to get accustomed to picking themselves up a lot faster week-to-week, especially when the draw does not work in their favour.

But you know sometimes there are other simple reasons a team finds it hard to get going in a tough match.

I thought the Warriors made a huge mistake in the first couple of minutes of the first half not taking the two certain points after receiving a penalty in front of the posts. Opting to go for a try in the following set of tackles, they ended up with nothing.

Taking the two points would have put them on the board and in front and they would have received the pill back again from the kick off.

It was always going to be a tight game and at that stage two points could have played on the minds of the visitors.

But it is now all on again against a confident and talented South Sydney.

Tate's replacement Patrick Ah Vann is a good player and if the Warriors were to lose it wouldn't be because he was playing, and Stacey Jones starting at halfback will add more direction.

However, the forwards let down Nathan Fein against the Broncos and they can't afford to give the Rabbitohs the same lenience.

With their strong Polynesian connection in the cultural melting pot, some are referring to the Rabbitohs as the "Chocolate Bunnies".

Brown-skinned many may be, but they are no "Bunnies". These Rabbitohs will not be even slightly intimidated by the trip to Mt Smart.

The problem facing Cleary's men is that it will be hard to isolate the Rabbitohs' playmakers.

Put quite simply, any Souths player from No 1 through to 17 is capable of creating something out of nothing. The brand of footy they play complements the talent of their players and therein lies the reason they have started this season with such success.

Like the Warriors, two wins from their first three games entitles them to be given plenty of respect.