KEY POINTS:
For the last two weeks the Warriors have provided entertaining and winning football that should see smiles back on the faces of New Zealand league fans.
The emphatic win over the Bulldogs last weekend says that the Warriors, playing with three of their best players out injured, have the depth to make a real mark in the competition.
After tipping against them for the first three weeks of the competition it was nice to see them go into the Bulldogs game as firm favourites, and then to deliver on that promise.
They have a massive challenge this weekend and next, playing away to the Cowboys in Townsville then the Titans on the Gold Coast. Both teams are very good at home and they both enjoy huge crowd support - there will be very few Warriors fans in the stands. The conditions, particularly in Townsville, could play a part and it won't suit the Warriors if it is hot and humid, sapping their strength. Add to that the fact that one of the best in the game, their halfback Johnathan Thurston, is playing out of his skin and it is a big challenge.
The Warriors have not won in Townsville since 2002, an 18-12 victory that was famous for the "cheerleader brawl" where tussling players tumbled over the sideline and took out the dancers and a television cameraman. Last year it was the same score mid-season in Townsville and then the Warriors were hammered 49-12 in the playoff there in September.
But they did win 34-14 earlier in the season at Mt Smart, and the all-up record is Warriors 12, Cowboys 11. I do think that they will come away with a win from one or other of these games and I was impressed enough by the performance on Sunday to tip them again this week.
If they do win one of these matches, the Warriors will be keeping pace with the competition and will be sending signals to other clubs and the dubious Aussie media that they are a real contender for the play-offs.
The return of Jerome Ropati this weekend will add punch to a side that was already a formidable attacking force in the second half of the match against the Bulldogs last Sunday.
With Kiwis' selection for the May 9 test against Australia looming, it's going to be fascinating to see whether the New Zealand Rugby League can swallow it's guilt over the "Grannygate" saga and pick the guy who stands out as definite contender for the squad, especially if they go with the standard these days of a hooker on the interchange bench.
There is no way that Grannygate victim Nathan Fien is not one of the two best available for the number nine jersey, especially with Isaac Luke out of contention with a broken hand, Dene Halatau just returning from injury and Lance Hohaia possibly earmarked for fullback.
I say "victim" based on the fact it was the NZRL that kept him in the squad despite becoming aware prior to match day that he was not eligible because it was his great-grandmother and not his grandmother who was a New Zealander.
It was that embarrassing episode that began two years of turmoil at NZRL HQ. Fien should get in this time because he is well-qualified via the three-year residency rule, he has shown consistently good form this season and despite the drama he has been there and done that and played well at test level.
He is a good prospect to wear the black and white jersey next month and certainly nothing should be held against the player because of the faults of the governing body.
