KEY POINTS:
The next five rounds will be critical in illustrating whether the Warriors are pretenders or contenders in 2007.
The draw was anything but kind to them in the opening five rounds, when they faced up to some of the competition's heavyweights, but they managed to emerge in relatively
good health.
The next five present a chance to feel even healthier considering they face a swagger of teams that, although undoubtedly tough, are not considered to be title challengers - Rabbitohs, Sharks, Knights, Wests Tigers, Eels.
While the NRL isn't won in the first half of the season it can certainly slip through a team's grasp and Warriors coach Ivan Cleary is well aware of this.
"I would certainly like to do well [in the next five rounds] and I think we can," Cleary said on the eve of today's visit to Souths. "Whether that makes us contenders or not, I'm not sure. If we do, we should be OK."
There's a lot to like about the way they are playing this season and the more significant of the myriad statistics back this up. Before last weekend's bye, they were the fourth-most miserly team on defence (89) and the third-best on attack (114).
Individually, too, Warriors were prominent. Skipper Steve Price led the field with most hitups (100) and most metres gained (858m), while fullback Wade McKinnon shared top spot in tackle breaks (29).
The Warriors have greater depth in 2007 and have coped without the likes of Louis Anderson, Wairangi Koopu, Patrick Ah Van, Michael Crockett, Lance Hohaia and Jerome Ropati better than they might have in the past.
Ropati's injury was perhaps the most critical but Michael Witt's form is such that Ropati isn't guaranteed the No 6 jersey when he returns soon from injury.
"I've been pretty happy with the fact that we're playing as a team and that everyone looks like they know what their job is and are doing it," Cleary said. "The guys are working well together. That was a good sign in the last game [against the Cowboys] because they didn't drop much ball.
"Our defence needs to improve. It's been good at times but we've let through too many soft tries."
The Warriors at home are anything but soft.
They have won their first three home games this season and, on top of the five wins from their final six at home in 2006, Mt Smart is becoming something of a graveyard for visitors.
A continuation of this form will go a long way to propelling them into the playoffs but they need to improve their record on the road.
Today they travel to Souths and the Bunnies will be a much tougher opponent than the one that succumbed 66-0 in the corresponding fixture last season.
The Sharks will be another tricky opponent and their defence is the second-best in the league. But Ricky Stuart's side are yet to play any side of note and are limited on attack.
The Knights are still coming to terms with the retirement of Andrew Johns and Wests Tigers are a shadow of the side that won the title in 2005. The Eels will be a difficult proposition in Sydney but it's not as formidable an assignment as travelling to the Bulldogs, Storm or Manly.
"Now we have 19 weeks straight until the semis," second-rower Micheal Luck pointed out. "It's going to be a grind. But there are no excuses because I think we are as good as any side in the competition."
The next five weeks might well reveal if they are.
