KEY POINTS:
Halfback Grant Rovelli will focus on doing his own job well rather than worry about the person he's marking tomorrow, when the New Zealand Warriors try to stay alive in the National Rugby League playoffs.
The Warriors have an elimination semifinal against North Queensland in Townsville, with the
winners travelling to Sydney next weekend to face Manly for a place in the grand final.
Wearing the No 7 jersey for the Cowboys will be influential skipper Johnathan Thurston, the Kangaroos and Queensland State of Origin playmaker and the Dally M player of the year.
Thurston, along with electric fullback Matt Bowen, are seen as the two main threats to the Warriors' hopes remaining in the competition.
The matchups between Rovelli and Thurston, and Bowen and the Warriors' own dynamic fullback, Wade McKinnon, will be among the features of the contest.
But Rovelli wasn't fazed about his head-to-head confrontation at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
"I just sort of concentrate on myself rather than the opposition half," he said.
"That works best for me, so I'll just be looking after myself."
Rovelli, 24, was one of nine Warriors who got their first taste of finals football in the 10-12 loss to Parramatta in Auckland last week.
He said it was a memorable experience, especially the noise with which the capacity crowd of almost 29,000 greeted the home side as they ran out of the tunnel at Mt Smart Stadium.
The biggest thing he and the other playoff rookies got out of the occasion was the boost in confidence.
He was happy with his own performance in the greater intensity of the playoffs and with how he had carried out coach Ivan Cleary's instructions.
"I think I handled it pretty well," he said.
"Ivan said to kick well and I think I did that so that was pretty pleasing."
However, Rovelli said one thing the defeat taught was the need to capitalise on chances created, which were fewer than in matches in the regular season.
"That probably cost us in the end," he said.
"We probably didn't covert enough of them and that's something for the whole team. That was everyone's fault and it's something we've looked at."
A Queenslander, Rovelli said a key to countering the expected heat in Townsville was to deny the opposition cheap possession.
To do that, the Warriors had to complete their sets, something they struggled to do against Parramatta.
The ball they turned over meant they ended up doing significantly more tackling than the Eels.
"The heat is going to be a bit of a factor and you have to accept it," Rovelli said.
"But if we hold on to the ball and put them under a bit of pressure and they make a few mistakes, then it's going to be a big advantage for us. That's probably the way to combat it."
- NZPA
