KEY POINTS:
Brent Tate is learning to talk.
"It's not something I had to do too much of at the Broncos because there were always guys with plenty of experience around me," he said this week as the Warriors focused on lifting their communication, especially on defence.
Lack of talk was certainly a factor in their away losses this season, Tate said, but he didn't find that unusual nor think that the Warriors were quieter than other teams.
"When you're under the pump the first thing that happens is you stop talking."
He did plenty of talking during the game against the Titans, much more than he has previously this season, and admits he's finding his feet and feeling more comfortable at his new club.
"We scored more than 20 points last weekend and that's usually enough to win a game. So it's defence that's our problem."
He feels they took big steps forward last weekend though, and if they apply those and keep improving they will compete with Canberra tomorrow.
"It was a big improvement on the other games [in Manly and Melbourne]. Sometimes just making improvement can help you, you keep getting better. I thought we were very solid in the second half last weekend, still going hard at the end."
Slow starts have been a problem and they've talked about not letting the opposition get a head start, about not letting them get easy tries. "We have to dig our heels in early, you can't keep playing catch-up."
He's enjoying the change from wing at the Broncos to centre for the Warriors. "There's little things I'm learning each week, it's taking a bit of time to feel really comfortable there. I like working on my game, it's a challenge." He's already felt the difference a Warriors home crowd makes. "It gives the boys a big lift, against the Dogs it was great."
Tate expects Canberra to be tough and physical. "I've never had an easy game against the Raiders.
"They get written off a bit but I expect nothing but their usual this weekend, they'll want to test us, they have plenty of firepower."
