KEY POINTS:
A hypnotist has told Ruben Wiki, George Gatis and Manu Vatuvei they will play their best game of the season against the Dragons today.
The trio went under the spell of a hypnotist at a charity dinner last week and, as well as Wiki being told he was James Bond (the former Kiwis captain went around the room looking for Taleban while also stopping to introduce himself to beautiful women), he was told he would have a blinder against St George-Illawarra.
This afternoon's match will reveal whether the trio weave their magic but, for those non-believers, there's enough to suggest all of Ivan Cleary's side will perform well.
Never has the maxim 'winning breeds confidence' been more true than with the Warriors.
Their results this season have reflected their general state of mind. When they were at their lowest, they went on a six-game losing streak. More latterly, they have been in a confident mood, resulting in three wins out of their last four games.
This has also translated into a more expansive side. In the first 13 games of the season, they dished out an average of 12 offloads a match. This dropped to 10.5 during their six straight defeats, including only five in the 30-6 defeat to the Eels.
In the past three weeks, however, offloads have jumped dramatically to 24 a game. "I don't think it's coincidence," Cleary said. "It's probably more confidence."
The game plan was tweaked slightly after the round nine 24-18 loss to the Knights, with the players asked to be more expansive. They did, but produced too many errors, which knocked their confidence. Players were then gun shy, preferring to hold the ball rather than make a mistake.
"In the Melbourne game, it was clear again we were probably a pass or two short," Cleary said. "After that game, the penny dropped a bit.
"Then against the Sharks, in some pretty ordinary weather, we played a bit better and we had a great breakthrough against Penrith. It's probably just confidence... because we've always told them that if it's on, just do it. If someone is in a better position, give them the ball."
Cleary told the players to go two or three wide, to create more one-on-one opportunities and more offloads, rather than one-out running.
The key for their continued success could well be in having the confidence to give the ball some air. While it doesn't always come off, like in last weekend's error-ridden 18-12 loss to the Cowboys, the Warriors create chances and put opposition defences on the back foot.
Five-eighth Michael Witt explained that "in the last few weeks we have gone back to the Warriors of old. The guys are offloading at will."
They top the table for offloads, averaging 14.12 a game. Surprisingly, the supposedly boring Sea Eagles rank next with 13.81 while the Storm are 15th with only 8.81.
Stand-in kicker on impressive roll
When Michael Witt lines up his first kick at goal this afternoon, there will be more interest than usual in whether he manages to guide the ball over the 5.5m-wide cross bar.
The 23-year-old Warriors five-eighth has a perfect 15 from 15 record since being handed the kicking tee in the 12-2 win over the Sharks four weeks ago.
It's still four short of his own record, established at Manly in 2005, and well short of Hazem El Masri's NRL record of 35 but it's an impressive return.
Last weekend he didn't look like missing two sideline conversions against the Cowboys, putting his side within a converted try of sending the game into golden-point extra-time.
"When you're confident, you feel you can get every goal," Witt said. "The way things are going at the moment, I feel like that."
Witt has had some pretty good tutors, including current Souths coach and former goalkicking maestro Jason Taylor early in his career. Taylor holds the record for most career goals with 942.
"I was pretty lucky to work with such a good one at such a young age, because he was able to start my style from scratch. I kick a bit like JT did."
He also worked with Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, and more recently with Daryl Halligan, who sits fourth on the all-time list of career goals.
It's hard to see the goalkicking duties going back to Tony Martin when the centre returns from a rib injury.
