KEY POINTS:
Tomorrow night's game against the high-flying Manly Sea Eagles shapes as the Warriors' grand final.
There is every reason to believe that if they can shoot down the Sea Eagles at the Sydney Football Stadium then they can beat either the Melbourne Storm, who they have dumped twice in recent weeks, or the Cronulla Sharks, who simply can't score enough points on the field to pose a true threat.
Mental attitude will be everything tomorrow for Steve Price's men. The Sea Eagles will be running on to the pitch with a healthy confidence that comes from the two victories they already have this season against the Warriors - 52-6 win at Brookvale Oval and the 20-14 win at Mt Smart.
The Warriors will also have those results on their minds, but hopefully those two defeats will forge an inspiration to do things differently this time.
The Warriors have been enjoying their success without letting it go to their heads. There have been no all-day drinking binges a la the Broncos, that's for sure. "We feel like we can still get better, so the boys are looking forward to this," said coach Ivan Cleary.
Captain Price expects the Manly forwards to take it to the Warriors with speed and aggression.
"Their pack has really improved. They lost Mattie Orford and Jamie Lyon with injury at times and their pack really stepped up, there used to be just a couple of guys to focus on but now they have [Steve] Menzies, [Glenn] Stewart, [Glenn] Hall and Anthony Watmough taking more football."
The latter is the most penalised player in the game with 25 this season, discipline also sure to be part of the winning equation tomorrow night. So the goalkickers will be crucial. Manly half Orford shoots at goal with 72 per cent accuracy, 78 over from 104 kicks; the Warriors five-eighth Michael Witt has hit 64 from 77 for 82 per cent. Landing penalties might make the difference in a game sure to be tight.
Orford's field-kicking game will also be a decider - if he's allowed to put a good one together the Warriors will make life hard for themselves. And they also have to watch Lyon who kicks about half as often aerially and hooker Matt Ballin who specialises in ground grubbers.
One of the great strengths of the Warriors during their second-half surge into dominant form has been their running from dummy-half, the wings Aidan Kirk and Manu Vatuvei, fullback Lance Hohaia, halfback Nathan Fien and benchman Grant Rovelli as well as hooker Michael Henderson have all made ground out of the play-the-ball.
Henderson's head-up running style looks like it leaves him open to being worked out as he eyeballs his pathway forward or, worse, decapitation as he runs in such an upright manner. But he's been slippery enough to work variations in his runs that continue to fool opponents.
The 24-year-old was unwanted in the NRL just three years ago and, after playing with the Bradford Bulls in finals series in 2005 and 2006 he brings a valuable contribution to the Warriors attack.
"I'm playing in a good team," he said, another year on his contract. "I want to go out on a good note and have another good season in 2009, no drop-off."
He agreed other teams were putting more effort into shutting him down in recent weeks as his darting runs have proved so effective.
"There seems to be a lot of men in front of me sometimes but every team is tightening up everywhere. If I can make 8 or 10m and get a legs-tackle, get up quickly and get the ball away it can start a roll."
The finals series in Super League is played in a different style, Henderson said, but his experience of tough knockout rounds has been useful. Aside from winning the 2005 title, a campaign in which he was instrumental, he remembers a loss to Leeds.
"We were leading 30-6 with 20 minutes to go and we lost 31-30."
So the hooker will be ready to go hard to the end and will be encouraging those around him too never to ease off. For further proof that there is no room to blink, the Warriors need look no further than the Brisbane Broncos, who were eliminated in the last play of the match last weekend when they looked safe.
Right now, Henderson is "trying not to let the excitement affect me too much". He placed a media ban on himself last weekend and has maintained a low profile since. "I think [the attention] was affecting my footy and I'd rather just think about what I have to do on the field."
Let's hope they all have that attitude.
Manly have won six of their past eight games against the Warriors and eight of 11 finals games they have played at the SCG. The Warriors also like the venue, having won eight of their past 11 matches there.
