League: Warriors must make the most of first finals appearance in seven years, says Simon Mannering

Club legend Simon Mannering says the Warriors must make the most of their first finals appearance in seven years. Photo / Photosport.

Retiring club legend Simon Mannering says that the Warriors can't be satisfied with just making the NRL finals and insists they must make the most of their first playoff appearance in seven years.

Friday night's emphatic 36-16 win over Penrith ensures the Warriors will play finals football for the first time since 2011, while a win in next Friday's last round home game against Canberra could put them in contention to host a home final.

The occasion will also see Mannering celebrate his 300th Warriors appearance and a bumper crowd is expected to turn out to farewell the club's talisman.

The 31-year-old back rower was savouring the moment following their six-tries-to-three win over the Panthers and while thrilled the Warriors will be in the finals, he says it's important they continue their run deep into September.

Just Mannering and halfback Shaun Johnson remain from the side that made it to the 2011 grand final and he is excited the younger members of the team will experience playing on the big stage.

"It's cool. It's been a long time since we were last here," said Mannering.

"I'm just happy for the young guys who will experience something that's pretty special in footy and it's been a long time coming for the club, so it's going to be cool to be a part of it again.

"A lot of our guys debuted after our last finals game and they've never tasted that sort of footy. I was lucky enough to experience a bit of it when I was young in my career and I learned so much from it and you grow as a person and player.

"It's just a different level of footy and the more you can have that experience, you just grow in confidence in your own ability.

"It's an opportunity. We can't just be happy with scraping in and seeing what happens. Let's really give it a good nudge and see what happens."

The ultimate club man paid tribute to his team-mates and expressed his satisfaction that the work and efforts of the coaches, football department and front office staff have helped bring hard-earned reward.

"There's worse ways you could finish your career.

"I'm just happy for the team and the organisation as well. There's some really good people here that have been through some tough times for a number of years and finally we're starting to make some headway.

"I'm happy for Mooks [head coach Stephen Kearney] and Cappy [assistant and former head coach Andrew McFadden] and the rest of the coaches and all our staff, they put a lot of effort in. So it's not just the team that can enjoy a little achievement like this, it's the whole club."

Warriors management are working hard to ensure the five-time club Player of the Year receives a hero's farewell and that it is a night to remember for long-suffering fans.

"We've got a couple of initiatives we will roll out through the week but the bottom line is we want to get as many fans to the game to honour probably the greatest Warrior of all time," said club chief executive Cameron George.