KEY POINTS:
Every weekend, you hear an Australian commentator, player or coach blurt out one of these: "razzle-dazzle"; "big forwards"; "tire in the last 20 minutes". Michael Brown looks into some of the persistent myths surrounding the 2007 Warriors - and some of the realities.
1. Razzle-dazzle
Call it what you like - flair, razzle-dazzle, pizzazz - the Warriors don't have it. They did once but, under Ivan Cleary, they play a highly structured game based on field position.
They attempt to rumble it up into the opposition's half before chancing their arm a little more or going to the air with a bomb.
In truth, they could actually do with more 'razzle-dazzle' but probably need a ball-playing back-rower and a playmaker who unlocks opposition defences to do it.
"You have to have the players who can do these things before you can play that way," Cleary said. "I think we have got blokes who can but a lot of them are quite young so they're not as good at deciding when to try it. For young guys, the most important thing is to get the basics right. What we say to them is, 'don't try to force it'.
"I definitely want us to play to a structure. But, if anything, we have probably followed it a bit too much in the past couple of weeks. It's a balancing act but I definitely don't believe you can play without structure."
It wouldn't stand up to rigorous scientific examination, but the number of offloads is the easiest way to gauge a side's flair.
With a third of the season completed, the Warriors rate second behind Cronulla (12.78) with an average of 12.63 offloads a game.
While this appears to support the razzle-dazzle theory, it really serves to highlight the fact the NRL has become increasingly structured and more defensively oriented.
In 2003, the Warriors averaged 19.44 offloads a game and it has steadily declined since - 16.5 in 2004, 15.47 in 2005 and 17.08 in 2006.
Cleary thinks the flair tag has a lot to do with one man.
"There was definitely a period when we played like that but I think a lot of it had to do with Ali Lauitiiti," he said. "He's probably the best I've ever seen at it.
"That's what made Ali special. He didn't necessarily mean to do it, he just popped them up. Also under Daniel Anderson that was practised."
Conclusion: Myth
2. Big forwards
It might come as a surprise to many but the Warriors ranked 10th out of 16 teams when the combined weights of all of last weekend's forward packs were calculated.
Topping the scales were the Knights, thanks to 119kg prop Josh Perry and the fact every other forward apart from hooker Danny Buderus (91kg) weighed in at more than 100kg. You don't ever hear people talk about Newcastle's big forward pack but they were 22kg heavier than the Warriors last weekend.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Gold Coast Titans (587kg) had the lightest pack, 39kg or more than 6kg a man lighter than Newcastle's.
Of last weekend's starters, Steve Price, Ruben Wiki and Sam Rapira all officially weigh 106kg. Evarn Tuimavave and his 109kg came off the bench.
"I hear the big boppas tag on Sam Rapira and Evarn Tuimavave, but what is a big boppa?" Cleary asked a little bemused. "Willie Mason is a lot bigger than these guys."
Mason (115kg) is one of the heavier players in the NRL but he still falls short of Newcastle's Perry, Cronulla's Jacob Selmes and the Roosters' Willie Brown, who all weigh 119kg.
The Warriors ranked fourth in terms of overall team weight but would have dropped significantly without winger Manu Vatuvei, who at 109kg is about 20kg heavier than most opposition wingers.
The stigma about the Warriors appears to stem from 2003, when coach Daniel Anderson deliberately set out to beef up his forward pack.
He believed this was the way to bring success to the club after they went down to the Roosters in the 2002 grand final. However, this proved counter-productive because of the effect this had on the players' fitness and endurance (see No 3).
Conclusion: Myth
3. Tire in the last 20
Last weekend's dramatic loss to the Knights, when the Warriors conceded 18 points in 12 minutes, would appear to confirm this theory.
In contrast, though, cast your mind back three weeks when the Warriors scored two tries in the final three minutes to snatch victory over the Rabbitohs. They also posted 18 points on the Cowboys in the final quarter a week previously.
The Warriors' Achilles heel this season is actually straight after halftime. They have conceded an average of 7.2 points in the first 20 minutes of the second half, compared to 5.4 in the final quarter.
"The players are fit enough," Cleary said emphatically. "Last weekend's loss had nothing to do with fitness. It had more to do with structure. We got into survival mode with about 25 [minutes] to go and that proved fatal.
" [The claims about big forwards] is a hangup of the Daniel Anderson days. But like all of them [myths], it's easy to say... people only need to look a bit closer to see if it's true."
Conclusion: Myth
