KEY POINTS:
The danger for the Warriors tomorrow comes in the halves, with Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston and five-eighths Jason Smith steering their team to four wins from four this season.
And those two plus hooker Aaron Payne and fullback Matt Bowen need to be contained around the ruck area because they will set the Cowboys alight.
The Warriors turned in a tremendous defensive effort against Manly last Sunday but the question remains how they have recovered from that effort.
"I've been pleasantly surprised," said coach Ivan Cleary, who admitted that the workload had been a concern as they built up to the Cowboys game.
"It was a heavy field at Brookvale, they had much more ball than we did and that was the difference. The boys have bounced back well."
They were looking forward to playing on a good field and hopefully in front of a good crowd.
The only injury concern was over bench hooker George Gatis, who had to pass a medical test after suffering concussion last weekend.
Cleary said the Cowboys' little men Bowen, Smith, Thurston and Payne posed a threat at all times of the game and right across the field.
"They're playing so well that at times you can't stop them."
The Warriors could not afford to relax their guard.
The just-retired Andrew Johns underlined Cleary's warning when he named Cowboys half Thurston as his heir-apparent.
"The bloke is a superstar," Johns wrote in his column in Sydney's Daily Telegraph this week. "I'm prepared to say right here right now we are seeing the dominant player in the NRL for the next five to 10 years."
There was a boost for the Warriors this week with the re-signing of hooker/halfback Nathan Fien. He has proved himself a worthwhile contributor and a feisty competitor and his continued residency in New Zealand means he will be available for the Kiwis legally by October this year and thus eligible for the end-of-year tour to England and next year's World Cup.
That means the club has its halves and hooker, fullback Wade McKinnon and five-eighth Jerome Ropati, veteran props and key leaders Steve Price and Ruben Wiki, plus all the young Kiwi players re-signed through next season or beyond. That stability will be a plus as other clubs enact the usual mid-season player contract sagas.
The Cowboys have won nine of 20 matches between the clubs and lost 26-0 at Mt Smart last season.
Mt Smart Stadium, 2pm tomorrow
Warriors: Wade McKinnon, Todd Byrne, Tony Martin, Lance Hohaia, Manu Vatuvei, Michael Witt, Grant Rovelli, Ruben Wiki, Nathan Fien, Steve Price (c), Logan Swann, Simon Mannering, Micheal Luck
Interchange: George Gatis, Evarn Tuimavave, Epalahame Lauaki, Sam Rapira.
Cowboys: Matt Bowen, Brenton Bowen, Ashley Graham, Paul Bowman, Neil Sweeney, Jason Smith, J. Thurston (c), Matthew Scott, Aaron Payne, Shane Tronc, Steve Southern, Jacob Lillyman, Justin Smith
Interchange: David Faiumu, Scott Bolton, Sione Faumuina, Ray Cashmere.
