Dull as it is, these Warriors need that focus. If they allow their minds to drift on to what just might be, they'll blow it.
Against the Broncos in the opening round of the finals, the Warriors sauntered into Brisbane sure in the knowledge they were about to blow the Broncos off the park. They departed having been humiliated 40-10, their season teetering on the brink of failure.
Having been handed a second life, the Warriors banished thoughts of success or failure. Player after player repeated it like a mantra - they would go back to what had worked for them. That meant completing sets, kicking and chasing well, dominating territory. The forced passes and insane offloads that killed them against the Broncos were put away for the stunning victories over the Tigers and Storm.
One of the major questions tomorrow is whether, in the excitement of a grand final atmosphere, that side of their game will return. Can they keep their heads? That question will be answered in the first 20 minutes.
The second, and equally vital question, won't be answered until the final 20 minutes. Can a side that has made seven transtasman trips in three weeks and grafted through 240 minutes of finals football outlast a team of Manly players that have played just two matches and not missed a single night of sleep in their own beds since the finals began?
If ever a team needed the maxim that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger to hold true, surely it is this Warriors side. "I think we are a bit better off than we were a few weeks ago," lock Micheal Luck said. "After the Melbourne game there were a few bumps and bruises but no structural damage. The last few weeks have been physical games but we have recovered well."
An 11-year veteran playing in his first grand final, Luck isn't about to let a little fatigue get in his way.
"It has taken this long to get here and I might not ever get back, so I won't be leaving anything in the tank."
The idea that, having travelled such a remarkable road, the Warriors might be happy just to be there has received plenty of play this week. But James Maloney, the chirpy Australian five-eighth with the educated boot and fondness for exercising his jaw muscles, isn't at all worried his team might settle for second.
"I have no doubt if we lose it will hurt like hell," he said.
He would know. It hurt like hell after Brisbane.
"Everyone wrote us off, we were sweet with that, we probably deserved it," he said. "But in-house we were always confident. We stood tight and we knew the capabilities the side had. We have said all along that destiny is in our own hands and if we play well then there is no one we can't beat."
With Manly contesting a third grand final in five years, many of their players have been here and done it all before. For the Warriors, Feleti Mateo and Krisnan Inu played for Parramatta in the 2009 showpiece, while Lance Hohaia is the sole Warriors survivor from the Warriors 2002 appearance. All three share something in common from their grand final experiences - they lost. There's good reason, then, that the Warriors won't be focusing on the result as that clock ticks down.
"I feel a lot more relaxed this time," Hohaia said. "I was a kid last time. The bright lights got to us. This time I feel a lot more comfortable."
