NRL: Lately defence has been key

Ivan Cleary. File photo / Brett Phibbs

The Warriors run of six wins in the last seven matches can largely be put down to what happens when the game clock ticks over the hour mark.

The team's endurance in the last 20 minutes against opposition is proving crucial. In those last seven matches, they have conceded tries just twice in the wins over Cronulla (round four) and Penrith (round eight). Conversely they have scored tries in the last 20 minutes during six of those seven matches - missing out in the win against Melbourne (round seven).

Three areas identify why they are overpowering teams late on - fitness; the ability to scramble; and the time spent by the core group of players gelling over several seasons.

Much like last year, the Warriors have employed a conditioning policy emphasising speed as much as brawn. The theory is a high degree of aerobic fitness helps players concentrate and complete more sets so the team is not spending too much time defending in its own territory.

The Warriors have not been beaten by more than 13 points since the 50-6 hiding away to Wests Tigers one week shy of a year ago. Last week's win over Newcastle- as part of a road trip down from the Gold Coast - was the first time the team had put together three away wins since 2003.

"The high performance staff deserve credit," coach Ivan Cleary says.

"Physically and mentally, we're finishing games well. At the start of last weekend we weren't quite up to scratch, letting in a couple of tries early, but defensively, the foundations are there. Our stats tell us that we're not dominant enough on defence in the first half; it's pretty obvious the scramble is good but that is as much about attitude and belief as defence."

The Warriors concede a lot of metres compared to other teams - they are sixth worst on the table - and are the fourth worst culprits at missing tackles. That is made up by scrambling defence. They concede the fifth least tries and points, then, when they have possession they are fourth best at limiting errors and second-best at offloading, underlining their traditional flair.

"Last weekend, we were ordinary in the first 20 minutes," says vice-captain Micheal Luck. "It's a pleasing sign we can identify that and fix it on the run which we have not always been able to do.

"The statistics are not something we're overly conscious of and can over-complicate matters - but they are probably a reflection of our work during the week and the off-season. However, we gave up some long range tries at the weekend - you never want to do that - but our scramble has been good.

"When we concede breaks, we're getting back well as a team; that comes down to fitness as well, if you can hold out for a couple of sets afterwards."

Fifteen of the current squad have been together since at least 2009 with the addition of experienced campaigners since, like Brett Seymour, Feleti Mateo and Shaun Berrigan, complementing that strategy.

"It's been building for a long time," Luck says. "You can't fix that sort of thing [how the team gels] in one off-season, we've had the same core for a while.

"We expect more of each other now; we're a group that has got collectively older over a number of seasons. You don't want to let anyone down and the guy beside you feels the same. We're in a good patch but it's only after round 10."

The Warriors would go to 14 points with a win today, two behind the Storm, Sea Eagles, Cowboys and Broncos who each have a bye with the opening State of Origin this week.

The Warriors have a bye next week.