Stand-in skipper Blake Green believes the Warriors are still searching for consistency. Photo / Photosport
Stand-in skipper Blake Green believes the Warriors are still searching for consistency. Photo / Photosport
Fill-in captain Blake Green admits the Warriors are still learning how to find consistency after they repelled a second-half comeback from Parramatta to claim a 24-12 NRL win in Sydney last night.
The Warriors lost second-rower Isaiah Papali'i to the sinbin but led 12-2 at halftime before the Eels scored two tries to steal a two-point advantage inside the last quarter.
Despite missing injured halfback Shaun Johnson and expecting father and captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, the understrength Warriors kept their composure and late tries to interchange forward Jazz Tevaga and inspirational hooker Issac Luke sealed their first win at ANZ Stadium since their grand final run of 2011.
The four-tries-to two victory was the Warriors fourth away win of the season and consolidates their place in third spot on the premiership ladder, but continues a patchy run of form that's seen them bounce back from three defeats in the past six weeks.
Green felt the Warriors were primed for a big performance following last week's embarrassing loss to the Sydney Roosters, but was disappointed after they dropped their intensity in the second-half before rallying late to deny the Eels.
The 31-year-old five-eighth admitted the Warriors were still learning how to maintain their standards after winning eight of 11 games so far, and how to absorb pressure from opposition sides hell-bent on beating one of the competition pace-setters.
"I could tell and (coach Stephen Kearney) Mooks could probably tell from the moment we turned up to the ground, we was just had a feel about us tonight," said Green.
"It's something we need to work on. We're new at this, we're a young team and the last five weeks we've gone win-loss and we've been up here and down there week-to-week, but we're still learning as a team.
"We're learning how to hold momentum, how to get it, and teams are bringing their best game against us as well, and we probably haven't had that in the past, so it's something we need to get better at each week."
Warriors second-rower Tohu Harris denied their recent poor performances in heavy defeats to the Storm and Roosters were caused by disruption through injuries to playmakers Issac Luke and Shaun Johnson.
Luke performed strongly after one week out with a shoulder injury and replacement halfback Mason Lino showed no ill-effects after overcoming an ankle problem, while Tuivasa-Sheck's absence required Peta Hiku to make the switch from centre to cover the fullback role.
Gerard Beale didn't skip a beat as he slotted into the centres to make his NRL debut for the Warriors, after making his first club appearance in reserve grade last week following a long layoff with a broken leg.
Stand-in skipper Blake Green believes the Warriors are still searching for consistency. Photo / Photosport
"There's been a few changes here and there but for the most part we've done a good job of filling in those gaps when we need to," said Harris.
"A couple of those losses were quite bad and we were quite disappointed in ourselves with the effort but that doesn't come down to the changes in players.
"That's an attitude thing and we really need to adjust that going forward so that it doesn't happen again."
The 26-year-old Kiwi international was pleased with the gritty nature of the win but echoed Green's comments saying they need to continually work on improving their attitude and focus throughout the 80 minutes and week to week.
"It was really encouraging. We worked really hard especially at the end of the first half to keep them out with one less player," he said.
"We spoke about coming out with that same sort of energy but they did a better job, they came out a lot more aggressive and that's a huge improvement that we need to make.
"We can't let teams back into the game like that and it's something that looking forward we've got to improve on."
Beale was happy with his first outing after making several important tackles and some strong carries and felt the gritty nature of the win would benefit the side going forward.
"We highlighted that this week that it was going to be a big challenge with people out of position so it makes this win much sweeter, knowing that everyone played their role no matter what position they were playing.
"Little wins like this are massive for the team and culture and what we're working towards."
The Warriors will look to make it two wins in a row for the first time since consecutive victories over the Roosters and Cowboys in rounds four and five, when they host South Sydney at Mt Smart Stadium next Saturday.
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