NRL: Warriors the real deal, experts forecast

Former Kiwi Tawera Nikau says the Warriors don't need to panic after one loss. Photo / Paul Estcourt

One loss in one of the world's toughest and most competitive sporting competitions does not mean the plug should be pulled on the Warriors' season, most old "footyheads" in league agree.

Former Kiwis coaches Frank Endacott and Graham Lowe and top players turned coaches Daryl Halligan and Tawera Nikau all rated the Broncos game at Mt Smart as near-perfect.

The Warriors lacked attitude, possibly because of the mental and physical drain of beating 2008 premiers in 30-degree heat at Manly the weekend before, they agree.

Are the Warriors the real deal and will they be there at finals time? All four say yes.

"The Broncos were on fire. It was the mental side of the game that the Warriors struggled with, they just couldn't stay with them," Nikau said.

He rates the team "top three or four" by season's end. "They don't need to panic."

But he is wary that their much-vaunted depth is already being tested. "You lose a guy like Brent Tate and you're going to miss him. You can bring up guys who have 10 or so games and they'll do the job for a while, maybe three or four games. It's the consistency thing they'll struggle with."

Endacott, who was at the Warriors from 1995-1998 and had two years as head coach, as well as two years coaching Wigan and seven with the Kiwis from 1994-2000, said he believed the Auckland-based side would definitely make the finals and were a good chance of winning the title.

"Brisbane were red hot, everything they tried came off. I think the Warriors put in a huge effort at Manly and that told, they were lethargic."

The club should not be afraid of launching new talent, he said, citing Stacey Jones' arrival on the scene in season one.

Lowe - a former Kiwis, Manly and Queensland coach - was yesterday teaching sons Jack and Sam, age five and a half, in preparation for their first game of league for the East Coast Bays club next weekend.

"The hopes and expectations of the first couple of weeks were probably over the top but they are definitely the real deal," Lowe said.

"There is hardly any team in this competition that produces the result week-in, week-out. The concern is that they didn't look like they were in the right frame of mind going into the game. But I don't have alarm bells ringing," Lowe said. "They struck Brisbane on a red-hot night and they were not mentally prepared themselves. That is easily fixed."

Halligan, former Kiwi and national team selector, said :

"The Broncos had an extra step in everything they did. A lot of the teams go up and down in the first six to seven weeks and then you start to see some combinations emerge."