NRL: Warriors 'travelling well'

Shaun Johnson of the Warriors runs away to score a try during the round 16 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the Penrith Panthers. Photo / Getty Images

With 10 rounds remaining in the NRL season and the race for finals positions heating up, the Warriors are finding ways to win without playing their best football.

Sunday's 30-20 victory over the high-flying Penrith Panthers was patchy, with the Warriors having led 12-0 early on before conceding 16 straight points.

A second-half fightback saw them reclaim the lead before a strong defensive effort and a Shaun Johnson intercept try got them home.

After knocking off the Brisbane Broncos last week, they've now beaten two top eight sides in successive weeks to record their sixth win in eight games, and continue their rise under coach Andrew McFadden.

"We were travelling really well but we put ourselves under pressure for no real reason so it's something we need to learn," McFadden said post-match. "You don't have your perfect games all the time and we're finding a way to win at the moment which is pleasing.

"I thought when we stuck to our plan it certainly worked, we found ways through their defensive line and we created opportunities.

"We've just got to do it for longer and stick with it a bit better but that's the type of team we played tonight."

Despite their recent success the Warriors are yet to put together a complete and polished performance.

The fact that they are measuring up against the competition's best teams bodes well for their end of season run and opposition sides will note that they are yet to find their best form.

"We had that one small blip against Souths [the 34-18 round 13 loss in Perth last month] but outside of that we've been working really hard for each other and you need to do that if you want to win games like that," McFadden said. "We go into the bye now and get a good break and the players really need it."

Warriors hooker Nathan Friend said the team needed to learn when to focus on doing the simple things right.

"We just need to get into the grind. After that [start] we thought we could score every set and they had 10 possessions to our two at one stage and they scored three tries," he said.

"It's something we need to work on. We get away to a good start and we've just got to knuckle down and build on it and get into a bit of an arm-wrestle."