Wynne Gray: How do the Warriors react?

Warriors Adam Blair. Photo / photosport.nz

Pressure, an ever-present passenger, went up a notch. The cart went through the Mt Smart turnstiles before the horse in the last round for the Warriors.

They were playing the Broncos but before they ran on to Mt Smart, too much noise was focused on how they would measure up against the Dragons who were also carving an unbeaten track through the early rounds of the NRL.

That anticipation was not coming from the Warriors camp. However, the strong start to the season pushed many sideline patrons ahead of themselves.

They were on a high especially after widespread predictions from experts across the Ditch that the Warriors would be smelling the manure at the tail of the 2018 competition.

Fans piled into Mt Smart sniffing more success against the Broncos after wins against the Rabbitohs, Titans, Raiders, Roosters and Cowboys.

They left with their nostrils chastened by the 18-27 defeat and renewed uncertainty about a tough stretch with the Dragons tonight then the Storm in Melbourne on Anzac Day. The Warriors hadn't reclaimed their spiralling cloak of previous seasons against the Broncos but mistakes, decisions and a lack of concerted sting brought them down while the Dragons clicked over another victory.

Pressure, which is an ever-present passenger, went up a notch for the Warriors and you could hear noises from the west chiming in with belated "told you so" comments as if to justify their pre-competition forecasts.

How do the Warriors react?

Where is their game after that slap from the Broncos to remind them any drop in intensity is punished in this competition? Results in rounds one to five were a foundation but the club needed walls and a roof, too.

The players know where they dropped their standards and coach Stephen Kearney should be working on making those small adjustments and bringing his men back to their previous levels.

He'll accept the Warriors had a glitch but also remind them that good sides don't have successive stutters.

That's where the experience from skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Blake Green, Simon Mannering, Adam Blair and Issac Luke has to kick in to set the example and allow the talents of Tohu Harris, Shaun Johnson and David Fusitu'a to shine.

Defence will set the levels of their commitment and allow their attacking flair to prosper and challenge the visitors' tackling.

The Dragons have bags of calibre from Matt Dufty at the back to James Graham up the nose of their pack with Gareth Widdop and Ben Hunt to drive the decisions and plays deep in the tackle count but the Warriors have that positional quality, too.

The margins will be about which side has more sustained desire and can stay composed enough to ice their chances.

There'll be stages where they'll need to consolidate to keep in the game and get through some difficult patches or try and methodically add to a lead in what may be fluctuating conditions.

Instructions from the coaches at the interval and feedback from the players will influence that crucial time after the resumption and when the inquests start.

The Warriors cannot ask if an extra tackle, one more hit-up, decoy run or kick-chase pressure would have made a difference. They need to fill those quotas when the fulltime siren sounds.