Limiting the Penrith Panthers offloads and second-phase play are high on the Warriors' list of priorities ahead of tomorrow's must-win NRL game in Sydney's west.
Three poor late-season performances against the Cronulla Sharks, Newcastle Knights and reigning premiers the Sydney Roosters exposed their defensive vulnerability to offloads.
Despite bouncing back to thrash the Gold Coast Titans 42-0 last weekend at Mt Smart Stadium, the Warriors admit their tackling technique remains a work in progress.
"Look, there were still offloads against the Titans as well," said hooker Nathan Friend.
"Sometimes you can't prevent an offload but it's what you do next that you need to do and some of that's filling your gaps and talking to the guy next to you.
"Once there's an offload there's usually a break in play and then you're scrambling, so if we can gather our troops and get a line again hopefully we can secure a slower play the ball.
"We've looked at our opponents, done our defensive work and seen where we think they will attack. They've got a lot of second-phase play and offloads in their game and they've got a lot of damaging runners if there is an offload so we need to be on our toes and need to find our line.
"Hopefully we can shut them down and work towards our attack."
Coach Andrew McFadden conceded the Titans enjoyed periods making easy metres through the middle and on the fringes of the ruck and said improvements in those departments were essential to their hopes of winning.
"Yeah, that was obviously off the back of the offloads. We were working hard but we were burning a lot of energy there so it's something we've got to be aware of," McFadden said.
The Panthers are boosted by the return of hooker James Segeyaro from a fortnight's bereavement leave, following the death of his father in Papua New Guinea.
McFadden is looking for a collective effort to minimise his creative spark and also pinpointed hulking centre Jamal Idris' imposing presence out wide.
"He [Segeyaro] certainly does. He's a real live-wire out of there and we'll definitely have to be on guard there to stop him. They've got a lot of spark right across the park so it's going to take a real team performance. Obviously, Idris is a big man and we'll have to have a plan around that but that's all covered in our preparation. He's a pretty solid defender, reads the game well and he's obviously physically a real specimen as well."
Friend agreed his hooking rival was a danger man and included classy fullback Matt Moylan among the players to watch off the back of any Panthers offloads.
"You've got Matty Moylan and James Segeyaro and they're very fast and very explosive players. If we can't control the ball and offloads then we're going to be in for a long night. Hopefully our initial contact is good and we can wrap the ball up, get off our line and cover for each other."
Friend's own work out of dummy-half has lifted in recent weeks, with short darts reaping tries against both the Knights and Titans. The 33-year-old veteran explained a down-to-earth talk with McFadden had inspired more attacking play, after a selection rejig briefly saw Thomas Leuluai preferred in the No9 jersey for the match against Newcastle.
"I'm playing a little bit more with my eyes up and taking advantage when it comes," Friend explained. "I probably haven't been taking the opportunity and just worrying about field position so I sat down with the coach about four or five weeks ago and tried to correct a few things and I think it's working. I just need to try and build on that this week."
Another strong forward display would go a long way to ensuring the Warriors enjoy more time and space on attack with Friend declaring that momentum was the foundation of the team's success.
"Our victories are probably built on the back of those efforts in the middle. If they can get us going forward it helps my play, it helps the halves play and it's much easier."
- By David Skipwith of the New Zealand Herald
