The NZ Warriors may be ruing the decision to repeatedly kick for goal, after squandering a golden NRL playoffs opportunity against the Dolphins.

After falling just short of the minor premiership, but still securing post-season home advantage, the Warriors seemed poised for a deep finals run, but hit an immediate speed bump with a 26-16 defeat at Go Media Stadium in Auckland on Saturday night.

Instead of progressing straight to a home preliminary final in a fortnight, they must now shrug off another sluggish second-half effort and bounce back quickly against Newcastle Knights next week - possibly at Eden Park.

"I don't think we can sulk for long," admitted coach Andrew Webster. "There's another path for us - it's not the direct path, it's going to be a different one.

"We have to move on quick, we have to take the lessons and get better.

"We're in control of our own destiny and it looks different. We're one win away from being just where we were and that's grand final qualifier."

The Warriors seemed well in control through the opening half, despite playing five minutes with just 11 men, after centre Adam Pompey and second-rower Kurt Capewell were sin-binned for separate incidents.

Pompey was marched for a no-arms shoulder tackle, while Capewell and Dolphins wing Selwyn Cobbo were dispatched for their parts in a melee sparked by a dangerous challenge on Warriors front-rower Jackson Ford.

Dolphins captain Isaiya Katoa was cited for his tipping tackle, but the greater punishment was dished out to those who rushed in to defend their respective teammates afterwards.

"I don't think we've ever prepared the boys for 11 men," Webster said. "We've certainly done some areas around 12."

Still, the Warriors led 12-8 at halftime and had not lost from that position all season. They enjoyed 58% possession through 40 minutes and were completing sets at 86% (20/23).

Given their statistical dominance, they probably should have been even further ahead and perhaps losing two players took some of the wind out of their sails.

Perhaps it was their obsession with taking two points from attacking penalties, instead of keeping the ball in hand and piling pressure on the tryline, which has been their trademark under Webster.

Fullback Taine Tuaupiki, who scored and converted his team's only try, added five penalties, which certainly pushed the margin to eight points and beyond a converted try midway through the second half, but never delivered the knockout blow his team sought.

Tuaupiki kicked his first penalty, when halfback Te Maire Martin was obstructed in his pursuit of a kick to the goal area. His second came, after skipper Mitch Barnett was tackled without the ball and his third when Ford was taken out in similar circumstances.

After the break, Ford was hit with a high tackle that saw him leave the field with an ankle injury, while the Warriors also won a penalty in a kick contest.

"I think it didn't allow us to get into our flow on attack," Webster reflected. "That's the negative side of taking the penalty goals.

"To go out by eight points is a no-brainer - you've got to do it. We've led at halftime lots this year and have an unbelievable record at it.

"We couldn't get into our flow, because we were going for goal all the time, rather than tapping the ball and getting a full set of six at them… do what we do well and score points."

In fact, the Warriors were 15-0 when leading at the midpoint, but eight points never felt like enough against a Dolphins outfit that could score from anywhere on the park.

Down 16-8, they reeled off three unanswered tries, all converted by wing Jamayne Isaako, from everywhere on the park.

The first saw centre Herbie Farnworth cross from broken play near the tryline, before he played a starring role in the second.

Fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow slipped past Warriors second-rower Jacob Laban inside the Dolphins 20 and broke over halfway, finding Farnworth in support, and then staying available to take the return pass and score, as the defence converged.

That put the Dolphins ahead for the first time and they iced victory, when centre Jack Bostock chased a high kick near the line and gobbled up the loose ball to score.

The visitors scored four tries to the Warriors' one, bringing the decision to kick for goal into sharper focus.

Bear in mind, they hadn't attempted more than three penalty kicks all season. Five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita slotted three in a somewhat fortuitous 20-12 win over bottom-of-the-table St George Illawarra Dragons in July.

During the regular season, the Warriors had the best penalty differential in the competition (+51) and perhaps, given the winner-take-all nature of playoff footy, they decided to take advantage of that superiority.

"We're always scenario-based kicking for goal," Webster explained. 'If we're up by four, we'll decide to camp down there sometimes, but if it stretches out to six points, that's a good occasion.

"We like to play football, we like to put pressure on our opposition.

"We created scoreboard pressure tonight - it's a scenario we have done, but probably not as much as the other one."

Scoring in twos simply wasn't enough, when the Dolphins began responding in sixes.

The Warriors sure could have done with a week off. They lost centre Leka Halasima, who had previously nursed an ankle injury, but pulled up early in warm-ups with a hamstring tweak that will almost certainly sideline him again next week.

Ford was good value in his return from a three-month pectoral muscle injury, but his new ankle complaint may now cost him more time.

Wing Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is nearing a comeback from a broken collarbone, but another week would have bought him some more valuable time.

Instead, they will face a Knights team that pushed them hard two weeks ago, losing 46-32, despite having prop Jacob Saifiti sent off after just 12 minutes. Newcastle will be licking their lips at this second chance.

The Warriors entered the playoffs on a five-game winning streak, but the last three of those - against South Sydney, Newcastle and Manly - saw them lose their grip on dominant positions and have to claw their way back to victory late.

Against the Rabbitohs, they led 32-8 just after halftime, but conceded three converted tries, as their opponents closed within six points.

Against the Knights, they watched a 14-point margin reduced to two, before nailing victory with two converted tries.

Against the Sea Eagles, they were 12 ahead after the break, but three converted tries saw them fall behind, before a late rally and game-winning field goal.

This time, they ran out of time to respond to the Dolphins onslaught.

"I think people don't know how to act, particularly in our dressing room," Webster mused. "You're disappointed you lost.

"You had an opportunity to have a week of and go straight to a grand final qualifier, but I only think it hurts if we go on to lose next week.

"If we win next week, we're back where we wanted to be, and momentum and playing football and resetting, that could be the best path for us.

"Lots of teams have won grand finals that way, so I don't see anything different for us."

In fact, the last team to win the championship after losing in the opening round of playoffs were Penrith Panthers in 2021, with Webster as assistant coach.