With a date with finals footy booked after last night's big win over the Panthers, attention must turn to September and what it'll take to be more than just a top eight team. Here's what we learned from the 36-16 victory.
1. Mason Lino is a stellar back-up man
There were plenty of concerns earlier this week after it was revealed level-headed veteran Blake Green was going to miss tonight’s crucial contest but Lino silenced them with a stellar performance. The young half looked comfortable alongside Johnson and played a similar role to Green in the duo – assisting Johnson to let him do what he does best.
Whether it was with kicks on the final tackle, passing or even a rare linebreak – Lino proved there’s no need to worry if he’s called on again.
He now has the scalps of the Roosters, Dragons and Panthers under his belt in 2018 – not a bad collection heading into playoff footy, huh?
2. The short goal-line dropout is STILL a weapon
I’ve already gone over it but I’ll say it again – the fact the Warriors are consistently willing to go the short goal line dropout proves two things that both came true tonight. One, they think they can pull it off (they went one-for-three tonight) and two; if it doesn’t, they back their defence to shut it down anyway.
The Panthers won the second of three attempts but even after three straight sets (the Warriors were penalised twice on their line), they couldn’t find a way across. It’s still a risky move, as the Panthers proved late in the game but for now the Warriors seem comfortable playing both outcomes and that’s a dangerous mindset for any opposition.
3. Tohu Harris’ impact cannot be understated
WELCOME BACK TOHU HARRIS! The veteran came off the bench tonight and still managed 140m and 30 tackles – that’s off the bench! Imagine him come September. The amount of experience and composure this has going forward is something they haven’t had for the last seven years and Harris’ air of calmness while delivering time and time again on the Warriors’ line tonight is something to truly embrace.
4. Defence wins championships
Speaking of defence. It was on display for the most part tonight. I say that because props to Penrith, they still found three holes to score in.
However, what impressed tonight was the Warriors ability to stay focused, collected and composed defending back-to-back sets on their line and not allow the Panthers in. Twice tonight they defended three-straight sets and twice Penrith was denied.
With finals footy now a reality, that defence needs to be the foundation they work off if they want to go to the next level and keep the competition’s best attacking sides from scoring.
5. There will be a couple of yoyo tests next week
Yes, there is a lot to be happy about but Kearney and the team will know one area they faltered – the final 10 minutes of both halves.
The team played 60 minutes of stellar footy on and off the ball but it seemed after 30 minutes they had burned themselves out.
They looked fatigued. The offence went quiet. The defence was slow. You can’t expect to get far in the playoffs without an 80 minute performance so if the Warriors want to keep playing the tempo they showed tonight (which they should!) expect fitness to be an area of focus this week.
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