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Don’t write the New Zealand Warriors off just yet – they can still win the NRL this year.
Wins against the Roosters, Sea Eagles and Storm in recent weeks proved Matt Elliott’s men are a real chance of going deep in the NRL playoffs – they just need to make the eight.
The Warriors have five games remaining and need to win at least three, if not four, to be guaranteed a place in the finals.
Along with Manly, these include Penrith, Gold Coast, Canberra and St George Illawarra. The Warriors of the past two months could conceivably win all five, though perhaps the Canberra match could be too tough.
Once confirmed to play finals football, they have the ability to play chief upset merchant, much like the classes of 2003, 2008 and 2011, when they managed almost unfathomable wins against higher ranked opposition.
Think the thrashing of the Bulldogs in 2003, the twin defeats of Melbourne in 2008 and 2011 and beating the fancied Wests Tigers.
In Kevin Locke, Thomas Leuluai, Shaun Johnson and Nathan Friend, the Warriors have a mixture of game breaking ability (Locke and Johnson) and sound direction (Leuluai and Friend) in the key positions of fullback, five-eighth, halfback and hooker.
Throw in the attacking ability of Feleti Mateo and Konrad Hurrell, plus a Test and State of Origin pack that can dominate with Ben Matulino, Sam Rapira and Jacob Lilyman, and no wonder they have come into form recently.
You’d give the Warriors a B- for the year so far. Unfortunately their 18 points in the past two months were offset by their awful start to the season.
Yet, to steal a Batman analogy, they have shown enough ability to rise from the depths.
After being completely written off after languishing at the bottom of the ladder, they defeated the NRL’s Bane, the Melbourne Storm, a behemoth which usually overpowers opponents.
The Auckland team also knocked off their own Ra’s al Ghul, the leader of the pack Sydney Roosters.
Killer Croc lies in wait next. Another giant of the NRL, the Manly Sea Eagles have been unpredictable this year, but have enough class and toughness to reside in the top four.
The match will be on neutral ground in Gosford. If Simon Mannering’s team can defeat them for a second time this year, then they should bounce through to the finals.
Their Saturday showdown against the Sharks loomed as a real hiding to nothing match. How can you top the Everest-like high of beating Melbourne, statistically the most consistent team of the last decade?
The Warriors’class of 2013 haven’t faced the extra spotlight of real expectation since the end of 2011, when they reached the grand final.
Last week, those extra media appearances on Sterlo and the Footy Show probably served to bring in complacency. It cost them.
So will the Warriors complete another comic-book ending to this year and flourish in September?
If they can get there, yes, they will.
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