By Sam Ackerman
With a top eight finish locked and loaded, the Warriors can still finish anywhere between fourth and eighth in the NRL.
“To be honest I don't think it's absolutely crucial to finish in the top four, I’m pretty confident that we can beat most sides in the top eight where ever we have to play them,” says Warriors fullback Lance Hohaia.
Not that they would turn their noses up at a home final, the Tigers need to beat the Titans tomorrow night for them to remain a chance of that.
And if that window of opportunity is opened - it could put an extra step in their performance against the Eels on Saturday.
“There's enough at stake and enough on the line, if that adds another little carrot that's good as long as it's controlled,” says Warriors coach Ivan Cleary.
But the Warriors don't want an armchair ride; in fact they are calling on the Eels to bring it to keep them on their game.
“Certainly we do have an edge in terms of form and confidence, that's one thing we're going to use, we expect the Eels to play hard, we need them to give us a good go in terms for us to prepare for finals,” says Warriors centre Jerome Ropati.
The Warriors build in to the playoffs has already been strong stats show they have the best defence in the NRL over the past month, conceding just 43 points.
“I think that's mainly where we get our confidence from, is from our defence, if we can start matches well and we defend really well, it builds confidence within the team and we're able to attack really freely,” says Hohaia.
And when the Warriors offence is flowing as freely as it was against the Broncos – there is no doubt every team in the top eight will be looking over their shoulders at the men from Mt Smart.
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