Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:17p.m.
The Warriors have arrived in Sydney conceding they "haven't got much hope" in the NRL grand final against Manly unless they can reproduce their near flawless performance against Melbourne.
The Auckland-based side touched down late on Wednesday afternoon before being mobbed by around 200 excited supporters at Sydney Airport, who cheered loudly as their heroes emerged at the arrivals hall.
With boom boxes blaring the team song, and dance moves to match,fans posed for photos and grabbed autographs as Ivan Cleary and his players began preparations for Sunday's ANZ Stadium decider.
Relaxed coach Cleary appeared happy with the underdog tag but warned his players risked embarrassment if they couldn't come up with the uncharacteristic control that stunned Melbourne at AAMI Park.
"It's pretty obvious who the underdog is and Manly deserve to be favourites," Cleary said.
"Our focus is just on delivering our best possible performance because if we don't deliver that we haven't got much hope."
Cleary is confident his forwards can muscle up in the same way that kept minor premiers Melbourne hemmed in their own territory for most of the second half in the preliminary final.
"They understand their role," he said. "We're in our 28th game of the year so we understand how to prepare well physically and mentally," he said.
Captain Simon Mannering said his side arrived with the belief they could win the club's first premiership after upset finals victories over the Wests Tigers and the Storm.
"There's got to be (belief) if you want to win it, you've got to have self belief that you can do a job on the football field and we'll definitely have that on Sunday," he said.
So will their supporters, many of whom will be Kiwi expats and traditional Manly-haters in Sydney.
NZN