Warriors coach Todd Payten isn’t underestimating the size of the task still facing his Warriors team to play NRL finals, even if their first opponents Cronulla are missing some key men.
Currently sitting 10th, the Warriors need to take down the eighth-placed Sharks on Sunday before games against Canberra and Manly.
The Sharks will be without skipper Wade Graham and halfback Chad Townsend, who are both suspended, although they get injured Kiwi Test livewire Shaun Johnson back to orchestrate the attack.
Payten said the return of ex-Warrior Johnson added some “extra spice” to the match.
“Everyone is well aware of how important the game is,” Payten said on Wednesday.
“It will have a finals-type atmosphere as I’m sure the Sharks are well aware of how desperate we will be – we definitely have to get the win – and they are fighting to hold on to their finals spot.”
He felt his team had built resilience under the pressure of their season on the road, and if they could make the play-offs, they would have vital experience of playing “do-or-die” football.
The Warriors’ push to the finals took a hit with their 24-18 loss to Parramatta last round and Payten said he’d finally stopped stewing about the decision by referee Grant Atkins to sin-bin lock Jazz Tevaga for punching.
NRL boss Graham Annesley said this week the call was wrong, but Payten said it didn’t count for much now.
“That’s twice this year that we’ve had two massive calls in different games affect the result and given that we’re a team that are fighting and scrapping for the finals, that’s going to hurt us,” the interim coach said.
“The other one was in the Titans match when Jack Hetherington was denied a try and that was the wrong call.
“If it happens to a Sydney club it’s made a bigger deal of in the media but I have the feeling that because it’s us, the Warriors, it’s forgotten about pretty quickly and I don’t know how that can change.”
He said referees should be dumped for such crucial errors, as a player would.
Payten didn’t want Tevaga to kerb his antagonistic nature but wanted him to play smarter.
“I know how important he can be for us and what he provides for us I really enjoy, but he just needs to be smarter at times.”
