Five-eighth Blake Green says the Warriors know they’ll have to lift their intensity when NRL leaders St George Illawarra come to town.
A day after the Dragons maintained their 100 per cent start to season by dispatching Cronulla 40-20, the Warriors weren’t able to keep pace.
Instead, they suffered their first defeat of the year as Brisbane rumbled to a 27-18 victory in Auckland on Saturday.
The Warriors’ next opponents are the Dragons at Mt Smart Stadium on Friday.
“It shouldn’t be hard for us to respond after that,” Green said.
“We probably got out-enthused on our own home ground, which is disappointing.
“They’re on fire, the Dragons. We can’t toss that up next week otherwise we won’t get the result we’re looking for.”
Green admitted the Warriors “weren’t at the races” against Brisbane.
“We just probably lost the physical battle,” he said.
“Right from the opening set, they rolled down the field. We just weren’t on.”
Forwards Joe Ofahengaue, Matt Lodge and Josh McGuire set the platform for the Broncos, and winger Corey Oates was a constant threat out wide.
Oates scored one the Broncos’ four tries, while former Junior Kiwi Jamayne Isaako on the other flank grabbed a double and also kicked five goals.
Green, who scored one of the home side’s three tries, said the Warriors tried to pick up their intensity during the match.
But the response came individually rather than as a team.
However, Green also handed plenty of credit to the opposition.
“The Broncos didn’t give us much. They didn’t make many mistakes,” he said.
“I thought their forwards were very good. They hunted together as a pack and they had good line speed but there’s nothing we can’t fix.”