Despite the Warriors posting their highest score in a game this NRL season, coach Andrew Webster is confident they can raise their play to new levels.
The Warriors are fifth on the ladder with 22 competition points, behind Cronulla but ahead of Canberra on points differential, and take three impressive consecutive wins into Friday night's clash against South Sydney at a sold-out Go Media Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland.
"I still don’t think we’re ruthless enough in our defence," Webster told the media on Monday.
"Why am I saying that? We have to be honest, we haven’t put together an 80-minute performance and there’s so many things to that. We haven’t done them enough and there’s been moments we’ve been really proud of. But we haven’t done it for the whole game.”
The 48-14 thrashing of a St George Illawarra side in disarray was fairly close, though.
For Warriors fans it’s been quite a while since they could confidently watch their heavily-favoured team go into a match like that, and come out with an emphatic yet unsurprising result.
"Nailing the plays is sign of a good team," Wester said.
"Scoring 48 and not being perfect is another good sign.
"We’ve identified some things we want to get better at, and how hard we go after that. Honestly, the next nine weeks, the table will go up and down. The best teams will improve and the others will just stay where they are. We want to be one of those better teams.”
Webster emphasised the end of the Origin period as a turning point in the season.
"Everyone will get their combinations going again. We’ve got more in us and we’re capable of more," he added.
The Rabbitohs, meanwhile, have struggled through the Origin period and without the injured Latrell Mitchell lie in eighth.
The home side will likely have to do without the services of Marata Niukore, who has been cited for a careless high shot on Dragons centre Moses Suli. It will be Niukore’s third suspension this season.
Nevertheless the Warriors will walk into the contest with a fair degree of confidence, but does Webster believe they deserve to be among the NRL heavyweights at this stage of the season?
"I think we’re going to find out," he said.
"We’re working hard, training scenarios that will put pressure on the opposition and keep them there. Not breaking first, that’s what we’re working on."
