It's a bit embarrassing to get a second chance after such a comprehensive toweling in Brisbane. But I don't think you could point to the Cowboys or the Knights as being more deserving than the Warriors; the Knights performance v the Storm was fairly anomalous; they lost to us, Brisbane and the Bulldogs on the way into the finals. The Cowboys got toweled by Manly. At the end of the day, over the course of the entire season, we managed to make our way into a higher spot on the table and earn the opportunity for a reprieve. Towards the end of the regular season, we beat the Knights and the Cowboys to earn our higher ranking. So yeah, as embarrassing as it is, under the current system, we've earned our right to be there this week.
No excuses though. We were just awful. The refs were awful, but towards both sides. When you were as good as Brisbane were, you just brush that off. When you were as awful as the Warriors were, you look to split the blushes. I haven't seen any Warriors' fans on here blaming the ref for the loss. Some probably have called Radio Sport, but the sort of people who call radio talkback are always going to be the ones up for a whinge.