The NZ Warriors have set up camp in a tranquil seaside town south of Sydney but their training sessions will be intense this week as last year's grand finalists again try to address the error-prone starts that continue to undermine their title bid.
In a mirror image of reigning premiers Manly, the Warriors find themselves in the bottom half of the table after five rounds, the result of an insipid opening quarter against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday night.
Inexcusable handling lapses in perfect conditions and a vulnerable left edge defence combined to provide the previously struggling Roosters with a 16-point head start just the fillip they needed after captain Braith Anasta announced his move to the Wests Tigers next year.
It was the fourth time in 2012 that the Warriors had gifted the opposition a double-digit lead something that coach Brian McClennan hoped had been eradicated from their game after the Warriors' win over the Gold Coast Titans at Mt Smart Stadium a week earlier.
Instead, just as against the Sea Eagles and Bulldogs, the Warriors fell short as the Roosters honoured the 10th anniversary of their 2002 grand final win over the Auckland-based club with a comprehensive 26-8 victory.
Known for their flair, the Warriors will go back to basics at their Kiama base before playing the Canberra Raiders on Sunday. McClennan was blunt when asked how the team could sharpen up from kickoff.
"Completing the first five or six sets for a start would help," he said.
"That will allow us to go 50-50 with possession and it gives us that opportunity to get into the game. That's what we did [against the Titans] and we went a lot better.
"The hardest part of the game is the first 20 minutes, it's the fastest, quickest part of the game and we spent the majority of that defending."
The Warriors paid a high price for 14 errors as they slumped to a two-win, three-loss record. They made only five offloads to the Roosters' 16 and their 69 per cent completion rate was only boosted after halftime.
Shaun Johnson's and James Maloney's kicking games were off key and strike weapon Manu Vatuvei who had scored eight tries in his previous eight games against the Roosters was never an offensive threat.
Replacement fullback Glen Fisiiahi was a casualty of the Warriors' inability to build any momentum. His first start this season, after scoring nine tries in two games for the Auckland Vulcans in the New South Wales Cup, was a frustrating experience until he finally got some open ground to exploit after an hour.
His try raised hopes of a resurgence but the catalogue of errors sabotaged any prospect of a grandstand finish.
"It was tough. We did a lot of defending in that first half and it sucked a lot of energy out of us," said Fisiiahi, who also did well to hold up Roosters halfback Mitchell Pearce over the line. He was deputising for Kevin Locke, who could join the team in Canberra depending on how his corked thigh responds to treatment.
Kiwis prop Sam Rapira also made a subdued return to first grade after suffering a shoulder injury during pre-season trials.
He was downbeat about his 41-minute shift off the bench that featured 31 tackles and 57 metres gained.
"After a couple of sets I felt gone, I'm definitely lacking match fitness," he said, reckoning it would take a couple of games to rediscover his rhythm.
The 124-game front rower was keen to make further progress against the Raiders and acknowledged the effort of props Ben Matulino and Sione Lousi in his absence. "There's a bit of pressure on me the way they've been playing."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/6675776/Warriors-re-assess-after-stumbling-to-third-loss
