The NZ Warriors, our NZ Warriors, have brushed off the two teams sitting at the bottom of the ladder. Kick back, get complacent and think that two wins against the Knights and Roosters is good enough and well, the Sea Eagles will spank us. That's the joy of the NRL as each week presents a stiff challenge, especially for our Warriors who are so far off the Broncos (and Cowboys) that it's not funny.

Take one look at this Sea Eagles and it's easy to note that they'll go alright in Auckland on Saturday night. You could argue that their backline is better than that of the Warriors, that their halves are better - especially after last week's effort and that their forward pack is also better, so this a great opportunity to take another look at the Warriors against what should be stronger opposition. 

The Knights were poo, the Warriors were good enough. The Roosters were pretty good, the Warriors were good enough. 

Good enough will likely see the Sea Eagles dispatch themselves of the Warriors and the Warriors need to once again show improvements, as they have done with each week this season.

No Manu Vatuvei which is a bummer because I love him, we can't sleep on his value to this team either. Those hitups, quick play-the-balls, try-scoring ability and offloads; Manu had the most offloads of anyone in that Warriors vs Roosters game with 4 and he only played 66 minutes. We all know Jonathan Wright ain't no Manu, Wright is primed and ready to fill a spot on the wing though. 

In terms of selection, there's two more little notes to make...

Sam Lisone has been named at lock, after Albert Vete was named there last week. No dramas here as Lisone and Vete are both middle forwards who do this job week in, week out when they come off the bench. Coach Andrew McFadden must want to give them both a taste of starting which is cool as they are both youngsters who are still sussing out this NRL thing. I am excited however to see Lisone start at lock, he's got more footwork and better hands than Vete which could give the Warriors a bit of funk on attack.

Keep an eye on the Lisone vs Jake Trbojevic battle. They are both 'props' who start at lock which is a nod to that middle forwards idea and it will be Trbojevic's job as a tackling wizard to slow the Warriors through the middle. No one in this Warriors team runs harder than Lisone, Trbojevic better be ready.

Charlie Gubb could start at lock next week, that's the depth of the Warriors' rotation of middle forwards. Gubb provides a unique energy off the bench though.

Ah, the return of Thomas Leuluai. He's been named as 18th man and Leuluai could remain as 18th man, sitting this game out. I would like that, especially as I've been appreciating the work of Jazz Tevaga and we've finally got a settled Warriors rotation that ticks all the boxes ... all the boxes expect the experience box.

Hence I'd like Leuluai in the side as well and unfortunately for Tevaga, that will likely see him drop out. That means that I want Leuluai in the bench dummy half spot, not in the halves and I actually see Leuluai doing a job fairly similar to what Tevaga has been doing. Leuluai is a rugged defender, so is Tevaga and they both have enough skill, running ability and subtle tricks to offer some funk out of dummy half. 

Keep an eye out for when Issac Luke and either Tevaga or Leuluai are on the field together, which has happened and offers the Warriors two smaller, quicker, more mobile blokes in the middle of the field. Leuluai and Tevaga can both legitimately play lock, defending in the middle so this could happen more often than not, especially at the back end of the first half.

From the first few rounds, it's been pretty clear what works for the Warriors and what doesn't. So here's a bit of a cheat-sheet, a checklist, keys to success, things that will usually need to happen for the Warriors to win...

• Issac Luke running the footy, at least 5 times, at least.
• Roger Tuivasa-Sheck getting a try assist. He's a gun runner, heavily slept on as a play-maker.
• Tuimoala Lolohea needs at lest 10 touches of the footy.
• As many offloads as possible, I'd say at least 10.
• Both Jacob Lillyman and Ben Matulino running 100m.
• Shaun Johnson and Jeff Robson sharing touches equally with Robson kicking at least 3 times.
• Johnson running at least 5 times for nothing less than 30m.
• Vete, Lisone, Gubb and Konrad Hurrell all getting at least 20 minutes of action each which is now easier with Vete/Lisone starting at lock.

One cheeky improvement I'd like to see against the Sea Eagles is greater involvement from Ryan Hoffman and Simon Mannering on the edges. Think of where Johnson and Tuivasa-Sheck get the ball in backline moves; it's out on the edges and if they along with Robson can hit Hoffman/Mannering with a short ball or turn them back on the inside, then it will establish them as a threat. A very legit threat at that as Hoffman and Mannering are both edge forwards capable of great hole-running. 

Peep Mannering's work out on the edge as well. Mannering started the season in the middle of the field where he made a lot of tackles but didn't have much of an impact with the ball, understandably so. With Mannering out on the edge, there's great scope for him to hit holes, do some ball-playing, offload and generally show off.

Once that threat is established, the play-makers can use them as a decoy and either run the footy or spin it wider where points will be scored. They just need a bit more variety in attack, especially against a side like Manly who won't be leaking too many points.

As for the Warriors' defence? We all want them to be somewhat solid defensively and they are, especially after that Roosters game where they actually started to rip their shoulders in to the ball-runner and make every hitup hurt. That's what I want to see in terms of defence because if the Warriors are angry, enthusiastic and show intent on defence then it'll go a long way to slowing down their opponents. 

This will be a good test for that as Manly have guys like Martin Taupau, Steve Matai, Darcy Lussick, Nate Myles etc who are all out to intimidate their opponent. I reckon our young bucks won't be having none of that, not at Mt Smart.

Other than that, we want the Warriors to score points. We want the Warriors to light up Mt Smart with sublime attack, we want the Warriors to have fun and for them to play an aggressive, attacking style of footy.