2 points was what we wanted, less about the process and more about the 2 points. 2 points against a mid-table rival and 2 points that takes our NZ Warriors up to 8th, 2 points behind Brisbane. In beating Gold Coast, the Warriors once again fought off a sprinkling of adversity and gave a low key flex of their depth muscles, setting themselves up nicely to cruise into a bye.

We only need to take a look at the Broncos to realise how ridiculous we all are regarding our Warriors. I would fire shots and say 'how silly y'all are' or 'how silly mainstream media are' about the Warriors, but I slip up every now and again so this is more of a reminder to everyone across Aotearoa to keep their chill pills within arm's reach at all times. I do however recall saying a few times throughout the opening stage of the season that the NRL season is long, 26 weeks of rugged NRL footy and there's plenty of room for ups and downs.

A slow start for a team like the Warriors can be quickly made up, during Origin time and the Origin influence is evident with Brisbane. Just like an Origin slump for Brisbane can be made up in four-five weeks after Origin ... and just like few hot weeks for the Warriors could then see them encounter tough times, before riding a wave on in to the finals.

Point being that yes the Warriors are in form, they've strung a few wins together in a period of the season that they are traditionally strong in. However I can't say that the Warriors look like winning an NRL Premiership right now, there's still daylight between the Warriors in 8th and the NRL's upper echelon. There's a long way to go, plenty of work still to be done and I'll take a wider geeze at the Warriors later this week with their strengths, weaknesses, where improvements can be made etc.

Please, keep your expectations under wraps. A few good weeks in June/July don't mean jack.

A few things caught my eye about the win over Gold Coast, led by the way in which the Warriors absorbed the late loss of their skipper Ryan Hoffman. We can also admire the depth of the Warriors in lack of Jonathan Wright as he can be dropped for not doing his job, or that Ken Maumalo can do a fine job in filling Manu Vatuvei's boots.

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Without Hoffman, Simon Mannering moved to the edge and our defensive specialist Charlie Gubb got a start at lock. Bunty Afoa came on to the bench and we were gifted our first look at Afoa in the NRL which was pretty exciting because Afoa's name has simmered in the same pot as Toafofoa Sipley's as young forwards who were the pick of the bunch in Under-20s. They were the two names that we always mentioned and this season we have seen both of them feature in the NRL now.

These are young forwards who will take the Warriors forward into the future, with Sipley a bigger lad more suited to the typical prop role while Afoa is more mobile. Afoa was actually named to start on the edge for reserve grade and while Afoa did play through the middle against Gold Coast, he was probably selected because he could do a job on the edge as well if needed. He can clearly play as he's had many good things said about him and has risen through the ranks, what excites me about Afoa is that he's a hybrid forward which is perfectly suited to the increasing tempo of NRL. With fewer interchanges, forwards who can play decent minutes on the edge or in the middle and are athletic enough to keep up with smaller blokes, become more important.

Afoa wasn't a standout, which is fantastic. He did his job which is all we can ask for.

We won't see Mannering play on the edge too often as Hoffman's got that spot locked down while Bodene Thompson is currently permanently in beast-mode. I like Mannering on the edge though and while he wasn't dominant in his 250th game, he got a few offloads out and was ever-solid.

The greatest tribute I can offer Mannering is to say nothing. He's a mellow dude, humble and he is everything that we love in our great kiwi athletes, so no song and dance about him. I'll save the poetic tribute for his 300th game.

I appreciate that Simon likes a bit of 'Back In Black' but was there any need to blast a song while the lads are doing a haka for him? Can't you just wait until after the haka to play some AC/DC?

Which got me thinking - why don't the Warriors have their own haka?

This is a club that celebrates their hearty Maori roots and have done a great job of throughout their existence, yet they don't have their own haka?

I'm sure various players and historians would take great pride in creating a haka specifically for the Warriors, taking into account their history, their standing in Aotearoa, the pride and their representation of Aotearoa in an Australian competition.

Let's keep it real here, the NZ Warriors need their own haka.

Every milestone game has that player honoured with a Warriors haka as they enter the Mt Smart fortress.

Junior players learn the haka as part of their development, creating more mana in the club ... ya know, that unique club 'culture' that clubs are always striving for.

This feels like it should have already been done, it should already be established.

Share it with fans, so that fans can honour their heroes with a haka that brings the club and its people together.

Seriously, why isn't this in place?

Kinda disappointing to be honest.

Put some serious research and thinking into a haka. Go all-out to create a haka that everyone can be intensely proud of, not just players but bring all the people that love the Warriors together and really embrace the club's heritage.

The haka doesn't need to be performed before every game, Aussie players don't need to do it.

Just a haka for special moments, from a 250th game to a funeral of a Warriors great and every special moment in between.

Ah, so yeah. David Fusitua was pretty damn good again with 15 carries for 156m and I'm fairly happy with my belief that he's similar to Greg Inglis at fullback. This did create a few dramas with Tuimoala Lolohea struggling with an aerial match up against Nene MacDonald but with both Fusitua and Lolohea capable of doing either job, the switching idea easily takes care of that.

You've got to wonder why any team would now bomb the shit out of Fusitua, as the Titans did from 40m out. I mean, he did also play some AFL...

Great to see former @AFLNZ Hawk and rising @NRL superstar @DavidFusitua back playing first grade for the @NZWarriors pic.twitter.com/9CUVm8E6Zf
— AFL New Zealand (@AFLNZ) July 13, 2015

Thompson is a certified weapon on that right edge and it's a joy to watch him at work as he put together another strong game with 14 carries for 137m with 3 tackle busts. Whether it's running a decoy, running a great line, breaking tackles when nothing's doing, offloading or always heavily involved in defence, Thompson is emerging as one of the better edge forwards in the NRL and the challenge is to maintain it as teams start to really take note of his threat.

Oh and Ben Matulino was fantastic yet again with 15 carries for 140m and 36 tackles.

The magic of Shaun Johnson was a product of perhaps the most impressive aspect of this win. The Warriors were locked in a tough game against a team that has got where they are thanks to solid team performances based around their effort and they were lacking a few troops as well.

Usually this would see the Warriors try too hard or crumble under the weight of patience and grit. Instead though, the Warriors stuck to their guns and kept rolling through their game plan with big outside backs/forwards running hard and throwing the footy around, hitting the edges.

Was taking the 2 points via Issac Luke's boot conservative? Not really, it's 2 points in the bag when the kicks are that close and it simply kept the Warriors there, in the battle.

Johnson doesn't need much space but he got it, thanks to a desire to be patient and work hard from the entire team. The rewards came late in the game because the team trusted themselves and each other that their plan would work.

But yeah, the Warriors need a haka.