Another golden-pointer, another NZ Warriors game from which I feel positive and negative vibes. Take what went down in golden point as a fair reflection of how I view the Warriors win over the Panthers as they once again fumbled their way through sets of six, failing to execute a droppie, only for Shaun Johnson to do what he does best; run through a scattered defensive line.

The elation was understandable and their struggles in clutch moments over the past few weeks meant that this was a moment to saviour, the monkey off their back ya know? 

Johnson's try and Solomone Kata's strip before that  likely means that the inability to march down field and kick a droppie, will be overlooked. Fair enough as it's the 2 points that we're after here and to somehow find a way to win showed that there's no more mindgames at work. This is where I settle on a general feeling from the win over Penrith and it follows the general feeling I've had about the Warriors for much of the season, the same general feeling that I highlighted last week.

The best NRL teams have absolutely every minor detail sussed when they are chasing a golden point victory. Everyone in the team knows what job they will have to do to execute the winning play and how to get to the best point on the field from which to kick the droppie, yet our Warriors have rolled through a few puzzling performances in golden point where they genuinely look as though they haven't given it much thought.

Go all the way back to the golden point loss to Cronulla when the Sharkies snatched a win away from the Warriors. I said then that it didn't look like the Warriors had prepared as well as they could for that sort of moment mainly because they hadn't been there too often, but that it was all good as it's a lesson to take forward. Look where we are now and I've heard on the grapevine that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, getting the same negative result - it kinda looks like insanity lurks within Mt Smart's corridors.

Johnson saved the day with the try, however these repeatedly clutch-less golden point performances reflect poorly on him. He doesn't appear to direct his team around with the same clarity as the game's best and it doesn't look like Johnson has rolled through hundreds of droppies under pressure at training either; if you're getting charged down constant, pull the trigger quicker.

Many of the teams above the Warriors on the ladder, simply execute better in clutch moments.

Many of the teams above the Warriors on the ladder simply execute better on attack as well.

Last week against Canberra I outlined how the Warriors enjoyed plenty of the ball and largely dominating metres, touches etc but couldn't quite make the most of all the possession they had until a flurry late in the game. I feel like a bit of a doofus for repeating myself so often, yet the Warriors repeated the dose this week themselves as they enjoyed 54 percent of possession, had 475 touches to Penrith's 402 and made 1,681m to Penrith's 1,368m. If you give much of the top-8 that sort of advantage, they'll run away with the game laughing while our Warriors just lack the killer instinct which stems from clinical execution to really stamp their mark on a game.

No one should be down about the Warriors though, despite what I've said. I still have this long-term vision and I must stress that the Warriors are playing some good footy, it's just that it is mid-ladder quality, not anything like what the best teams serve up.

Forcing 5 line dropouts, while Penrith forced none is great and I asked the question of Johnson before this game as to whether he could put Nathan Cleary in the shade. He did and for a few weeks in a row now, Johnson has showcased a crisp kicking game that is pinning opposing teams down their end of the field. I also like the split between he and Thomas Leuluai with Johnson kicking 12 times to Leuluai's 5 kicks, at the start of the season this was more like a 14/2 split and Leuluai's work down the left has gone up a notch in recent weeks. 

David Fusitua's move to centre came with a slick try and it's hard not to like a Warriors team with Fusitua at centre and Tuimoala Lolohea at fullback. Mainly because Fusitua is a wee bit more threatening than Blake Ayshford, we shouldn't sleep on who gave Fusitua the short ball to score as it was Lolohea sweeping out the back who set it up.

A win is good and it keeps the Warriors in the top-8, although it's important to note that four teams currently sit on 22 points and the Warriors have the same number of points as Wests Tigers who are 10th. This game reinforced to me that the Warriors have definitely made progress, that they are a much better team now than they were to start the season, most notably though this game reinforced to me that they are still lacking in key aspects. 

What's good is that the foundation of improvement is there and who's to say that if they keep improving, perhaps work on their execution of plays and obviously converting a droppie, that they could make a few waves late in the season.