Just replace Matulino with the cheaper Gavet?

As you keep hearing noise about the Warriors' spine of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Shaun Johnson, Kieran Foran and Issac Luke, keep that ol' rugby league cliche of it all starting up the guts in mind. Of course it's correct because you need quick play-the-balls, momentum and field position to be a force in the NRL, so it's poignant that the bloke many view as the best Warriors prop in the past five years apparently doesn't 'deserve' the contract he wants.

That international spine can only do international-calibre things playing behind a strong forward pack, the type of forward pack that the Kiwis have. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Ben Matulino isn't healthy to lead the Warriors through the middle and even if he was healthy, judging on his past 18 months with the Warriors, it's silly to put Matulino in the same class as Jesse Bromwich or Jason Taumalolo ... or Aaron Woods.

The Warriors need to bolster their forward pack and coach Stephen Kearney has done this to a minor extent by reshuffling his deck, bringing in James Gavet and Ligi Sao. Despite that glaring weakness in go-forward along with offloads and footwork, it's interesting that the Warriors don't appear to be keen on making the retention of Matulino a priority. In theory, Matulino offers exactly what the Warriors need.

Perhaps that's just another reason why we should chill on the slow start to the season? Having Matulino and Jacob Lillyman at their very best is a lot different to Lillyman and his role-players.

It makes a whole lot of sense to let Matulino go, especially when you are bringing Tohu Harris back to Aotearoa. They do different jobs - although Harris did play as a middle forward for the Kiwis last year - but it's all about where the Warriors want their money to be spent and if Matulino's asking for too much dosh, then let him go.

There's been rumours about a Matulino for Woods swap, which makes zero sense. If that does happen and Woods ends up at the Warriors, then it's an exceptional piece of business from Jim Doyle.

This week our Warriors take on Gold Coast and while we do welcome the Kiwis' spine on to Mt Smart's turf, the focus will solely be on how the Warriors forwards handle a Titans pack that could stifle the Warriors. I expect this to be the sort of game where the Warriors look far better on attack, with their play-makers combining well, dazzling with their abundance of fire-power and generally getting people excited about what is possible. These games have a habit of raising expectations and people tend to get far too ahead of themselves when the Warriors play well; the Titans present an opportunity for the Warriors to run through their plays and it coincides with Tuivasa-Sheck, Foran and Johnson playing their first game of the season together.

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The Titans will also however present a rugged forward pack and two halves who could potentially make life very difficult for the Warriors. If Kane Elgey and Ash Taylor kick accurately, expect the Titans forwards to be aggressive and physical in defence as they look to grind the Warriors down. The mongrel that we are likely to see in Ryan James, is the sort of mongrel we want to see in the Warriors forwards.

Agnatius Paasi is out injured, however Leivaha Pulu starts at lock and will be playing in front of friends and whanau. Pulu loves an offload and while it's not quite working for him at the moment, his size, mobility and offloading ability could provide some funk for the Titans.

Nathaniel Peteru also returns to Auckland after coming through the Junior Warriors and he's a massive unit who has steadily risen through the Titans' ranks.

Note how Titans coach Neil Henry took Paasi and Pulu from reserve grade and has flipped them into NRL forwards. Pulu was battling away for Wyong a few years ago and now here he is back in Auckland starting at lock. Peteru was effectively picked up out of the Warriors scrapheap as well and if Matulino is set to leave the Warriors, this is the type of recruitment and development that we need to see as it helps a club better-use their salary cap.

The Warriors should win and if they do, it'll be thanks to speed.

Nathaniel Roache offers speed off the bench and I've patiently been waiting to see Luke and Tuivasa-Sheck combine to cause havoc with their speed/footwork around the ruck. Roache has clearly impressed Kearney and he fits in perfectly with the assault around the ruck that Luke and Tuivasa-Sheck offer.

Speed around the ruck can only come after a quick play-the-ball and this simply hasn't been evident from the Warriors so far. The Titans will try their best to slow the game down and if they can, it's going to be tough for the Warriors to get their weapons involved. If the Warriors aren't able to fall on their stomach, get in-between defenders or just manipulate their bodies to get up quicker, then they are just making life difficult for themselves.

Foran isn't super duper fast, but he's a fantastic runner of the footy because he's fast enough. The real threat of the Foran/Johnson combination is in their running ability and they will now offer the Warriors a genuine threat on either edge that demands defensive attention. This will then offer more time and space for Tuivasa-Sheck, David Fusiuta and Solomone Kata.

Speed and skill is how the Warriors will make waves in the NRL. They've struggled up to this point thanks to not having all their guns present and now they're all listed to play, yet they haven't been destroyed by an opponent despite clearly not playing their best footy. So expect their best performance of the season to date, just don't get too hyped about it.

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