Such is the competition in the NRL, that a first up game against Newcastle and a second game against Melbourne sans Jesse Bromwich is a fairly handy start to the season for our Aotearoa Warriors. In the win over Newcastle we saw just how lethal the Warriors could be on attack, I couldn't ignore the feeling though that while our forwards ran rampant against a reasonably weak Knights pack, something was missing.

Melbourne will be without the older Bromwich bro and that'll ease some of the pressure on the Warriors middle forwards. Of course - this is the Melbourne Storm however and you could make the case that the names that casual Warriors fans might not instantly know of - Tim Glasby, Jordan McLean, Dale Finucane or Christian Welch - are better middle forwards than the likes of Albert Vete, Charlie Gubb and Sam Lisone. It's Melbourne, duh.

Point being: even without Jesse Bromwich, Melbourne's forwards will be a rugged challenge for the Warriors.

Then the Storm have Nelson Asofa-Solomona and he's the sort of forward that makes you wonder about what the Warriors are missing. When the massive Wellingtonian steps on to the field for his brief stint (20-odd minutes), he'll make big metres, bust tackles and offload the footy. He's got size and he's athletic, there won't be anyone else like him on the field and the trouble for the Warriors now and moving through the season is that this sort of dynamic forward will be on the opposition team-list, not that of the Warriors.

A healthy Issac Luke will be crucial and as I'm hoping for the Warriors middle forwards to maintain parity - don't expect them to be able to steam down the field - the speed of Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck around the ruck will cause the most damage. 

This will play right into what I consider to be a another key strength of how the Warriors play their footy which is attacking down the edges. They may not have the superstar middle forwards who can churn through quick play-the-balls, but they have Luke and RTS who will use speed instead. Then they have two edges that are well stocked with weapons, albeit very different weapons and using these weapons often will ensure that Melbourne can't just tie up the middle.

Ryan Hoffman got his confidence up with an impressive performance last week and now he faces his old club so expect the same from him. Hoffman and Solomone Kata both provide strong running down the left edge and this mixes in well with Ata Hingano's smooth ability to give the right bloke the footy at the right time. Hingano won't over-play his hand down the left edge because he doesn't have to, just make sure Hoffman or Kata gets the footy one-vs-one. 
We saw how lethal Tuivasa-Sheck can be out on the edges last week with his ball-playing and this just adds another look to the Warriors attack down the left. 

On the right, Bunty Afoa isn't quite Ryan Hoffman. That's all good though because Shaun Johnson, David Fusitua and Tuimoala Lolohea are going to win any three-vs-three situation (four-vs-four including Afoa). The left edge is about power, the right edge's attack will usually start with Johnson scampering sideways, using his speed and reputation to get a jump on defenders and then he's got Fusitua and Lolohea to work with.

Melbourne won't back off Johnson like Newcastle did, however Johnson can still dive into his bag of tricks to manufacture some space. I'm still incredibly intrigued by what Lolohea offers on the wing and we saw last week two moments of skill (tappin' it back to Fusitua off a kick and the swift catch-and-grubber while on the move) that make Lolohea a different threat to most wingers. 

The Kelston kids have played a lot of footy together and here they are as the centre/wing combo for the Warriors, the more footy Fusitua and Lolohea play together in the NRL, the funkier things will get.

Funk. When the Warriors beat Melbourne, it's usually thanks to some funky footy (or the infamous 'coconut ball' - which hasn't existed in over five years). I can see the Warriors beating Melbourne if Stephen Kearney dictates that they have some fun with the footy; offloads, shifting to edges early, running the footy!

That just doesn't feel like something Kearney would do though and I'm very interested to see how Kearney plays his cards against a team he knows so well, a team that he's seen lose to the Warriors thanks to that funky footy. The strengths of this Warriors roster are their skill, speed and power. That identity is what will help them make waves in the NRL this season and against Melbourne we will get an insight into Kearney's thinking.