One of the many minor journeys you go on as an Aotearoa Warriors fan is how you want this team to play their footy. I've had my moments, mainly under Andrew McFadden's leadership when the Warriors weren't very good defensively but were rather horrible, or too passive on attack; if you can't stop the opposition scoring 16 points then you'd better score 20 yourselves, right?

Chuck in the Aussie stereotype about the Warriors playing a 'insert racial stereotype here' style of footy and everyone's been confused for a long time as to how the Warriors should go about their business. When I hear those Aussies saying that the Warriors should offload more, unleash the razzle dazzle and play as they should, I wonder if that has actually brought success in recent years?

Has 'jungle ball' brought the Warriors any success recently, under any number of coaches? No.

Regular readers will know how I approached the last time the Warriors hosted the Storm because I had one of those moments. The Warriors beat the Storm by upsetting their grinding style of footy, engaging them in a razzle dazzle gun-slinging battle of points. That game at Mt Smart came with a whole lot of rain though and that played into the Storm's hands as they've got the best conductors in the world.

That was early in Stephen Kearney's coaching tenure and now we've had some time to absorb how Kearney is leading this team forward. All you need to know is that the Warriors are tied with the Cowboys on 43 offloads right at the bottom of the NRL in that stat, meaning that no NRL team has fewer offloads that the Warriors.

Talk about stripped-back offence, the Warriors are tucking the footy under their wings and playing a very basic brad of footy. They are also 16th in tackle busts with 160 which means that in the two offensive stats that perhaps a 'typical Warriors team would dominate, no team has fewer offloads or tackle busts than the Warriors.

I didn't say that no team is worse than the Warriors in offloads or tackle busts because that has obvious negative connotations. Would you give up all those offloads to see the Warriors ranked 15th in missed tackles? 14 NRL teams have missed more tackles than the Warriors right now and that's a defensive stat that Warriors fans simply haven't been able to enjoy throughout their fandom.

Also countering the lack of offloads and tackle busts; prior to this round of footy, the Warriors were 6th in run metres. So not offloading and not breaking any tackles wasn't hindering the Warriors' ability to roll down the field.

Kearney has tightened the screws on this Warriors team and as he does that, as the team gets used to all the changes made, results will vary. Anzac Day games against the Storm usually saw me anticipating a match up where the Warriors would bring the flair to ruffle the grinding Storm's feathers. Sometimes this meant that the Storm would easily dismantle the Warriors, sometimes the Warriors would cause an upset.

Don't expect the Warriors to be blown away in Melbourne, nor should you expect the Warriors to be blown away by anyone this season. In tightening the stylistic screws, Kearney has ensured and is ensuring that the Warriors base, their foundation keeps them in games and then all it takes is a bit of magic from, umm, take ya pick: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Kieran Foran, Shaun Johnson, Issac Luke.

Here's some things to keep an eye on...

Solomone Kata and Ken Maumalo were made to look silly by Leipana last week but we need to remember how many left edge combinations Leipana has dominated (all of them). It doesn't get any easier though with Will Chambers and Suliasi Vunivalu set to offer their own challenge. We know Kearney loves some defence, so look for little tweaks in how Kata and Maumalo defend. It's a long season and all we want is improvement at this stage.

James Gavet and Jacob Lillyman have been equally as impressive as each other to start the season and they come up against Jesse Bromwich and Jordan McLean. Parity is all we want here, just don't get dominated and get the boys down the field. Lillyman's shape and foot-speed could be a point of difference.

We know the Storm will slow the Warriors down and y'all know how I keep highlighting the speed of the Warriors. Last time it was easy for the Storm as the Warriors weren't punching holes, now the Warriors have David Fusitua taking plenty of carries, poking his head through along with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Issac Luke playing with confidence. The Warriors should be able to cause a few problems if they can get a jump on the Storm, before they start to slow things down.

It started with the diamond, then came Simon Mannering's funky set-play and last week we saw Foran, Johnson and Tuivasa-Sheck combine for an almost-try. They aren't offloading or breaking many tackles, but we're seeing growth in their attack week by week and they will need to show some more growth to put points on the Storm.

Ryan Hoffman was at his best last week in Canberra, putting on a show for his whanau and now he returns to Melbourne where we can expect the same. Don't forget that Hoffman is playing for a contract with Tohu Harris set to replace him and the Hoffman/Foran combination has one year to work its magic.

People who solely focus on Foran and Johnson are neglecting the best player in a Warriors jersey and Tuivasa-Sheck is the guy who will be the deciding factor. Last week Tuivasa-Sheck went from sideline to sideline, snuffing out the Raiders kicks and then scampering back to the middle of the field, from where the Warriors started their sets. Any time Tuivasa-Sheck has the footy, note what he does because whether he's making big metres, getting a quick play-the-ball, delivering a crisp pass or putting a grubber in, every touch is pure class.

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