You can't win a game of rugby league in the first 10 minutes, but the Warriors showed last week that you can certainly go a long way to losing one.
With the clock only just hitting double digits last Friday night, the Warriors had already leaked two tries against the Parramatta Eels and were 12 points down, handing their opponents what turned out to be an insurmountable lead in an eventual 32-24 loss.
Warriors coach Stephen Kearney said it wasn't possible to survive in the NRL Telstra Premiership if you are slow out of the gates, and implored his side to address the issue on Saturday night when they face the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium.
"Twelve points down right from the beginning and we clawed our way back in the game. Even in the start of the second half Parramatta got eight points through a penalty and a try just after half-time," Kearney said.
"That's 18 points [leaked at the start of halves]. You just can't do that in this competition, so for me it's about making sure we are ready to go right from the start [this week]."
In their five games away from New Zealand this year the Warriors have conceded a try in the first 25 minutes of the match on four occasions, while they are yet to taste victory away from Mount Smart Stadium.
Prop Jacob Lillyman told NRL.com his team's experience with the Titans earlier this season in Round 5, when they required some Kieran Foran magic and a late Ryan Hoffman try to down an injury-depleted Gold Coast 28-22, suggested a torrid encounter awaited them on Saturday night.
"They have had an injury run like no team I have ever seen, but they have got some real character in that team. They really hang in there and they are a challenging team to play," Lillyman said.
"Whilst we got the result when we played them in New Zealand they made it a really tough game for us.
"This one is massive for us. It is kind of a four-point game going into the bye next week. We need to get across there and get a result and then look to build on it.
"After the disappointment of last week it certainly makes it even more important we get a result on Saturday night."
The 12th-placed Warriors boast an excellent record against the Titans, having won all but one of their last 13 head-to-head meetings, while on the Gold Coast the Kiwi side have come out on top in seven of 11 encounters.
