Momentum is always a key concept in the NRL, and Warriors coach Andrew McFadden feels his team are finally starting to gain some after an impressive 54-12 victory over the Canberra Raiders on Saturday night.
After a tumultuous opening two months of the competition, which has been headlined by the sacking of Matt Elliott as coach, the dropping of several high profile players and a leaked sex tape involving Konrad Hurrell, the Warriors look to have turned a corner following back-to-back victories over the Storm and Raiders.
"Sometimes you just need to find a way to win, and if we keep training well and are winning then we can certainly build some momentum off that," McFadden said.
"Winning is important, learning how to win is really important. We have been putting in the effort during the week."
Captain Simon Mannering agreed, stating that the win against the Storm on Anzac Day had set the benchmark in terms of what his squad wanted to achieve in 2014.
"I think it was an important one for us going into the week off," he said.
"I think it did give the guys a boost just showing that the work we were doing away from the game through the week had paid off.
"To back it up with another good performance was important for us because that's probably where we have fallen into trouble before."
Mannering said the performance of Konrad Hurrell, who ran for 164 metres, made three line breaks and crossed for a try, was a huge boost to the side, particularly given the week he had endured.
"He felt pretty comfortable at training and was training hard; you could tell he was focused," he said.
"It probably is a hard thing for a young guy to put that media attention to one side. He did it really well this week."
The win also marked the end of the Warriors' winless record at Eden Park, a stadium where they had visited on five prior occasions with no success, and McFadden praised the 80-minute performance.
"They (Canberra) are a team that puts a lot of pressure on you and get up in your face, but our execution had to be spot on and over the whole game I thought we were pretty good there," he said.
"It was great that we actually stayed focused for 80 minutes.
"It was most pleasing after half-time, we came out fired up and really put the nail in the coffin."
The high point was clearly the attack, where the Warriors produced six line breaks, 1528 running metres and nine tries, but McFadden was also pleased with the defensive steel shown by his chargers, who went 59 minutes without conceding a point between the Raiders' first and second tries.
McFadden singling out centre Ben Henry, who last week made his Test debut for the Kiwis, for his efforts containing dangerous fullback Anthony Milford.
"He is a very good footballer, Ben. You wouldn't say he is the most dynamic of centres but he certainly does make up for it with his football smarts. His defence was rock solid and he certainly has a place in our side."
