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The Warriors fought hard in tough conditions in their Round 2 loss to Melbourne Storm.

Plenty of possession, much of it in good territory, yet so few points.

That's the headache confronting the Warriors ahead of Sunday's NRL Telstra Premiership clash with the St George Illawarra Dragons at UOW Jubilee Oval, with the Kiwi club having scored just 22 points in their last two games.

Across the opening three weeks of the season Stephen Kearney's side have averaged just 16 points, giving them the second-worst attacking record in the whole competition.

Their deficiencies on the ball were on full display in last week's 24-12 loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs, when at one stage the Warriors had been tackled more than 50 times in the attacking half and had only one try to show for it.

"As everyone would have seen, there was enough opportunities for us there, we just didn't executive the way that we should have," Kearney said of his side's performance in Round 3.

"I thought there were areas of our attack [last] Friday night where we needed to be better, and there were individuals within that structure that we had that I didn't think [fulfilled their roles].

"We are stuttering… there's been moments."

‌In addition to the lack of points, the Warriors have struggled to create opportunities anywhere on the field this season, with just two line breaks in their last two matches.

The second-phase play which the club was once famed for has also dried up with the team averaging just 5.6 offloads per game, placing them ahead of only the North Queensland Cowboys in that category.

Winger Ken Maumalo this week pointed to a lack of timing with the ball which was killing his side's rhythm in attack.

"I think we are getting to our points [on the field] well but we just haven't been able to string passes," Maumalo told NRL.com.

"Just a little bit off timing, if we fix that this week we will have a good shot against the Dragons.

"It is frustrating knowing that all the hard work you are putting in goes to [waste] and I guess not a win."

The Warriors' efforts on the ball should be boosted this week by the return of captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck at fullback, and the likely inclusion of star playmaker Kieran Foran for the first time in 2017.

However Kearney said that wouldn't provide an instant answer to their problems.

"It's not about putting two players in to fix it… I want them to fix that [the existing problems] first and if Kieran does play, and when Roger plays, they add something to it."

 

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