Interim coach Todd Payten has urged his NZ Warriors side to buck its recent trend of slow starts, when they take on the Newcastle Knights in Tamworth on Saturday.
Although the Warriors have won three of their last four games, they've had to fight back from an early deficit in each.
On Sunday, they overcame a 10-0 deficit to steal a critical 20-14 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs, and Payten says they'll need to come out of the gates much stronger against a strong Newcastle side if they're to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.
"I was really disappointed with the way we started at the weekend," Payten says.
"We were 10-0 down and the ease at which they scored their second try in particular, I was nervous about what could have unfolded.
"In the past, we've disintegrated, separated and gone into our own thoughts and head, whereas we managed to connect and come together, understand what we needed to do and get it done."
"I'm happy in that respect, but we can’t afford to do that against the Knights."
The Warriors have the toughest home stretch of any team in the competition, with the Parramatta Eels, Cronulla Sharks, Canberra Raiders, and Manly Sea Eagles lying in wait.
"We have to be tougher than that from the start of the game, particularly against the good sides, because they don’t let you come from 10 points behind and get back into the game," Payten adds.
"They squash you and bury you and you could be three, four tries down pretty quickly from that point."
Meanwhile, Payten is yet to determine where he'll be coaching next season.
Reports suggest he remains a frontrunner for the vacant North Queensland Cowboys role, but he hasn't ruled out a return to Auckland to see out the final year of his contract as an assistant under incoming head coach Nathan Brown.
Join us for live updates of Warriors v Knights from 5pm Saturday
