NZ Warriors captain Tohu Harris had a stern warning to some of his teammates after Saturday's 26-14 defeat to Canberra Raiders.
After storming out of the blocks with first half tries to Jack Murchie and Daejarn Asi in the opening 10 minutes, the Warriors conceded 26 unanswered points after halftime to fall to defeat for the 13th time this season.
The loss leaves the Warriors 12th on the NRL ladder, eight points outside of the top eight and finals contention with six games left in their season.
Speaking post-match, Harris' frustration was clear to see after his side threw away what should have been a guaranteed victory from 14-0 in front.
And in no uncertain terms, Harris made it clear that certain players need to hold themselves accountable.
"We've just got to keep our standards high and not accept defeat," Harris said.
"This competition is a tough competition, week in, week out. If we want to be a successful club, we've got to show we want success.
"We can't just be a team that will turn up and just roll over for other teams.
"Everyone's just got to look themselves in the mirror and ask if this is what they really want, what they want to get out of their career, and what they want to do for this club."
As for what happened to see his side throw away a 14-0 lead in just 40 minutes, Harris lamented the Warriors' display immediately after halftime as the key shift in momentum back towards the Raiders.
Not only did the Warriors let in four tries and concede two penalty goals in the second spell, they were also held scoreless themselves.
"I feel like we just lacked the intensity to start the second half," he added.
"In the first half, we came out, we did all the simple things really well - and we were doing that together.
"In the second half, we didn't have that same intensity and Canberra wanted it more."
The Kiwi club will now return to New Zealand for their second home match in three years, when they face an under-fire Melbourne Storm side at Mt Smart Stadium on Friday night.
Join Newshub for live updates of NZ Warriors v Melbourne Storm from 8pm Friday.
