Warriors Mean
Business

The season gets serious for the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland tomorrow when they face National Rugby League (NRL) reigning premiers Penrith, the team who beat them four times last year.

Little was made of the eight-point loss to the Panthers in pre-season last year but the subsequent hidings at home at Ericsson Stadium, Penrith and in the preliminary final at Stadium Australia inject plenty of punch into the pre-season match at North Harbour Stadium.

There is extra expectation on the Warriors this year.

They've had two years pushing well into the finals, the average age of the team hovers around 24 years yet many now have three or four seasons and close to 100 games behind them.

There is also depth this year that no previous squad have had, and the addition of a recognised goalkicker in Tony Martin might help decide close games.

Penrith arrive today with a team with little difference from that which won the 2003 grand final.

Centre Ryan Girdler and Tony Puletua are out due to illness and injury, while Scott Sattler left to join the Wests Tigers.

There are several points of interest for the pre-season match.

Warriors second rowers Epalahame Lauaki and Danny Sullivan have a tough job to force a spot on the bench for the upcoming National Rugby League season, let alone a start, yet both are rated genuine prospects by coach Daniel Anderson.

Sullivan hasn't played for two years but is said to bring an aggression the Warriors some time lack, while playing a Warriors-style game with the ball.

Both Warriors captain Monty Betham and coach Daniel Anderson played down suggestions that the increased expectation of fans would prey on them this season.

"My expectation is that we challenge in every game, push into the top-eight, win a home semifinal and shake the finals series - that's the expectation I've had from 2001," Anderson said.

"We accept that expectation has increased but I see no reason why we can't live up to it. We can be better than last season, I think we can perform consistently at a higher level."

Betham agreed.

"We all know how good a squad we've got," he said.

"The public expectation will be no higher than ours is of ourselves.

"Everyone has come back after Christmas in really good shape and that's a measure of how much they're looking over their shoulder. There's plenty of enthusiasm."

Betham said the results of their games against Penrith in 2003 was a motivation.

"When you lose to a side four times in a row it hurts. This is a chance to even the score, plus they're the benchmark now, the premiers."