Warriors hunting fourth straight win

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak says plenty of off field work goes into perfecting his trademark diving finish.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

A full house is expected at Mount Smart tonight when the high flying Warriors take on a struggling Rabbitohs side.

However, Warriors coach Andrew Webster says the Rabbitohs are a dangerous side despite a recent dip in form and will be hungry for a result.

The South Sydney side are coming off the back of a heavy loss to the Cowboys while the Warriors are riding a three game winning streak.

Webster says they can’t sleep on the Bunnies when the sides meet in Auckland.

“They’re not far away so the team that I think is coming will give a far better performance than what they threw out (against the Cowboys).”

The Warriors come in to the clash on the back of three dominant victories and are sitting fifth on the NRL table.

Webster says the South Sydney side have had their set backs but does not think they’re in a slump

“They’ve had some disruptions with injuries and things like that but they are a class outfit. I expect them to be coming here knowing the challenge ahead and they will be hungrier than ever so we’re going to be ready for that.”

A full house is expected at Mount Smart tonight.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Mount Smart has been sold out for days ahead of the match.

“We’re proud of the fact that our fans want to come and watch us play but we know there’s lots of work to do.”

Webster said he wants his side to express themselves.

“They’ve got to actually try things to see if it works. They’ve probably seen something because they’re out there doing it so you’ve got to support them and say ‘go for it.’ I just want our mentality to get to the point where we are really good at knowing when to pull the trigger on those type of plays, because I thought when we got it right, we looked the best we’ve looked.”

One who will do just that is Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak who said plenty of practice goes into his diving corner finishes.

Watene-Zelezniak scored four tries in last weekend’s win over the Dragons, two of them highlight reel acrobatic efforts to cross the line.

He credits his teammates for allowing him to showcase his spectacular finishes.

“When I was younger, we got to do a bit more but now that I’m getting a bit older, it’s quite sore, but last week we had the pads out and while the forwards were tackling each other we were diving in and having some fun. So yeah, we we do practice it a little but it’s very lucky we did because on the weekend we needed it.”

Kick off at Mount Smart is at 8pm.