Defence has been an issue for the Warriors but coach Brian McClennan wants more in attack as they prepare to play the in-form Newcastle.

The Warriors put up a gutsy defensive effort in their NRL clash with the Broncos in the Brisbane rain last Friday but couldn’t get their attack together as they went down 10-8.

The Warriors suffered from a rare off night with the boot from James Maloney but McClennan didn’t think that was the problem.

“It was probably one of our best defensive performances of the year … but we lost the balance – we lost a bit of our attack.”

“Mostly the reason we didn’t come up with the points against Brisbane was more through execution and our option-taking in attack as opposed to goalkicking. We’ve got it in us to score more than two tries in a game.”

Aiding the Warriors’ attack will be the return of centre Konrad Hurrell after missing the Broncos game with a foot injury.

“He’s a very special talent. He’s very powerful and very quick, has great agility and he’s improving defensively as well,” McClennan said.

“To have him back gives us a nice balance for our attack.”

The Knights are two points below the Warriors on the NRL ladder but come into Saturday’s clash at Mt Smart Stadium after a 32-6 thrashing of Manly last round.

“They’ve won three of their last four so we’ve got a healthy respect for them,” he said.

“We’ve had a good look at them and have come up with a game plan we think will suit best against them.”

With seven rounds to go, the Warriors need to start winning more often to secure a playoff spot but McClennan says that isn’t their focus.

“We don’t really discuss that. The pressure for us is trying to get that complete performance.”