Coach Andrew McFadden says simple errors have cost the Warriors the hot start he hoped would open his first full season as head coach.

Sitting in ninth place with three wins from six matches, the Warriors narrowly avoided squandering a 14-point lead against a spirited Wests Tigers outfit before winning 32-22 on Saturday.

Their previous win, against the Eels in round three, followed a similar script.

“It’s something we’ve got to address, that’s for sure,” McFadden said.

“We spend a lot of time putting a lot of pressure on the opposition and we sometimes give it away a little too easily.

“If we can just tidy that area of our game up, that’ll really help us.”

But with 18 regular season games still to play, McFadden said gains are being made in key areas that will help them build towards the “complete performance”.

Asked where he thought his side would be at this stage of the competition, McFadden said his only expectations were to improve.

“I think we’ve done that. We weren’t expecting to put it all together at the start.

“We’ve probably missed a few of the executions – the subtleties around our game – but we’ll build on that over the course of the season.”

Ahead of Saturday’s clash against the high-flying Cowboys in Townsville, McFadden hoped more would follow the example of wing Jonathan Wright, who has bounced back from a shaky start to the year to become one of the Warriors’ most consistent performers.

“Most people don’t see what he does,” McFadden said.

“He carries for a lot of metres, he’s always working for the team and he’s obviously very, very safe under the high ball.

“He’s had a fair few combinations inside him and that always makes it a little more difficult.”

The Warriors leave for Townsville on Thursday having won their last two encounters with the Cowboys.