Playmaker Thomas Leuluai says belief is growing that play-off football is within reach of the Warriors after their 30-22 win over NRL premiers Melbourne in Auckland on Sunday.
But Leuluai also remains grounded after the once-struggling Warriors lifted themselves to ninth on the table.
“We know now that if we perform to our potential, we can make the eight, but you have to do it,” Leuluai said.
“You can’t just say you should be in the eight. You have to actually do it, so next week is vital too.”
The Warriors began the season with a dismal run of just two wins in the first 10 rounds.
But since their club-record 62-6 drubbing by Penrith, they have collected seven victories from eight matches, their only loss coming after a hard-fought battle with leaders South Sydney.
Leuluai credits the effort of the forwards and the kick-chase as factors in the win over Melbourne.
But he also said the ease with which the Storm were able to cut through the Warriors’ defence out wide provided a big lesson ahead of the visit of Cronulla next Saturday night.
“We’ve got a lot to learn from that game,” he said.
“There were times they beat us quite convincingly on the edges, which is something we need to look at.”
Leuluai’s form has been one of the features of the past two months and he again played a key hand against the Storm.
It was also his solo try, when he somehow got past half-a-dozen defenders, that helped the Warriors to an 18-4 half-time lead.
The 28-year-old five-eighth was typically matter-of-fact about his scoring effort.
“You just run the ball,” he said.
“I bounced off a couple and I saw the line so I put the ball down. That’s the best way I can explain it.”