Warriors wary of Parramatta threat

Warriors coach Andrew McFadden is looking past the scoreline as he warns of the threat Parramatta will pose in his side’s first home match of the NRL season.

The Eels go into Saturday’s clash in Auckland on the back of a 32-12 loss to Canterbury, a big turn-around from their 42-12 thumping of Manly in week one.

But McFadden says the result against the Bulldogs didn’t accurately reflect Parramatta’s performance.

“They had some injuries to outside backs and that can have a big impact on your defensive line,” he said.

“I think they’ve been very impressive. All the wraps they’re getting at the moment are deserved.”

Among those injured was winger Semi Radradra, who has already bagged four tries in 2015 but is out of the line-up to face the Warriors.

While Parramatta would miss Radradra, McFadden said they had a handy replacement in Vai Toutai.

“There’ll be a few guys that are pretty happy that Radradra is not running, but they’re a very good team so we’re certainly going to have to be on our game,” he said.

The Warriors are also 1-1 from two rounds after beating Canberra 18-6 last Sunday.

One area they’re looking to execute better is in their last-tackle options, which often died with a hand-over.

“That’s something we acknowledge can be a big improver,” McFadden said.

“We’ve been taking opportunities, but sometimes we probably need to take a bit of the more high-percentage plays.”

A big plus for the Warriors against the Raiders was the return of fullback Sam Tomkins after a hamstring complaint.

The England Test star produced an impressive display, making one huge break and playing a hand in two of the Warriors’ three tries.

But Tomkins’ own assessment of his form was measured.

“It was all right,” he said.

“There are areas I need to work on, the same as the team do.

“I don’t think it was a complete performance by myself but I was relatively happy with it.”

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