The Warriors suffered their second straight loss of the season at the hands of the Bulldogs last night in Dunedin, and assistant coach Stacey Jones believes players are clocking off at crucial parts of the game and not giving an 100 percent effort.
The Warriors had mountains of possession during the match under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium but only managed to cross the line twice, while the Bulldogs defended stoutly making over 50 tackles inside their 20-metre zone.
Jones, a Warriors legend, told RadioLIVE more players need to step up, especially when they are feeling fatigued as that is what separates the best teams from the rest of the field.
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"The NRL competition is really tough and when you are tired and fatigued that is when you really have to put your body on the line, and we don't have everyone doing that at the moment," said Jones.
"We have players who clock off at certain times in the game when they are tired, and the good teams don't do that. They are under fatigue as well but have the mental capacity to push through it, and we can do that for periods of time, but we have to be able to do it for the full game.
"Come Monday there will be a few players under the microscope from Stephen Kearney."
It's only three rounds into the new season, and many fans are already angry and frustrated with the way the team has been performing, but Jones insists people must trust what the club is trying to achieve.
"At the moment we have to put trust in what we are doing, and hopefully, it comes off," said Jones.
"We have to have faith in what we are doing and have to turn it around, and we go to Sydney next week against a team we struggle against.
"We will review the game with the players on Monday, but us coaches have started that today."
'The Beast' still needs to be assessed by the Warriors medical team, but Jones believes it is unlikely he will make the trip to Sydney.
"He will have a medical review on Monday. My understanding it's an injury which could put him out for a few weeks."
"Manu has had knee problems over the last couple of years, and he doesn't have much cartilage in his knee."
Despite Vatuvei facing time on the sidelines, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is expected to return after recovering from a concussion suffered against the Melbourne Storm, while controversial new signing Kieran Foran is close to returning to full fitness.
Foran has not played since last season due to a shoulder injury and is eager to make his club debut.
"Roger was very close to being ready for the Bulldogs game but couldn't quite tick all the boxes.
"He should be right with another week off. If he were playing last night, he would have added plenty to our attack."
"Kieran is not too far away. We will know early in the week if he is a good chance or not.
The Warriors will have plenty of time to reflect on their next match which is against the St George - Illawarra Dragons next Sunday, a side which they have only beaten five times in 24 attempts.
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