Graham Lowe credits culture shift for Warriors historic start to NRL season

The Warriors' stunning reversal in form through the early part of the new NRL season is indicative of a wholesale shift in team culture, claims rugby league coaching great Graham Lowe.

The Auckland-based side have made their best-ever start to a season, boasting six wins from seven games, as they sit second in the competition standings.

Lowe told The AM Show that the dramatic transformation was down to a cumulation of several factors - including player recruitment and increased accountability - that have combined to reinvigorate the club.

"The easiest thing to do in footy is score more points than the opposition in a game," said the former Kiwis coach. "The hard part is creating the culture, the belief in one another, having some fun, understanding the tradition.

"All those things go towards making a winning team and I think they've finally got it.

"There's an energy and a feeling there that all of us people here have known, that all of us rugby league people have known since day one - that there are good enough players here to win it."

And that's precisely where Lowe believed the potential of this side lay - the first Warriors team ever to lift the Provan-Summons trophy.

"I actually believe they can win the premiership this year. I firmly believe that.

"I think they've actually found out what a team is. It's more than just razzle-dazzle and scoring tries. You're a winning team 24 hours a day and that's what they are."

The 71-year-old insisted much of the credit should go to coach Stephen Kearney, whom he thought had taken plenty of lessons from his first tenure in charge, most notably in allowing the players to operate with more freedom.

"He's learned a lot as a coach. He's standing on his own two feet and going about things probably in a slightly different manner

"I think they went through a number of years of being over-coached and you could tell players weren't reaching their potential on the field."

Meanwhile, the impact of new CEO Cameron George had been less-heralded, but almost equally as impactful, said Lowe.

The Australian had been responsible for instilling increased accountability among the players, which combined with the squad's greater depth, meant no position can be taken for granted.

"You can't just perform poorly and expect to stay there," said Lowe. "There should be blood on the floor everywhere and it wouldn't happen at another club.

"It's been like a holiday camp over here, I think."

The Warriors are now in Melbourne where they take on the Storm in their annual Anzac Day clash on Wednesday.

Newshub.