They've been bashed from pillar to post both on and off the field but the real acid test is underway for the Warriors.
After copping a record hiding at the Panthers the resolve of the NRL club is now right in the spotlight ahead of Sunday's home game against the Knights.
Crisis meetings, honesty sessions, reality checks, call them what you like, the Warriors have had no choice but to confront their Penrith demons.
"It's very hard to allude to your errors and imperfections in front of your peers," says Nathan Friend.
"They've fronted up, I don't think anyone's gone hiding in a dark corner, you guys have certainly been asking a lot of questions and that's understandable," says coach Matt Elliott.
Just walking out the door has been that much harder in the wake of their capitulation to the Panthers given the magnitude of the public backlash.
"Coming home and genuinely being embarrassed about being out in public, going up the road to get some takeaways, you just want to hide," says Shaun Johnson.
The message rammed home to the young player's smiles on the field are to be reserved for victory.
"Some of us guys were torn in two and close to tears. To see the other guys with a smile on their face was pretty disheartening," says Friend.
Sunday shapes as a potentially season defining moment, needing to show the character that was lacking five days ago.
"We have no choice mate, we're definitely not going to quit or pack it in," says Feleti Mateo.
But coach Matt Elliott's warned the turnaround won't come without a positive attitude.
"If you want to walk around sucking your thumb and drive yourself with anger you're going to come second again real soon, we need to take the lesson," says Elliott.
The focus is now well and truly on righting the wrongs against the Knights.
"We're getting ourselves ready in the best possible way to go out there on Sunday, that started with a solid contact session yesterday, just running it straight at each other, just got back to the basics and getting some mongrel and aggression back," says Johnson.
But can they do enough to produce the biggest turnaround of the season?
"Ask me on Sunday after the game and I'll have an answer for you," says Elliott.
3 News
source: newshub archive
