The Warriors snapped a four game losing streak to beat the cellar dwelling Gold Coast Titans 22-6 at Mt Smart Stadium last night lifting the Auckland club into 7th on the National Rugby League ladder.
Not even Mat Rogers coming out of retirement could help the last-placed Titans with the Warriors dispelling fears they might not front for coach Ivan Cleary, who last week announced he will leave the club to coach Penrith next season.
With veterans Micheal Luck and Sam Rapira back from injury lay-offs, the Warriors built on the defensive effort they produced in their narrow loss to Melbourne on June 26, this time limiting the Titans to just one converted try.
Even better, they had a clean sheet in the second half and prevented Gold Coast breaking their line all night.
While the defence was back to the standard set in their five-game winning streak earlier in the season, the attack also improved markedly as the Auckland based side scored four tries and made four line breaks in a more balanced all-round display.
The success came at a price, though, as Ivan Cleary's men were forced to play almost the entire game with a complement of just 16 men after an ankle injury sidelined centre Lewis Brown in the third minute.
The Warriors are back at home against next Friday night against the Bulldogs.
