-
Related
Click on the audio link to listen to the full Steve
Price interview
Despite a 44-16 blowout win last week, Warriors captain Steve Price
sees no room for complacency going into Round 19 of the NRL.
Price told tvnz.co.nz there were a lot of areas coach Ivan Cleary was unhappy with after the game against St George.
But he sees that as a good thing and said the last thing you want as a team heading into the back end of the competition is to be content with your form.
"If you go in complacent or thinking that your going pretty good you'll get your pants pulled down. It's important that we keep on striving to work really hard in a lot of areas," Price told tvnz.co.nz.
"There were still parts of our defence... and obviously with the ball we lacked a little bit. You've gotta keep improving or else you'll put that on yourself. It's just the way the comp is at the moment."
The Warriors look to be rounding into some form with just seven rounds of the regular season remaining, and the hard-running Price has been a major contributor to their success.
In career best form, he is averaging near 200 metres per game and must be the front-runner to win a second consecutive player of the year award for the Warriors.
But despite his mammoth numbers and rampaging on-field façade, Price said this season doesn't feel much different to previous campaigns.
"When you look at the numbers it's been way and above anything I've done before but it doesn't feel any different to any other season.
"I just think how the team's going helped, if the team's going good it makes my job easier and a lot more enjoyable and that's the way it's been. I suppose also your away from football life, you know, it's really good at the moment so all of those things play a big part of how you actually perform in the weekend."
Price is also feeling refreshed after being granted a few days off with his family last week.
After an intense period of football through State of Origin, some time to recharge the batteries was a welcome luxury.
And Price has paid tribute to the Warriors coaching staff which he said had handled potential player burnout very well.
"The attitude at training's tremendous and I think Ivan and the coaching staff have got a lot to be commended for that - just how fresh all the players are at the moment.
"There's players that have got a lot of niggling injuries but nothing that's keeping any guys out. The pressure from within the squad is brilliant, there's players playing really well for the Lions. It's a headache for Ivan but something that I'm sure he'd rather have."
With the end of season pressure beginning to mount on clubs, the Warriors head to Campbelltown this weekend to meet the Wests Tigers.
The Tigers sit in sixth spot on the competition ladder while the Warriors are two points behind in seventh place.
While it's not yet do-or-die time for the Warriors, Price is not downplaying the importance of this Sunday's game in the context of making the semi-finals.
"It's a bit of a four point game really, if we lose they'll be four points ahead of us, if we win were level. It's important just to keep on building momentum.
"Everyone's doing the sums of how many games each team needs to make the semis so obviously if you lose it puts a bit more pressure on you."
But Price knows that even with a loss this weekend, his side is still in a good spot heading down the stretch.
"You can't get too far in front of yourself, seven games is 14 points so you know it could change a lot of things for every club.
"I've been in plenty of situations where you've been in good positions at this time of the year and lost it, and been in other situations where you haven't been in such a good position and come home strong."