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North Queensland Cowboys captain and Kiwi enforcer Paul Rauhihi thought the New Zealand Warriors had made big improvements during the off-season and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2005.
Rauhihi led the Cowboys to their second win of the season and fourth straight against the Warriors on Sunday but heaped praise on his opponents after they fought back from 12-0 down to get into the match in the second half.
"They went really well I thought," the 31-year-old prop said to reporters after the match.
"They are pretty good now up the middle. They have definitely changed from how they were last year - they are a far better side and you saw that today."
Such was the stop-start nature of the match, the Cowboys didn't feel they had won the game until the last minute when Matthew Bowen plucked a Stacey Jones chip kick out of the air and raced 60 metres to score beneath the posts.
"Because it so scrappy, I guess you had to say when we scored the try at the end there and took the lead that was the turning point."
Rauhihi played down the four successive victories over the Warriors however, saying there was little to take from stats like that as both teams change for each clash.
"We are still behind on the [overall] ledger. I don't think you can read too much into the history of who has one more games."
