Sure there was no Andrew Johns for the Knights on the weekend but I saw enough to be convinced that the Warriors can be contenders after their performance against Newcastle on Sunday.

They made silly mistakes early but settled down and played good football. They forced Newcastle to play poorly by putting pressure on players that failed to cope with the loss of their star play-maker in halfback and skipper Johns.

Warriors skipper Steve Price's performance was a vintage one and inspired his side to victory. The three charge-downs he got early in the match had a major effect on the Knights last tackle option as far as I see it.

Kurt Gidley was under the hammer in the opening minutes and never overcame the three occasions Price got to him on the last tackle.

In the end the Knights looked to move the ball away from Gidley to other options and Gidley tried positioning himself away from Price whenever he was set to get the pill. As a result the home side became flustered, uncomfortable and limited on attack.

Defensively the Warriors were good again, gang-tackling at times and making life difficult for the Knights' runners.

There were a couple of lapses that led to tries however and that will be worked on at training again because against better sides they would have been exposed.

If there was a worrying sign out of the match, then momentary lapses were once again it - as it has been through the opening four rounds.

Nathan Fien's kicking game was the best it has been all season and the kick-chase put an exclamation mark on the kicks as well.

For the second week running veteran second-rower Awen Guttenbeil was one of the best on the paddock and Jerome Ropati looked good in the five-eighth role. Thank goodness common sense prevailed and Sione Faumuina returned in the back-row.

He will become a more dangerous proposition in the coming weeks, as will Ropati now that their roles are better defined.

Tony Martin continues to look more comfortable in the centres and his goal-kicking was top shelf as well and finally bench forward Evarn Tuimavave looks to have cemented himself in the line-up with another top game off the bench.

This could be the start of something for the Warriors. A win over the defending premiers and victory over the hottest team in the league away from home gives Ivan Cleary's side some much-needed momentum.

Sure there is an argument suggesting that the injury-ridden Tigers were well off their best and a Johns-less Newcastle toothless but the scoreboard reads wins over two of the toughest teams to beat in the competition.

It is important however that this becomes the benchmark and winning habits are formed.

Next weekend the Warriors are at home to a Manly outfit that beat the Roosters on the weekend and will be hoping to establish a winning run for the first time in two seasons.

Not since late 2003 have the Warriors strung three successive wins together but a win over Manly will lift spirits ten-fold and get their points tally into the green and probably off the bottom of the table.

To overcome the points deduction this early in the year and catch the other side will give the Warriors confidence.

Having said all of this however, the Warriors of 2004 and 2005 would produce a poor showing against Manly and undo all of their hard work. It will be interesting to see if things have changed in 2006.

This will be my last story before I leave TVNZ to move up the road to Radio Sport in a full-time role.

Over the last four years writing for tvnz.co.nz there have been some special moments. Watching that memorable grand final in 2002 takes some beating but the mood in the changing sheds at Elland Road in Leeds after the Kiwis Tri-Nations final win over the Kangaroos last year will probably be the highlight of my time here.

That whole tour was special and I feel particularly lucky to have been able to witness it first hand.

There have been some tender moments as well like waking up on April 30 2003 and finding out that one of my childhood heroes Possum Bourne had passed away. He too was from Pukekohe and was a family friend. The world is a sadder place without him.

All in all my time here has been enjoyable. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to my writing here, for all the feedback and finally to everyone who takes the time to read it.

I will continue to write a Turn It Up article after each round of the NRL and it will be on the site each Monday.

You can post feedback or drop me a line by emailing dale.turn_it_up@hotmail.com.

Ciao, Dale.