After three narrow wins in a row over Cronulla, Parramatta and Newcastle -- sides beneath them in the lower half of the ladder -- back-to-back-games against the reigning premiers and in-form Roosters loom as the first real test of the Warriors' premiership credentials.
The seventh-placed Warriors are currently level on 14 competition points with the sixth-ranked Rabbitohs, who they take on at nib Stadium in Perth on Saturday. The 2013 title-winning Roosters currently occupy fifth.
Much has been made of their ability to grind out their recent victories but senior prop Jacob Lillyman says the next fortnight will provide a true gauge of how the Warriors are tracking.
"These two games will show where we're really at," Lillyman said. "If we stand up and make a statement, that will do our season the world of good and we need to see this as an opportunity to do that.
"These are the games you look forward to, especially in the forwards. Both Souths and the Roosters have massive forward packs so we're really looking forward to it and hopefully we can get the result."
Despite their winning run, the flip-side of their narrow victories is that the Warriors haven't been clinical in their disposal of rival sides.
While they led throughout last Sunday's game, they were fortunate to hold off a badly depleted Knights outfit 24-20 despite holding a 20-8 advantage early in the second-half.
Lillyman conceded their intensity had waned and admitted they need to show more consistency across 80 minutes.
"We need to put the foot on the throat and really capitalise on those opportunities," he said. "There were a few times against Newcastle when we had them pinned in the corners and just came up with soft tackles or let players skip to the outside and let them off the hook."
That said, the 31-year-old Queensland State of Origin front-rower sees positives in the fact his side have been getting results. After being on the wrong end of so many close encounters in recent years Lillyman believes the Warriors are growing in confidence after scraping through some tight matches.
"It's nice to see we get a bit of luck. Over the years, we'd come off on the rough end in those games that could go either way. We're getting a bit of luck and sneaking through and that does your confidence the world of good and allows us to really see that we have a lot to work on but that we can build on it."
Coach Andrew McFadden agrees his side need to be better to match it with their next two opponents.
"I watched the Roosters on Monday night [in their 24-2 win over Melbourne] and, wow, they were impressive, with their energy and how clinical they were. It's a reminder of what you need if you want to be a contender at the pointy end."
They'll need more than luck to bring down the Rabbitohs, who are finding their way back into top form following consecutive wins over the Eels and Titans. Lillyman is bracing for a huge test up front against the likes of Tom and George Burgess, Tim Grant, fellow Maroons forward Chris McQueen and 2016 Warriors hooker Issac Luke.
"We've got to meet that physical challenge head-on. We did last year for 60 minutes. We played some unreal footy there but dropped off at the end and let it slip so we don't want to let that happen again."
- David Skipwith of the New Zealand Herald
