He might now after watching his side beat defending champions the Storm 30-22 to notch their seventh win in their last eight games.
The Warriors have achieved some serious momentum and a win like this will only see their confidence step up another level.
They are still housed midtable but their rivals across the Tasman will have taken notice of what they have done as they all jostle for the top eight.
The Warriors played well - they were tenacious in defence and kept going, regardless of the situation - but Melbourne bombed a number of tries as last passes went forward or they took the wrong options.
It was very un-Melbourne like as they made mistakes - and crucial ones came from The Big Three - but it also came because of the pressure the Warriors were putting on them. Melbourne made twice as many errors and were also asked to make 80 more tackles and it told.
The home side didn't make the game safe until two minutes from time when Kevin Locke soared over Justin O'Neill to collect a Shaun Johnson chip kick to the delight of the 20,126 crowd and they will hope the momentum continues when Cronulla visit next Saturday.
There were so many big moments in the match but one of the biggest was four minutes into the second half when Johnson looked certain to score one of his now-trademark long-range tries after blitzing past Billy Slater only to be cut down by a desperate Will Chambers 2m from the tryline.
It would have seen the Warriors jump out to a 22-4 lead with the conversion to come but, instead, Melbourne had reduced the gap to 18-16 inside 10 minutes. Cameron Smith then hit the upright with a relatively easy penalty attempt which would have levelled the scores and it saw the momentum shift back to the Warriors when Konrad Hurrell scored four minutes later.
Cooper Cronk scored with six minute remaining to reduce the gap to 24-22 to set up a grandstand finish before Locke finishing things off.
Melbourne might reflect on a first half when they found themselves trailing 18-4 but the scoreline wasn't a reflection of how close the game was. The Warriors were undoubtedly playing well - 94 per cent completion rate and only one error - but the Storm put them under tremendous pressure at times.
The visitors looked dangerous every time from from set plays as they attacked the Warriors on the edges and scored one try to Justin O'Neill directly from a scrum and should have had a second except the last pass went forward. They also had another try disallowed when O'Neill fumbled the ball going for the line.
The Big Three controlled things superbly, and Smith and Cronk produced momentum-shifting 40/20s on consecutive plays.
But the Warriors absorbed all of the pressure and took their chances when they came along. Ngani Laumape scored a brace inside 11 minutes - the first from a trademark Warriors move as they launched a series of dummy runners and the second three sets after fullback Kevin Locke gathered the ball on his own line and jinked his way 50m - and Thomas Leuluai also touched down when he cut back against the grain and extended an arm out.
Leuluai's try was not one a halfback should be able to score as he found his way through about five tacklers and it's likely Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy would have let fly a few choice words.
He might have had a few more at the end but one being said about the Warriors now is respect.
Warriors 30 (Ngani Laumape 2, Thomas Leuluai. Konrad Hurrell, Kevin Locke tries; Shaun Johnson 4 gls) Storm 22 (Justin O'Neill, Billy Slater, Maurice Blair, Cooper Cronk tries; Cameron Smith 3 gls). HT: 18-4.
- Michael Brown of APNZ
