Braveheart Warrior looks to slay Dragons

FIONA GOODALL/Fairfax Media

PRE BATTLE: The New Zealand Warriors have found a Braveheart in rugged hooker Ian Henderson, the Scottish international.

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The New Zealand Warriors have found a Braveheart in rugged hooker Ian Henderson.

The Scottish international is all fired up to slay the St George-Illawarra Dragons in Wollongong on Sunday.

Henderson will line up for Scotland in the world cup in October-November, but says the race for the top eight playoffs in the NRL is his most pressing concern since establishing himself as the Warrior's No 1 hooker after three years in Britain's Super League with the Bradford Bulls.

In his best William Wallace pre-battle speak he cuts down talk of a hoodoo for the Warriors at WIN Stadium in Wollongong, where they have never beaten the Dragons in five matches.

"We're not worried about playing there. If we play the way we have been playing at Mount Smart we should be well capable of getting the win.

"It's important to carry on the form we have at home and take that overseas. We fell off the horse the week after we beat [leaders] Melbourne when we lost to Souths.''

The Warriors sit eighth and the Dragons seventh on a congested points table, with identical 11 win-10 loss records.

But the Warriors' dismal early-season form has landed them with a minus 81 points differential, compared to the Dragons' plus 67.

That sorry statistic could burn the Warriors if they finish level on points at the end of the regular season, but three wins from three against the Dragons (away), Panthers (home) and Eels (a) will give them 32 points, a total which could see them finish as high as fifth.

Henderson says the mantra of "one game at a time'' has served the Warriors well in their current form spurt, with six wins in seven games, including the scalps of high-flying Melbourne, Brisbane and the Cronulla Sharks last Saturday.

"We don't want to worry about the ladder,'' said Henderson. "We just have to go and get the win - then we'll have a look at the table.''

Henderson has scored five tries in 20 games for the Warriors since sealing the hooker's berth five games into the season and, along with flatmate Simon Mannering, they have been ever-present in coach Ivan Cleary's forward pack.

Henderson believes the Dragons, who arrested a mini-slump with a gutsy 24-20 win over the Brisbane Broncos away last Friday, will be ready to rumble on Sunday, with backrower Ben Creagh and five-eighths Jamie Soward returning to the run-on side.

Henderson will rev up out of dummy half to put pressure on Soward's kicking game, with the Dragons averaging 660 metres gained a match from the boot, the best in the NRL, while the Warriors are languishing in 15th spot with 485m.

The extra ground gained from the boot has allowed the Dragons to dictate field position in several games and the Warriors can't allow Soward to take control.

"They've got a really strong team which can grind out wins. When the going gets tough they can stick it out,'' said Henderson.

"We need to go for 80 minutes to have any chance of winning.

"Their pack goes forward all day and we have to shut that down and cut off the space for [centres] Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper.''

Henderson, who has one more year on his contract with the Warriors, says his time with the Bradford Bulls had made him a more complete footballer.

He signed after little game time with the Sydney Roosters and says it helped him mature, on and off the field.

"It was a real good stepping stone for me going over there so young. I had to grow up living in a different country on my own - not just on the field but off the field as well.

"I played a lot of games in top grade which gave me a lot of experience to come back here and do a good job.'' He says Bradford's Kiwi players Robbie Paul, Joe Vagana, and Shontayne Hape "helped me out a lot''.

"They are a good bunch of blokes.'' He puts his form down to a desire to prove himself in the NRL and doing extra work at training. "I always work on little areas that I want to improve on to get the best out of myself.

"I put it down to how much you want it I was dying for an opportunity in the NRL and believed that I was capable of playing pretty well.

"I'm happy with the way I'm going and the way the team is going. I couldn't ask for much more at the moment.''

Referee: Shayne Hayne. TAB odds: Dragons $1.50. Warriors $2.45.

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