Warrior vows to win 'for people of Canty'

Christchurch-born Warrior Lewis Brown says he desperately wants to beat the Titans in the NRL playoffs to "put a smile on the face of Canterbury people who are hurting from the devastation of the earthquake".

The 23-year-old second rower played a vital role in last Saturday's 26-12 win over the Eels in Sydney despite worrying most of the day about the fate of his mother and grandparents in the Christchurch earthquake zone.

"I woke up on Saturday morning in Sydney to a text message from a friend about the bad news," Brown said. "To be honest, I was pretty upset. I'm very close to my family and I was worried about them. I tried to ring mum but her phone turned off. I rang my grandparents, who live by themselves and are getting a bit older, and their phone was off as well."

Time was ticking by and Brown found it tough to focus on the game. His mind was put at rest "when mum gave me a call on a landline and told me everyone was all right".

But he was still a little unsettled until he got a call from his grandfather,"who I'm very close to".

"He told me not to worry about anyone and to just focus on the game. He said all they were worried about was whether they'd get on the power to watch the game on TV.

Fortunately, it did so they were able to see us do the business." Brown described his match day buildup as "a little weird".

"I didn't make it very open, but I played that game for the Christchurch people to give them something to smile about because I knew they'd had such a hard day."

The Warriors have a short turnaround this week before meeting the Titans on the Gold Coast. Brown will barely have time to unpack before heading across the Tasman again on Wednesday to start the Auckland-based club's bid for a first NRL title.

Meanwhile, a potential crisis at hooker is the only dent in a confident Warriors outfit eyeing Friday night's NRL playoffs clash with the Titans on the Gold Coast.

Kiwis hooker Aaron Heremaia injured an ankle in the Warriors' impressive 26-12 last-round win over Parramatta in Sydney on Saturday night – a result that saw Ivan Cleary's side finish the regular season fifth and now facing the fourth-placed Titans away in the opening weekend of the finals.

With backup hooker Ian Henderson still struggling with an ankle injury that has plagued him over the past month the Warriors have rookie Alehana Mara as the next best specialist.

Their other option would be to upset the makeup and rhythm of the team by moving fullback Lance Hohaia into hooker and rejigging their potent backline.

"The biggest concern is hooker with Aaron injured and we're still not sure about Ian. We will have to look at that," Cleary said, confirming that workaholic backrower Micheal Luck will be fit to front the Titans after missing the Eels match with a cut to his knee.

But Heremaia has been a key and every effort will be made to get him fit.

He has had an outstanding season with his distribution and running game from dummy half crucial to this campaign.

The Warriors' defence stood up to the Eels magnificently during a tight opening hour in Parramatta.

"It's been a bit of a cornerstone of the second half of the year for us and the team has got some confidence from that," Cleary said.

He believed the win over the Eels was a good dress rehearsal for the finals.

"They were at full strength and probably talent-wise they are as good as any team in the NRL – grand finalists last year, playing at home and coming at us like we knew they would.

"It was a really good hit-out for us."

But he knows the stakes go up on Friday night against a Gold Coast side the Warriors have lost to twice this season – 24-18 away in round one and 28-20 at Mt Smart in round 21.

- © Fairfax NZ News