Litmus test awaits Warriors

The Warriors are undaunted by the huge challenge posed by the Storm and are instead using Sunday's home match as a timely test of form.

Given little hope to launch a play-off run a month ago, the Warriors have turned it around with three wins in a row to move one point out of the top eight.

As impressive as their run has been, those three wins have been against teams outside the top eight - the 10th placed Tigers, the dead-last Cowboys and the Bulldogs who are 15th.

It will be a much tougher prospect against the Storm - the reigning premiers who are on a three-match unbeaten run of their own - but it's a welcome litmus test for the Warriors heading into a tough seven-match stretch into the post-season.

"It's probably a good time to find out how we're going so I'm sure we'll know after the game this week," Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said.

"I think it's a good time to play them, based on the last month. We're certainly going a lot better than we were say a month ago and I still feel like our best performances are in front of us so it's not a bad spot to be in."

It's always around this time of year that equations start being thrown up and with the Warriors needing around four wins from their last seven to make the eight, there are those who feel a loss to the Storm wouldn't be the end of the world.

Fullback Lance Hohaia, who was outstanding in last week's win over the Bulldogs, is not one of those.

"I don't think we can afford to drop any games from now until the end of the season - that's the way we should be thinking," Hohaia said.

"It's a good opportunity for us this weekend. We don't see as a burden playing Melbourne, we think it's a good opportunity to test ourselves and see how far we've come."

The Storm lose one of their best in fullback Billy Slater after copping a one-week suspension but there is more than enough star quality to cover for his absence.

Greg Inglis is proving a nightmare for defenders, Israel Folau's aerial brilliance is almost unstoppable and the Melbourne forwards are not given enough credit for their solid carries and hard-hitting defence.

But shutting down the man who organises the onslaught, halfback Cooper Cronk, is an area the Warriors will place a high importance on.

"He runs a lot of their play and does a pretty good job too," Cleary said.

"Not unlike against other teams if you stop their yardage gains and put pressure on their key guys it gives you a much better chance of stopping other parts of their game. It's an all-round package and unlike last week we need to make sure we're onto it for 80 minutes."

The Warriors are also looking to hold their own in and around the ruck, where the often-criticised Storm have again been targeted in the media this week.

Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart said they were looking to 'attack the head' and were 'getting away with it' in the tackle area, although Storm captain Cameron Smith dismissed the comments as a tactic that rolls around every year to disrupt his side's dominance.