PITY the Warriors didn't tighten their defence a bit earlier in the season. There is no doubt they are worthy of playing in the finals, and if they keep winning they will get there, but if they have to rely on their points for and against differential getting them through in the event of a tie, they had better bludgeon an opponent or two over the next few rounds.

Despite having won as many games as they have lost, the Warriors have a differential of minus 95 and are considerably worse off than the teams around them in the crowded middle section of the competition table when it comes to for and against, which will decide finishing positions for teams level on points.

They got pounded a few times in the first half of the season, conceding 52 points against Manly, 48 against North Queensland, 46 against Penrith and 30-something in four other games. They conceded an average of 30.08 points per game in the first 13 rounds, but have given up an average of 17.75 since to put themselves in the frame for a play-off position.

The Warriors were suitably desperate in their 16-12 win over Brisbane at Mt Smart Stadium. After losing a very important game by two points against South Sydney in the previous round, they had to beat the Broncos. They were tough enough and determined enough to get the result needed.

It was a game the Warriors should have won, considering they were playing at home and Brisbane had several players out, but it looked likely to be close and that was how it eventuated. The difference was that while the Broncos had managed to snatch a few games like that against the Warriors in Auckland in the past, this time the home side held on.

Darren Lockyer was usually the difference when the Broncos won those games, but even he could not get the Broncos over the line in the closing stages. Lockyer looks like he is still getting his fitness and game back after complications from a knee reconstruction, but there are flashes of brilliance and he is still the Broncos' best bet of doing something significant in the finals.

On the other side, Warriors' fullback Wade McKinnon made a tremendous return from a knee reconstruction. He looked like he had been playing all season, rather than having missed the first 21 rounds after being hurt in a pre-season trial game. McKinnon sounded supremely confident in interviews before the game and ran the ball without hesitation once he got out there.

The loss did plenty of harm to Brisbane's chances of finishing in the top four and having a home game in the first week of the finals. Now they have got to make sure of fifth spot first and hope that one of the teams ahead of them hits a few hurdles in the next few rounds, opening up a top-four spot in the last round or two.

No one was playing for top-four spots, or even top-eight spots when the Bulldogs met North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium. It was all about the other end of the table, and the Cowboys' 36-12 win has breathed new life into the battle to avoid the wooden spoon after they appeared to have taken out a mortgage on it.

Now the last-placed Cowboys are only two points behind the Bulldogs, with no other team a realistic chance, and they would only have to draw level on competition points with the Bulldogs to avoid running last, because the Bulldogs have by far the worst differential. It's not just whether you win or lose in this competition, but by how many points.