Dragons coach Paul McGregor expected a backlash from the Warriors.
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He even addressed it with his side after Warriors coach Andrew McFadden dropped six players, including Internationals Manu Vatuvei, Ben Matulino, Bodene Thompson and Konrad Hurrell.
It’s what made his side’s failure to respond the most disappointing aspect of their 26-10 loss.
They had an opportunity to impress their coach and their club and they certainly did that,” McGregor said.
“We spoke about turning that away with our desire and intensity in the game and we just didn’t do it.
“That’s the most disappointing thing because we did address it.
“We knew before yesterday that a few of them were doubtful of playing so what we needed to do was work hard on what we can control, which is playing a tough relentless brand of footy. We just didn’t do that.
“Unfortunately they just ran a lot harder than us and tackled a lot harder than us and that’s a game of footy.
