Cronulla's Luke Covell says stretching premier Melbourne all the way in Round 1 has given the Sharks the self-belief to open their 2010 account with victory over the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night.
The goal-kicking winger said from Auckland on Friday that his team is in a buoyant mood ahead of one of the NRL's toughest road trips.
"Even though we didn't get the win last week we took a lot out of the game," Covell said.
"We had Melbourne on the ropes and just couldn't put them away."
"It was disappointing not to get the win but the players got a heap of confidence from almost knocking off the world champions."
The Sharks played well in patches against the defending premiers but Covell expects a much more fluent performance in attack against the physical Kiwis.
"We're still working some new guys into the team and it may take a little bit more time to fully gel but I'd expect an even stronger performance second time around," Covell said.
"Our defence against Melbourne was pretty good and I thought there were some positive signs in attack. We've now just got to put it together over 80 minutes and hopefully come away with a win."
The Warriors looked strong for around an hour before going down to the Gold Coast in oppressive conditions last week.
The home side welcomes back skipper Simon Mannering and the experienced Wade McKinnon, who'll come off the bench, and are always hard to toss at home.
But Covell believes the Sharks, who arrived in Auckland on Thursday, can shut down the flamboyant Warriors attack and have enough points in them to record an upset.
"They are big, physical and hard to predict but we've just got to stay disciplined and stick to Ricky's plan," he said.
"Not many people give us a chance but I can tell you the feeling among the boys is really good and we'll be disappointed if we don't come away with a win."
The Sharks are expected to line up one to 17 with 18th man Broderick Wright set to drop off the bench.