Warriors on right path in NRL: Lillyman - Sydney Morning Herald

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Warriors NRL prop Jacob Lillyman admits he doesn't know what's harder to take - being thumped by a big margin or getting squeezed out in a tight finish.

But he's confident the Warriors have their NRL season on track after their turnaround in a 16-14 defeat on Saturday night to the Sydney Roosters in Auckland.

"It's hard to say which hurts more when you work so hard and you come up just short," he said.

"It was a lot better effort and more commitment, and it shows we're heading in the right path."

The Warriors had needed a radical improvement after being embarrassed by Parramatta 40-10 in round one.

Against the Roosters, they were again left chasing the game when they fell 16-0 behind after conceding two quick tries early in the second half at Eden Park.

But they mounted a great comeback, with tries to Shaun Johnson, Pita Godinet and Bill Tupou getting them agonisingly close to breaking a 10-match losing streak dating back to last July.

Lillyman said he never felt the score would blow out even when Shaun Kenny-Dowall scored the third of the Roosters' three tries.

"You can tell when there's a certain level of commitment there," he said.

"It was worlds apart from last week, where we just dropped our heads and couldn't wait for it to finish.

"We stayed positive and we wanted to make a difference. Although it wasn't good enough, it was certainly a step in the right direction."

While there was plenty to work on, Lillyman said, the Warriors head across the Tasman to face Cronulla next Sunday with renewed confidence.

The 29-year-old Queensland State of Origin representative was among the Warriors' hardest workers against the Roosters, with 123 metres gained and 31 tackles made.

He had felt a responsibility to step up as one of the experienced heads in the team.

"I'm at that stage of my career now where I need to be performing week in and week out," he said.

"The Roosters have a big, aggressive forward pack and I wanted to go out and try to make a difference, especially after last week, where we were very poor."