Ahead of a do-or-die semi-final against Newcastle at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday, Martin warned the Warriors could ill-afford to be so sloppy against the Knights.

“We’ve got to ride the mental wave and there will be a lot of emotion but we’ve got no lives (left) now,” Martin said.

“We’ve got to be full on board ready to go and I know the boys will be.

“If you give away the ball the amount of times we did, they (Penrith) make you pay for it.”

Martin is just two NRL games back from a broken fibula which robbed him of five months of the season.

While he was initially named to play five-eighth, Martin was forced to shift to halfback when Johnson was ruled out with a calf issue in the build-up to the qualifying final loss to the Panthers.

It was the first time Martin had partnered Dylan Walker in the spine for the club and the pair struggled to challenge the Panthers.

The Warriors are confident Johnson will be fit for the tussle with Newcastle but if their talismanic No. 7 doesn’t pull through Martin says he and Walker would felt they could turn the tide. 

“It was the first time I’ve played seven since I’ve come here," Martin said. 

“I thought it wasn’t too bad but obviously having Shaun Johnson out, one of our best players, hurt.

“Me and Dylan Walker were connecting for the first time in the halves and it’s a big task coming up against a Penrith team.

“There were some parts of the arm-wrestle we were winning and then we’d give away a penalty and they’d get on top of us.

“It’s attention to detail and little things like that which is an easy fix that if we take into next week it will be a good result for us.”

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