New Zealand Warriors co-captain Mitch Barnett isn't hiding from the fact that State of Origin still tugs at him.

The front-rower, who recently returned from a broken thumb injury, admits the thought of pulling on a Sky Blues jersey again does cross his mind, but he's adamant it sits well behind his priorities for the Warriors.

For now, Barnett says his focus is fixed on delivering the kind of football for the Warriors that makes any rep conversation take care of itself.

"It's not on the front of my mind [playing origin] but I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about it," Barnett said.

"For me it's about getting back and playing consistent footy and then that stuff takes care of itself. Right now, it's about putting my best foot forward for the club."

The Warriors are in Wellington this weekend to take on the Dolphins to a sold out Hnry Stadium.

It's the club's first trip back to New Zealand's capital since 2023, when they opened their campaign with a gritty 20–12 win over the Knights in Round 1.

The Dolphins arrive under pressure after a stuttering start to their season, managing just two wins so far.

But Warriors head coach Andrew Webster has made it clear his side won't be underestimating Kristian Woolf's men, stressing that the Dolphins have enough strike and unpredictability to punish anyone who turns up even slightly off the pace.

"We know how fast they are, their forward packs going really well. Their back five carry hard. If you give them an opportunity or a sniff they're gonna make you pay,” he said.

Despite sitting comfortably at second on the ladder, Webster said his side are still searching for their best performance after the Warriors overcame a late Titans surge in the second 40 of last week's match.

After racing out to a 22–0 halftime lead, the Warriors were forced to withstand a late surge before hanging on 28–20, a finish that left the head coach calling for greater consistency across the full 80.

"We didn't put [the Titans] under enough pressure. We didn't get out of our end as well as we would have liked, and we didn't pin them down their end. We allowed two tries from last plays that we're not proud of, so the boys will be wanting to tidy that up this week,” he added.

"Consistency is our thing, we're still trying to find our game. We haven't played the football we want to play. Wins are always important, but if you're not searching for that performance you're really proud of and really want, you'll get punched in the face."

The Warriors kick off their match against the Dolphins at 6:05pm (AEDT) - 8:05pm (local).