Can the Warriors make the playoffs? Yes, maybe.

Will the Warriors make the playoffs? Probably unlikely.

It's that time of year again, the time where all Warriors fans get the calculator out and go through this torturous process of trying to predict the final few games.

For me it's all about Sunday night against Parramatta.  By that, I mean it's all or nothing. And by that, I mean the season essentially comes down to this one match. Whatever the result there'll still be a mathematical chance of qualifying but, realistically, a loss will end any faint hopes.

And, let's be honest, that's all we're talking about anyway. With four games left the most the Warriors can hope for is 22 points - and that would mean four straight wins against the Eels, Sharks, Raiders and Manly. The last time the club won four on the trot Moses was playing standoff for Mt Sinai.

So let's rule out that actually happening then. Sitting four points behind the Sharks and five points behind the Knights, the result of the match between those two this weekend is also as crucial to the Warriors as  this Eels game. It's all about ifs, buts and maybes. Who plays who now is crucial to the equation as who beats who. It's all speculation and calculation, trying to predict the unknown and hoping a whole heap of other results go favourably alongside.

Perhaps the biggest problem facing the Warriors on Sunday is not the fact we can't play Jennings and Alvaro but more that the Eels got walloped by the Rabbits last round. This is a wounded team we're facing, a side still chasing a top two finish and as desperate to win as the Warriors are.

With four wins from the last five, and at last knocking off a top eight side, the Warriors do come in full of confidence though.

So, back to the beginning. Can the Warriors beat the Eels? Can the Warriors make the eight? The answer to the first question is also the answer to the second.