Warriors field strong crew to show ex-coach who's boss

COACH: New Zealand Warriors coach Andrew McFadden (pictured) will go head-to-head with former coach Ivan Cleary today in a pre-season match in Rotorua. PHOTO/FILE

In the history of the New Zealand Warriors, only three coaches at the club have managed to win more games than they've lost.

And two of them will go head-to-head in Rotorua today.

Ivan Cleary's Penrith Panthers and Andrew McFadden's Warriors will face off at the Rotorua International Stadium at 3pm today.

While McFadden is largely inexperienced as a head coach in the NRL, Warriors fans will be hoping he can continue as he started at the club.

Last year he took control of the team in round six, after the Warriors had only won two games. He then managed to move the club up the ladder, during the remainder of the season, missing out on the top eight by points differential.

That means, after 19 games in charge, he joins Cleary and Daniel Anderson as the only three coaches, out of 10, who have recorded winning records at the club (more wins than losses).

That may not sound like a very encouraging record, but in a competition as tightly contested as the NRL, a winning record is as good as a spot in the finals each year.

Fans will get a good gauge today of where the Warriors are at after an intense pre-season under McFadden.

McFadden has already stated that he is treating the pre-season game as a round one match and has named a strong team full of first-team players to play the Panthers.

It's hard to make a bold call on how he and the team will fare this year, and only time will tell, but like all Warriors fans I'm hoping to see some good signs today.

And on that note, perhaps there is no better test than the Panthers.

Cleary's record against the Warriors since joining the Panthers is quite brilliant. He has won five and lost two matches against his old club since switching to Penrith in 2012.

Who, When, Where
New Zealand Warriors v Penrith Panthers, 3pm today, Rotorua International Stadium

Cleary Statistics
- Ivan Cleary's record against the Warriors (since taking charge of the Panthers in 2012):
- 2012: Lost 30-16 at Centrebet Stadium; Won 18-16 at Mt Smart Stadium.
- 2013: Won 32-18* at Waikato Stadium; Won 62-6 at Centrebet Stadium; Won 28-24 at Mt Smart Stadium.
- 2014: Lost 30-20 at Mt Smart Stadium; Won 22-6 at Centrebet Stadium.
*pre-season match

How the coaches have done
NZ Warriors coaches who have won more games than they've lost:
- Daniel Anderson (92 games) 51 wins, 2 draws, 39 losses.
- Ivan Cleary (137 games) 68 wins, 3 draws, 66 losses.
- Andrew McFadden (19 games) 10 wins, 0 draws, 9 losses.