NRL: Warriors coach Andrew Webster’s tricky dilemma ahead of final match

The Warriors celebrate a try to Adam Pompey. Photo / Photosport

Over the next few days, Warriors coach Andrew Webster faces some of the trickiest decisions of his short tenure.

With the team sealing their top four place after Friday’s 18-6 win over the Dragons, Webster has the rare luxury of being able to rest players for their final round match against the Redcliffe Dolphins on Saturday (5pm), ahead of the playoffs.

While the club will still want to chase a win in Brisbane, the primary consideration has to be ensuring peak performance the following weekend. That could mean giving some players a week off. Halfback Shaun Johnson is a prime example, given his importance, workload this season and the fact he has been carrying a quadricep issue over the last few weeks, which has restricted his goal kicking..

The Warriors will also want to avoid any injuries, while being aware of the new mandatory 11-day stand down imposed by the NRL for head knocks and the consequences of a failed HIA assessment.

There are several possibilities. As it stands the Warriors (3rd, 38 points) will face Penrith (2nd, 40 points) in their opening playoff match, after the Panthers slipped to second following Friday’s loss to Parramatta. Brisbane’s win over Canberra on Saturday has also put paid to any (fanciful) suggestions of the Warriors sneaking into the top two, which was contingent on big victories in their last two matches as well as Brisbane dropping both of their remaining games.

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The picture for the Warriors will become clearer on Thursday night, with the Melbourne Storm travelling to Suncorp Stadium. A Broncos win will guarantee top spot and mean the Victorian side can’t leapfrog the Warriors into third spot. A Storm victory will see the Warriors drop into fourth place, setting up a date with the premiers, unless the Auckland club then beat the Dolphins.

Warriors coach Andrew Webster. Photo / Photosport

Beside those permutations, Webster has to consider the pros and cons of selecting a full-strength team for Saturday’s match. There are upsides – cohesion, combinations and confidence – but also risks, and the temptation to wrap some players in cotton wool must be considerable.

Webster also has the insight gained from the past two seasons at Penrith, with contrasting final round approaches taken by Ivan Cleary. In 2021 he picked his best team for the regular season finale – won 40-6 over the Eels – before they dropped their qualifying final to the Rabbitohs the following week. Last year, with the minor premiership sown up, Cleary rested 13 players for the trip to Townsville (a 38-8 loss) before the big guns returned for a 27-8 win over the Eels in the first finals match seven days later. In both seasons Penrith took out the grand final.

“I hate looking ahead,” said Webster after Friday’s win. “It is part of my job to stay present, look at the now and then look at what’s coming ahead. For us, to be a top four team is unbelievable, but I feel like the changing room, the boys, they really want more. So we’ll work out what the best plan is to go about that is but as far as our style of play goes, the way we defend and our attack and what we want to achieve - nothing will change there. We’ll tidy things up and we’ll get better but how we attack other things, we’ll work that out.”

Captain Tohu Harris echoed those sentiments, when asked if the team was ready to peak for September.

“I hope so, but there’s still another game to go and I don’t want to look past that one,” said Harris. “It’s another opportunity for us to get better.”

After four seasons of mostly misery, hooker Wayde Egan admitted it was a special feeling to look at the NRL ladder.

“Top four is a big achievement and doesn’t come around very often,” said Egan. “We are very grateful. We were talking before about the contrast of [2022]. It’s pretty unbelievable to see how hard we have worked and a lot has gone into the club. It’s been an awesome ride.”

Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.