League: Warriors looking special - Hart

John Hart says the Warriors are positive but also realistic about their chances. Photo / Brett Phibbs

John Hart rates the 2009 Warriors squad as the best he's seen since joining the club at the start of the 2004 season.

"It's the best in terms of talent and the best in terms of depth," Hart said as he watched the pre-season build-up ahead of tomorrow's season-opener against Parramatta at Mt Smart Stadium.

The former All Black coach turned Warriors director of football is excited at the prospects for the year and expectation is buoyed by three wins from three in pre-season trials. "We set ourselves a goal to win the trials. In past seasons they were used as more of a chance to give everyone a run. This year we wanted to use them as a stepping-stone."

Some rookies from the under-20s were blooded in the 24-12 win over the Storm, the 34-28 victory over North Queensland and last weekend's 32-12 romp over Gold Coast and showed they will not be out of place when stepping up to the greatly increased pace of the NRL. "We got a lot out of the trials, they were structured better around how we want to play the game."

Competition across all positions had lifted the intensity of the trials, Hart felt. "It's quite exciting," he said of the forthcoming season.

The new buys Denan Kemp and Joel Moon from the Broncos and Jacob Lillyman from North Queensland had fitted in well and Hart predicted all three would consistently make the weekend squad . "I think we bought very well."

When he arrived along with new chief executive Wayne Scurrah they determined to turn the Warriors into a development club, "which it wasn't at the time". He is extremely pleased with the first-season showing of the under-20s in the new NYC Cup competition. The Warriors were the only club with two teams in the last four in the NRL and NYC play-offs.

"We had to start [the under-20s] from scratch, the Australian clubs already had juniors teams." Coach Tony Iro and manager Dean Bell had done a great job in creating a culture that junior players wanted to be in and parents were supportive of.

"I think culture is an over-used word at times but the fact they took a group of young men, had them travelling to Australia and that there was not one single off-field incident speaks volumes about the management of the team," Hart said. "To watch the under-20s training with the top side now is tremendous." It was signal of the succession planning they had in place.

"I think the under-20s will be good again this year because they have plenty of talent coming through despite having lost Daniel O'Regan [captain] and others because of the age barrier," Hart said. "We have around 70 boys on our books who are aged from 15 to 17. Our aim is to have four or five step up from the under-20s each season. We will still have to buy occasionally in Australia and they bring a balance, a hard-edged professionalism.

"I think we have a very balanced team right now and that has not always been the case. In 2010 we may be looking at buying just one player."

That was a good message to local kids and local league clubs, that the pathway was there and they were paying more attention to local juniors than had been the case in the past.

The combination of stability in the front office and performance on the field had not gone unnoticed in Australia and they were being treated with greater respect by players and player agents, Hart said. "We're looked at as very much a part of it now." The club's relationship with the NRL management was extremely good, Hart said, and he regarded the Aussie league as one of the best-run competitions in the world.

The salary cap was clearly working and any team could beat any other "one to 16".

Because of that evenness of competition Hart will not promote the Warriors as possible title winners nor as grandfinalists. "We are premiership title contenders but I imagine the majority of the other 15 teams see themselves that way too - you have to have aspirations to win it, of course you do, and we do, but you also have to be realistic."

The club's goal this year and next and the year after is to make the play-offs and to become an annual threat in the finals. "Consistency is the thing we want to go for, to keep performing," Hart said.

He is heartened by the quality of young men they have attracted and cites a visit under-20s players Kevin Locke, Hermann Retzlaff and Aaron Hermaia made to help a Victoria Ave primary school teacher who is coach of the touch side and wanted some help and guidance. "It was their day off, they gave it up and to me that speaks volumes about the Warriors," Hart said.

"I think there is something quite special going on here now."