NRL: Warriors look to their youth for salvation

After a year of injury, Elijah Taylor (right) is now one of the young Warriors being relied on by coach Cleary to lift a bad season start. Picture / Brett Phibbs

Ivan Cleary hasn't just given Warriors' youth a chance, he's tasked them with engineering a dramatic turnaround in the club's fortunes.

Conventional wisdom dictates that young talent should be eased into the big time. Ideally budding stars join a winning team, one at a time, nestling in among the veterans.

That goes out the window when a team is 0-3 - particularly when they're being dragged down by a core of misfiring senior players. Culling to the extent Cleary did for tomorrow's meeting with the resurgent Sharks in Taupo happens often enough, but seldom, if ever, does it involve so many core veterans being replaced by out-and-out rookies.

In dropping Lance Hohaia, Brett Seymour and Joel Moon - and losing Jerome Ropati to injury - Cleary has jettisoned 487 games of experience.

In bringing in Glen Fisiiahi, Bill Tupou, Elijah Taylor, Ukuma Ta'ai and quite possibly Alehana Mara, he has replaced that experience with just 46 games - Ta'ai accounting for 30 of them.

And replacing his fullback, halfback and possibly one hooker, Cleary has also ripped out at least half the team's spine. After watching his team attack with all the steel and verve of a jellyfish, who can blame him?

The Warriors rank 14th in points and tries scored, 14th in linebreaks (2.7/game) and 13th in metres gained and tackle breaks. Of their eight line breaks, only one came in open play (the others automatically credited when a try was scored).

The bar for the incoming young guns hasn't exactly been set high. The question on which a downward-spiralling season may well swing is whether they can raise it.

Cleary believes they can.

"Yeah they're young, but they're the future of the club," Cleary said. "That's the nature of the game these days. It was only a few weeks ago we were playing trial games and all these guys were playing together.

"I'm certain they're ready."

Having been named for his debut against the Titans late in 2009 only to pick up a training injury, and then having 2010 wrecked by a serious pre-season knee injury, Taylor feels more than ready to step up.

"I feel like I'm up to it," he said. "But I also know there's a job to be done. The confidence in the team is down at the moment, so we've got to do everything we can to prepare well and get the two points."

Taylor's favoured positions are lock and five-eighth but he's expected to come off the bench to spell Ta'ai in the second row. He's prepared for facing a daunting Sharks back row trio of Paul Gallen, Jeremy Smith and Anthony Tupou by watching replays of the Sharks' victory over the Dragons with his family.

It's a huge physical challenge but, having tuned up in the New South Wales Cup with the Vulcans, Taylor expects to be up to it.

Fisiiahi learned the hard way just how tough the NRL can be.

Tormented by Jarryd Hayne's spiral bombs on debut in round one at Eden Park, he was also smashed in a huge tackle that left him with a damaged shoulder and concussion.

"I always knew it was going to be a lot faster and a lot more physical but ... [that tackle] was a wake-up call," he said.

More like a goodnight call actually, but Fisiiahi's not looking back.

"I've put it behind me. I'm just trying to improve on what I need to improve on. I'm just going to try my best to help the team, run off the forwards and float around, see what I can do."

Fisiiahi is looking forward to linking up with former NYC comrade Bill Tupou, the young winger who scored a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture last season.

Mara, the final member of the young quartet drafted in by Cleary, has been named as 18th man. Whether he plays remains to be seen, but the hooker was impressive in a three-game stint late last season and appears to possess the spark at dummy-half the team needs.

Meet the new breed of young guns

Glen Fisiiahi

Position: Fullback, wing

Age: 20

NRL games: 1

NYC record: 29 games, 22 tries

Contract status: Signed a four-year deal that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2015 season.

Highlights: Scored a try in NYC grand final victory over Souths. Scored five tries during 2011 pre-season, earning an NRL debut v Eels in round one at Eden Park.

Bill Tupou

Position: Wing

Age: 20

NRL games: 12 (4 tries)

NYC record: 49 games, 37 tries

Contract status: First season as a fully contracted first grader.

Highlights: A prolific scorer at junior level, Tupou endured a try drought in the top grade until breaking through with a hat-trick against the Sharks in round 22 last season.

Alehana Mara

Position: Hooker

Age: 21

NRL games: 3

NYC record: 39 games, 11 tries

Contract status: Not listed among the club's 25 top tier contracted players.

Highlights: Debuted against Manly in round 24 last year. Impressed over a three-game stretch before season ended by an ankle injury.

Elijah Taylor

Position: Lock, second row, five-eighth, hooker

Age: 20

NRL games: 0

NYC record: 52 games, 14 tries

Contract status: Promoted to full NRL contract in 2010

Highlights: Stood in for Ben Henry as captain for NYC grand final victory over Rabbitohs, scoring two tries. Named to make NRL debut v Sharks tomorrow in Taupo.