Follow the action as the NZ Warriors clash with the Manly Sea Eagles at 4 Pines Park in Brookvale.
By Christopher Reive
Change is on the horizon for the Warriors.
When the curtain finally falls on their 2024 campaign, several key players part way with the club leaving gaps to be filled for next season.
It’s something the team is aware of as they head into their final three games of the season, but coach Andrew Webster will not use their remaining fixtures to blood young talent or work on combinations for 2025 simply for the sake of it.
“To play in the NRL is a big deal, and I don’t think we should just be handing out jerseys,” Webster said.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t reward people that we think deserve it. In my opinion, I’ve got one eye on the fact we want to win every week and we’re going to put the best team out there to win, and we’re not just going to be handing out jerseys for the sake of it.
“If I feel someone’s earned the right, they’ll definitely get an opportunity.”
Several players have flown over to join the team in Sydney, with Shaun Johnson named to start after being a late scratching from last weekend’s game with a quad injury, Marcelo Montoya and Adam Pompey being named at wing and centre respectively, and young talents Luke Metcalf and Leka Halasima joining the team as well.
The Warriors will have just one more home game this season, with next Friday’s match against the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs bookended by away fixtures against Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (Sunday) and the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks (Saturday August 31) before a bye in the last round.
When the season does end for the club, it will see big changes come with it as some key players leave, and that has provided added motivation for the Warriors’ end-of-season run.
“We’ve spoken a lot about [how] this group will never be together again. Each year obviously that happens because not every player stays in the squad, but we didn’t have many leave last year,” Webster said.
“We’re going to have a few this season, and we’re going to have players who have had a strong contribution to this club and for the game of rugby league who won’t be here next year – Shaun [Johnson], Addin [Fonua-Blake], Jazz [Tevaga], they come to mind – so I think it’s really important as a group we connect. It’s probably not about yourself right now and how you’re feeling, it’s more about what we want to do as a group.
“I know as a fact, if we don’t make it, our holiday is going to feel much better with three wins opposed to three losses.”
The Warriors go into the weekend trying to stoke the faint embers of the top eight chances after they were stamped on in their golden point loss to the Dolphins last Sunday.
A week ago, the Warriors believed winning four from four was needed to get them into the top eight. Losing to the Dolphins changed that, but three wins in their last three games are now a must. That and a bye in the final week would lift them to 29 points. They would also need a lot of other results to go their way. They are one of seven teams likely fighting over one last spot – unless Manly have a late-season collapse of epic proportions - though several of those teams meet each other over the coming month
“It’s all about having pride in ourselves, having pride in our performances, having pride in the jersey,” Webster said of the three games ahead. “Everyone plays for different reasons. They play for their families, the fans, for the love of it, and I feel like we’ve got to do that justice and be professional. There’s a lot to play for.
“Mathematically, it’s almost impossible to make it based on other results, but I think we’d never forgive ourselves for not giving ourselves the best chance to do that, and if all those results fell the way we wanted them to and we don’t give ourselves the chance with three wins we’ll never forgive ourselves.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
