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The Warriors are in familiar territory, not just because they’re about to embark on their first season on home turf since 2019.
They enter the NRL season with expectations low after yet another overhaul of the club’s coaching and playing personnel.
It continues a pattern that’s been recycled so many times, the Environmental Protection Authority has given the club a gold star rating.
If only they could find similar success on the NRL ladder.
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Former Panthers assistant coach Andrew Webster becomes the 15th coach in Warriors history as the team gears up for its 29th season. He’s signed a three-year deal but with an average lifespan of less than two seasons, the Warriors coaching job offers little in the way of job security.
And they have been one of the most active clubs in the off-season in roster turnover with Marata Niukore (Eels), Luke Metcalf (Sharks), Dylan Walker (Sea Eagles), Mitchell Barnett (Knights), Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (Raiders), Te Maire Martin (Broncos), Jackson Ford (Dragons), Braydon Wiliame (Perpignan) coming in the revolving door and Reece Walsh (Broncos), Storm recruits Eliesa Katoa and Aaron Pene, Eels duo Jack Murchie and Daejarn Asi, and Euan Aitken (Dolphins) heading the other way.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Forget about the trophy, grand final or even top four, for the Warriors to be in finals contention, a few things need to be true – Webster is some kind of alchemist, the current roster all need to have career-best years and the Australian-based NRL teams become susceptible to jetlag for short trips across the Tasman.
Let’s be positive – Niukore is a quality addition to a forward pack which is by no means a pushover with the likes of Tohu Harris, Jazz Tevaga, Josh Curran and Addin Fonua-Blake on board.
Nicoll-Klokstad can be a match-winner and although his past couple of seasons at Canberra were severely hampered by injury, he has the potential to inject a bit of like into the Warriors’ attack.
Martin, after reviving his career at the Broncos after a premature stint in the retirement lounge, can also be a valuable recruit whether he slots in at five-eighth or fullback.
Veteran halfback Shaun Johnson is in the last year of his homecoming contract and, based on last year’s form, there will not be a scramble for his signature so Webster may look to fast-forward the team’s future by installing one of his two brightest prospects in Ronald Volkman, a 2022 mid-season pick-up from the Roosters, or Metcalf as the chief playmaker.
There will be the inevitable growing pains that come from having a rookie in the No.7 jersey but the payoff down the road could be worth the short-term jitters.
The recruitment of Barnett and Walker raised plenty of eyebrows but not in a good way. They are both veterans who have poor disciplinary records and the Warriors worked hard last year to get rid of their hotheaded collective reputation – they were one of only two teams to only have three sin-binnings and no send-offs last year alongside Melbourne.
Webster has plenty of options when it comes to his spine but an NRL coach would prefer to have a clear quartet rather than the prospect of using the first few weeks – or months – of the season trying to figure out the best combination.
Wayde Egan is an effective operator at hooker, Nicoll-Klokstad and Martin are likely to be fullback and five-eighth respectively but are interchangeable while Johnson, Metcalf or Volkman have claims to the No.7 jersey.
Fonua-Blake suited up for 21 matches last season but his output in his strength – running metres – was down to 153m per game, his lowest average since 2018.
He’s still only 27 so he should have a few productive years left in him at prop but the Warriors can’t afford for him to just be good, they need him to be one of the elite middle forwards in the NRL.
Webster has shown in the team’s first trial against the Tigers last week that he has instilled some Penrith-like defensive structures, which needed to be top priority given the Warriors allowed 700 points last season at 29.2 per game to be the leakiest defence in the NRL.
They should have the vast majority, if not all, of their matches in New Zealand after the sacrifices they made to keep the competition going over the past three seasons.
As it stands, they’ve got 12 of their 24 in NZ with only the Wests Tigers relocating their match across the ditch. There’s little in the way of an attitude of gratitude in the NRL.
It’s going to be tough, irrespective, for the Warriors but at least when it comes to the teams they play twice, only the Cowboys, Raiders, Roosters and Sharks are finalists from last season.
(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)
Their pack is undoubtedly their strength – Harris is integral to their entire team as the leader on and off the field who has the gravitas to make everyone else listen.
Fonua-Blake, as long as it’s controlled aggression, can be the enforcer that every pack needs and he’s still one of the best forwards going around when it comes to post-contact metres that can get opposition defensive lines backpedalling.
Niukore can deliver a bit of much-needed X-factor to the edge of the ruck, a strong hole runner who can thrive if the playmakers can give him even marginal space to operate.
He’s used to it. There’s been perennial questions about his effectiveness most years during his first stint at the Warriors and his time at Cronulla but they grew the loudest last season in an up-and-down return season at the club. At 32, he’s by no means over the hill but if he can’t be a capable organiser or attacking spark, his place in the line-up will quickly come under scrutiny.
Shaun Johnson. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
The former Manly and Cronulla prospect was identified early by the Warriors as a priority recruit and signed before the start of last season. He shone during last week’s trial win over the Tigers and is the kind of player with a big upside that the Warriors should be investing in.
There is no such thing as safety when you’re Warriors coach but Webster at least has a piece of paper, presumably filed somewhere safe, that says the club has employed him for seasons 2023, 2024 and 2025. Warriors management is not renowned for having patience but hopefully he gets a fair crack at the major rebuild that will take time.
They are down in the nether regions at $51 to win the title with PlayUp, equal with Wests and Newcastle and ahead of only the Dolphins.
The bottom four – success this season should be measured in the amount of long-term players they can unearth among the young talent on this roster.
1 Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
3 Adam Pompey
4 Rocco Berry
5 Marcelo Montoya
6 Te Maire Martin
7 Shaun Johnson
8 Addin Fonua-Blake
9 Wayde Egan
10 Mitch Barnett
11 Tohu Harris
12 Marata Niukore
13 Jazz Tevaga
Interchange
14 Dylan Walker
15 Josh Curran
16 Bunty Afoa
17 Bayley Sironen
Other squad members: Brayden Wiliame, Freddy Lussick, Jackson Ford, Luke Metcalf, Edward Kosi, Otukinekina Kepu, Ronald Volkman, Taniela Otukolo, Tom Ale , Valingi Kepu, Viliami Vailea.
| Round | Opponent | Date | Time | Venue |
| 1 | Knights | Friday, March 3 | 6pm | Sky Stadium, Wellington |
| 2 | Roosters | Saturday, March 11 | 3pm | Allianz Stadium |
| 3 | Cowboys | Saturday, March 18 | 5.30pm | QCB Stadium |
| 4 | Bulldogs | Sunday, March 26 | 2pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 5 | Sharks | Sunday, April 2 | 4pm | PointsBet Stadium |
| 6 | Knights | Sunday, April 9 | 6.15pm | McDonald Jones Stadium |
| 7 | Cowboys | Saturday, April 15 | 3pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 8 | Storm | Tuesday, April 25 | 7pm | AAMI Park |
| 9 | Roosters | Sunday, April 30 | 2pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 10 | Panthers | Saturday, May 6 | 3pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 11 | Bulldogs | Friday, May 12 | 6pm | Accor Stadium |
| 12 | Bye | |||
| 13 | Broncos | Saturday, May 27 | 5.30pm | McLean Park, Napier |
| 14 | Dolphins | Saturday, June 3 | 3pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 15 | Raiders | Friday, June 9 | 6pm | GIO Stadium |
| 16 | Bye | |||
| 17 | Dragons | Friday, June 23 | 8pm | WIN Stadium |
| 18 | Rabbitohs | Friday, June 30 | 6pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 19 | Eels | Saturday, July 8 | 5.30pm | CommBank Stadium |
| 20 | Sharks | Sunday, July 16 | 2pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 21 | Raiders | Friday, July 21 | 6pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 22 | Bye | |||
| 23 | Titans | Friday, August 4 | 6pm | Cbus Super Stadium |
| 24 | Tigers | Saturday, August 12 | 5.30pm | FMG Stadium, Waikato |
| 25 | Sea Eagles | Friday, August 18 | 6pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 26 | Dragons | Friday, August 25 | 6pm | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 27 | Dolphins | Saturday, September 2 | 3pm | Suncorp Stadium |