League: Toyota Cup splits men from the boys

Warriors' Ben Matulino. Photo / Getty Images

In its fourth season the Toyota Cup under-20 competition continues to benefit the Warriors as much as any club in the NRL with its aim of developing local talent.

The junior Warriors won the competition last year. This year they are second, having lost two games in nine rounds.

The club's policies are paying dividends.

The New Zealand-based under-20 side has produced 12 players who have represented the Warriors in first grade since its inception, including Ben Matulino, Kevin Locke and Russell Packer.

Six have debuted in the last one-and-a half-seasons. Numerous other players, including four last season, have moved to other NRL clubs.

When discussing the club's approach to the Toyota Cup, three guiding factors are evident. It is a way to identify local talent; to harden players to the rigours of weekly competition; and a means of bridging the standards between New Zealand and Australian rugby league.

Local talent is the key driver for coach John Ackland. The former Warriors assistant coach is seen by many as a key element of the team's win last year. He has clear ideas on club investment.

"I've observed the club from within and without over time. I'd argue that through all the ups and downs - and we've been through CEOs, boards and coaches - I think the best value has been the development of local players. It'd be unrealistic to have a whole team of locals but I think there is a realisation at the club that's why we've been established.

"Our scouts are doing a good job of finding talent and, as the competition evolves, they get better at knowing who will work well. Because the competition has been successful and because we have been successful, players are now coming from all backgrounds; we even had a soccer player from Taupo come up [to trial] who'd played a couple of games and shown some talent."

Ackland says he also likes to see some balance in players' lives: "You're always looking for guys who are successful in other things, or at least have other interests. In our team, we've got a lot of varsity students and guys doing apprenticeships; so they're not all putting their heads in the football basket, which is important."

Utility Elijah Taylor (20) had been touted to play first grade for the Warriors since 2009 until injury intervened. He spent three seasons with the under-20 team (the first two under current Warriors assistant coach Tony Iro) and says Ackland is good at relating to people.

"He's relaxed - and great at dealing with Maori and Polynesian boys. The under-20s are a massive tool and have paid dividends, especially when you look around the training field. We're developing our own players and preparing them for first grade by travelling to and from Australia and using the competition as a stepping stone to a rugby league pathway."

Taylor says that despite the success of the under-20s of late, the step up cannot be underestimated.

"It's bigger than you'd think. I'm told it's easier to make the transition the wider out you play like on the wing. If you're in the forwards tackling in the ruck, and the likes of [Petero] Civoniceva are charging at you ... that's a new level."

Another part of the under-20's strategy is instilling discipline and toughness. Ackland does that in several ways.

"It's not so much a physical hardening but a mental hardening. Lots of the boys who turn up at the club have been schoolboy stars but if they're not playing for us I like them to play in the Fox Memorial competition. The club coaches have been supportive, boys who don't play for us can play for them on the weekend to prove they're good enough against men.

"I've always thought that was a massive pointer. If you can handle men when you're 17, 18 or 19 then you've got half a chance. That's been a good thing for them, playing in tight games and getting sat on their backside a few times. It indicates how mentally tough they are."

Warriors first grade coach Ivan Cleary says that carries advantages over the Australian system.

"In Auckland [compared to Sydney or Brisbane], there are fewer stepping stones. It does not have the same polished junior rep system but good players end up playing open age football quicker. If they've already played against men when they get to the Toyota Cup, they're going to go okay."

Ackland says playing the best under-20s in Australasia each week helps: "You are part of the NRL environment, albeit on the periphery. You play at the same grounds, get changed in the same sheds and that helps you build a level of familiarity if you are lucky enough to make first grade. If anything needs to be looked at it is the next level up because the competition is producing more players than the game can cope with.

"A lot are being thrown on the scrapheap prematurely. I'm told the NRL are looking at that closely, especially kids who turn 20 but aren't at their best until 22 or 23."

Cleary believes the club's development programme will pay further dividends long term.

"Before the NYC competition, the New Zealand boys had only played against Australian boys at junior international level - and there could have been a bit of awe when they met at a higher level. Now they're playing regularly and getting used to beating Australian teams. You've got a generation of Kiwis bred on winning."