Potential: Warriors' Kevin Locke. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Warriors couch Ivan Cleary will hand his expected successor Brian McClennan a team brimming with youthful exuberance but earthed in old-hand experience when he leaves at season's end.
The 17 heading into today's game have an average age of 24, but an average of 83 games per man. That figure is skewed by outliers like Micheal Luck and Shaun Berrigan who have played 200-plus NRL games, but there are seven centurions and just six with less than 50 games.
They are figures which suggest the club's development policy is working. Since the advent of the national under-20 youth competition in 2008 recruitment principles have been based on the concept it is better to give younger players a hand-up the NRL ladder with prudent selection than give older players a hand-out by flashing a suitcase full of your salary cap overseas.
A look through this week's sub-50 game ranks offers optimism. It is headed by James Maloney (45 games), who is potentially the club's player of the year, such has been his input play-making in the halves and goal-kicking. He is one of the club's best ever value-for-money buys with just four games to his name at Melbourne when he joined.
In addition, Kevin Locke (22 years, 43 games) appears to have settled after being cleared of a sexual assault complaint and almost getting caught in a tornado earlier this season. He has made the fullback spot his own with courageous performances over the past couple of months.
Elijah Taylor (21 years, 15 games) looks to the manner born in the second row after injury curtailed his intended debut two years ago.
Shaun Johnson (20 years, 6 games) has married team direction with natural pace and skill and Bill Tupou (21 years, 19 games) is guarding the wing, keeping out 2011 recruit Krisnan Inu. Pita Godinet (23 years, 1 game) starred on debut last week with a try and a creative all-round game coming off the interchange for half an hour at hooker.
With youth in abundance, the true test of this Warriors vintage will be how they deal with a tricky last six games. On paper the 13th-placed Raiders on 16 points are the easiest prospect with the Warriors sitting sixth with 24 points at the start of round 21.
Today's fixture is followed by the fifth-placed Broncos away, the eighth-placed Knights at home, the ninth-placed Panthers and third-placed Dragons away before a final match at home against the fourth-placed Cowboys.
Cleary expects the development philosophy to prove its worth. "Having the NYC in place four years has enabled the club to blood young guys. It's been like rungs on a ladder, with the likes of Russell Packer and Ben Matulino stepping down to Kevin Locke and Bill Tupou and further to Elijah Taylor and Shaun Johnson.
"It's a player farm in New Zealand and every club in Australia has long since worked that out, sending over scouts to make the Warriors recruitment process tougher.
"That was our mandate as a club: rely on talent rather than recruitment, which means you do it tough at times. The Vulcans are another avenue producing the likes of Aaron Heremaia and Pita Godinet. Joel Moon also improved this season once he'd spent time there."
The Warriors are back on a roll if the last three winning weeks are a gauge. It follows a season of drastically changing fortunes with four consecutive losses and five straight wins before that. Cleary says the true test of his charges' maturity will come from the next half dozen games.
"The last four weeks we've improved - I know we didn't get the money against Melbourne but our combinations gelled. We've got to monitor how our young guys go over the next few games with the season on the edge. The tough part is trying to play every game like finals football; it's hard to replicate the intensity."
At 24, skipper Simon Mannering matches the average age of this week's team. He is also the youngest NRL skipper by over two-and-a-half years. Other regular captains range from 27 (Robbie Farah) to 35 (Petero Civoniceva). His actions-rather-than-words leadership has galvanised the team since taking over from Steve Price.
"A few of us younger guys have played together a while and have upwards of four years' first grade experience, like Sam [Rapira, 24], Jerome [Ropati, 26] and Manu [Vatuvei, 25]," Mannering says.
"The under-20s competition has done wonders boosting our development. Since that competition we've also had regulars cement themselves like Russell and Ben. It's a good sign recruiting local guys rather than looking to Australia. That gives players something extra to aspire to. Shaun and Elijah are good examples. The club deserves credit."