Warriors head coach Andrew Webster. Photo / Photosport
Warriors coach Andrew Webster has a simple message for his squad as they look to build on the opening-round win over Newcastle.
Don’t set the bar too low.
Warriors teams of recent seasons have been riddled with inconsistency.
Often a strong performance — and plenty of positive headlines — has swiftly been followed by a below-par one, as they fail to reach the same physical, mental and technical heights.
Webster is wary of that trap. There was a lot to like from last Friday’s effort in Wellington, along with some of the execution, but it won’t mean much if the team drop their standards on Saturday against the Roosters (5pm kick-off).
“The first thing any coach can do is make sure that we understand it’s one game,” said Webster. “And the second thing is we have so much to work on, we’ve got lots to improve on. Don’t set the bar low boys. If you’re happy with that, that won’t win for us this week.”
Webster was pleased with the result — just the ninth positive season opener in Warriors history — as well as the attitude on display.
“We were never going to be perfect, but we needed to turn up for each other,” said Webster.
But he was a long way from satisfied.
“I just don’t want complacency — no one’s going to remember round one if we have a poor season,” said Webster.
He identified plenty of homework, with the starts to both halves an obvious work-on.
The Knights got an early jump in Wellington, with three consecutive sets and crossed in the second minute, before the pattern repeated after the interval with a swift try.
“We’ve got to be better,” said Webster. “It wasn’t from lack of effort, more probably execution.”
Webster was disappointed that the Warriors didn’t make the most of potential possession advantages. Their completion rate was high (87 per cent), but they undid that good work with several cheap penalties, which gave the Knights easy passage out of their own territory.
“We’re making it hard on ourselves,” said Webster. “We’re not building any pressure because we’re letting them off the hook. What we are doing then is going down and defending our tryline, which is impressive, but let’s not be there so often.”
Those marginal gains would come during the week, with good standards of training behaviours. Webster also wants better output from last-play options, which was a “whole team thing”, though led by the playmakers.
The Roosters are second-favourites for the NRL premiership but were stung by a shock 28-18 defeat to the Redcliffe Dolphins last Sunday.
That will sharpen their intensity and focus and add to the Warriors’ challenge as they seek a first win over the Tricolours in six attempts.
“Good teams when they get beaten are always hungry,” said Webster. “They are going to have things they want to improve on. So we’ve got to be wary of that. But at the same time we can reflect on the fact that our starts were poor, and if they’re going to jump out of the ground, we better be ready.”
The Sydney team are boosted by the return of Kiwis star Joseph Manu, who was awarded the Golden Boot for his international performances last year.
The Warriors are aware of his threat but can’t be too narrow in their focus.
“If you look across the whole roster, there is danger everywhere,” said Webster. “So he’s not the only one we are going to worry about.”
Webster also indicated they will look to manage the workload of captain Tohu Harris across the season, after his staggering 80-minute effort last Friday.
He said they would prefer not to use Harris in the middle without a break but if circumstances dictate — with the game in the balance, head knocks or interchange issues — it may happen.
“We know he’s resilient but the plan is to not burn him out, not to play every minute of every game.”