Warriors coach Andrew Webster during a training session. Photo / Photosport
Warriors coach Andrew Webster during a training session. Photo / Photosport
Warriors coach Andrew Webster says the team need to rediscover their defensive resilience, ahead of the toughest stretch of their season.
While their first phase of the campaign has been encouraging — and beyond what many pundits anticipated — the next six weeks features a brutal run of matches.
Theyface away games against Melbourne, Penrith and the Bulldogs, as well as the visit of the Sydney Roosters to Auckland on April 30.
Then, after their first bye in round 12, they’ll play Brisbane in Napier.
Given the calibre of opposition, the Warriors have to tighten up their work without the ball, starting with today’s clash with the North Queensland Cowboys at Mt Smart (5pm).
“I don’t think [the resilience] has been there the last two weeks,” said Webster. “We got to dig in a little bit more.”
According to the coach, it wasn’t down to attitude or lack of effort — just poor decision making.
“We’re not being coordinated or smart,” said Webster. “We’re not in sync. Everyone is trying really hard. We haven’t lost that — if we had I’d be really worried. The focus for us is we’ve got to do it together.”
Their starts have again been a flashpoint this week, after early deficits in every game, but Webster is wary of fixating on that too much.
It’s been a product of the “wrong type of energy” — with indiscipline and costly penalties — but isn’t a terminal matter.
“We could have worse things about our game,” said Webster. “We could have given up and got beaten by 50 on the weekend and then we’d all be upset. Same thing with the Sharks; it looked like it was heading south pretty quick and they managed to gather themselves. I love the way the boys are competing.”
Warriors players during the round six NRL clash against the Knights. Photo / Getty Images
The Warriors’ surprising start has seen expectations rise, as another bumper crowd will head to Mt Smart on Saturday hopeful of a positive result. But the internal focus has remained the same, as they keep each other grounded.
“Everyone had us in the bottom four but it’s not a shock to us where we are,” said Webster.
He insists there are “no KPIs” — in terms of a certain ratio of victories in a time period or reaching the playoffs; they just want to win as many games as possible and aim for continual improvement.
Webster is a rookie head coach but loving the experience so far, even if game days can get fraught. Television cameras caught him constantly on his feet during the match last Sunday, as he rode every play.
“I love the coaching box,” said Webster. “If you don’t laugh you cry sometimes. So we laugh, we’re really serious, we let out some words we can’t repeat. We are asking the players to let their emotions out and then be calm so that’s what we do.”
Webster joked that there had been “no Craig Bellamy moments yet” and said overall it was enjoyable, despite the pressure.
“The 80 minutes is a rollercoaster but it’s a fun one,” said Webster.
The Warriors have a decent record against the Cowboys, winning four of their last six encounters, including the 26-12 victory in round three.
But this match will be a tougher test, with the Queensland side at near full strength and the Warriors missing several key players, including Wayde Egan, Te Maire Martin, Marata Niukore and Mitch Barnett.
Warriors: Charnze-Nicoll-Klokstad, Ed Kosi, Viliami Vailea, Adam Pompey, Marcelo Montoya, Dylan Walker, Shaun Johnson, Addin Fonua-Blake, Freddy Lussick, Bunty Afoa, Jackson Ford, Bayley Sironen, Tohu Harris.
Interchange (from): Taine Tuaupiki, Josh Curran, Jazz Tevaga, Tom Ale, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Demitric Sifakula.
