NRL: Warriors remain relaxed

The Warriors head into tomorrow's Grand Final relaxed and well rested. Photo / Getty Images

If the Warriors are nervous ahead of tomorrow's NRL grand final against Manly, they aren't showing it.

Coach Ivan Cleary shows about as much emotion as a statue and cut a relaxed figure this morning at the team's hotel ahead of their final training session but reported his players were equally calm.

Everyone's very relaxed," he said. "I just heard Manu [Vatuvei] laughing for about half an hour this morning and it basically went throughout the whole hotel, so that's pretty normal."

The Warriors are trying to do everything as normally as possible, even though playing in a grand final is anything but. The players had a day off yesterday - as they usually do two days out from a game - and will follow their usual routine today. They will have a team dinner and meeting tonight and go for their team walk in the morning before heading to ANZ Stadium.

They chose to train at the Sydney Football Stadium today rather than where the final will be played because the SFS is a lot closer to where they are staying at Coogee beach. They didn't feel they needed to trek across town to train at ANZ Stadium because they are already very familiar with the venue.

Cleary has liked what he has seen in his players.

"At this stage it's important we focus on what is important, and that's the game," he said. "Everything has been going pretty well."

The match will be Cleary's last in charge of the Warriors before he heads to Penrith next season but there is increasing speculation it might also be Des Hasler's last with Manly.

He's reportedly been offered $750,000 a season to leave the peninsula and coach the Bulldogs and was said to be locked in emergency talks with Manly chairman and owner Scott Penn last night. Hasler has a year to run on a contract with the Sea Eagles that is reportedly worth $400,000 a year and Manly's players have said they hope to win the grand final to help convince him to stay.

Cleary didn't think it would be a distraction for either the Manly players or Hasler. "I'm sure Des has got it under control," he said.

The level of support for the Warriors has been steadily growing in Sydney all week as fans arrive in town. Most of Sydney is also united behind the Warriors, given their historical hatred of Manly.

News that 30,000 will pack into Mt Smart Stadium to watch the game on big screens tomorrow has filtered back to the players.

"That's pretty crazy, especially when this is going on right in the middle of the World Cup," Cleary said. "It's good to know. It gives you a bit of a warm feeling when so many people are sending you their best wishes and they are excited."

One who will be in the crowd at ANZ Stadium will be Prime Minster John Key, who has chosen to attend over the chance to watch the All Blacks take on Canada in Wellington.

"It's nice," Cleary said. "I think it's a good decision by him. Our game will be a better game."

The Warriors coach is likely to tinker with his starting lineup tomorrow. He has a record of making multiple changes on game day and is likely to switch Sam Rapira and Feleti Mateo to the bench in favour of starting Russell Packer and Elijah Taylor.

Cleary suggested he hadn't made a decision yet on how he was going to play it but he was being disingenuous.

"I will do what I did last week. I will go to bed tonight and see what comes in my head," he said with a mischievous grin.

You wouldn't know it was the biggest game of his coaching career. You wouldn't know it was the biggest game most of his players will be involved in, either.