Warriors v Raiders: Kurt Capewell steps up to lead as co-captains miss Canberra clash

“He’ll never be beaten on effort.”

Those were the words of Kurt Capewell’s father, Darrell, when the Warriors back rower received his first jersey for his new club at the start of 2024.

More than 14 months later, Capewell will make another debut – of sorts – when he leads the Warriors out against the Canberra Raiders as captain.

That attribute, putting every ounce of his being into what he does on the field as a Warrior, has led to coach Andrew Webster having no doubt in backing the 31-year-old to lead his side this weekend.

With the Warriors facing a leadership crisis, given their co-captains Mitch Barnett and James Fisher-Harris are unavailable to State of Origin duty and suspension respectively, Capewell is, in a way, a left-field selection as skipper.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has captained the Warriors in the past, while Wayde Egan has long been part of the team’s leadership group and is described by his coach as “our brains on the field”.

In another, though, it makes complete sense.

Capewell was one of Webster’s first major signings, albeit a year after he arrived at Mt Smart. The pair had previously worked together in the early stages of the Penrith Panthers’ NRL dynasty.

As a premiership winner with Penrith and as a 10-time Queensland representative, there are few on the Warriors’ books with the same pedigree as Capewell.

When the Brisbane Broncos made the call to let Capewell go to make salary cap room for their younger back rowers, Webster didn’t waste his chance in bringing his former charge to Auckland.

Now, having seen what Capewell brings to the table at more than one club, Webster didn’t hesitate to name the 31-year-old as his leader – for this week at least.

“I don’t think he needs to change anything this week, or overdo anything because he’s captain,” said Webster. “He’s just got to be himself.

“If he is himself, he stands out for his efforts all the time. His dad is 100% right, he won’t get beaten on effort.

“We saw on the weekend, against a great player like [Herbie] Farnworth, he went after the occasion and made sure that if he needed to he’d scramble, and if he needed to, he’d come up with the right play.

“That’s what Kurt’s always been about.”

The clash against Canberra comes at a vital time.

The Warriors enter round 12 of this year’s NRL season off the back of five-straight victories.

What’s more, they’re up against the same side that handed them a 30-8 humiliation in the season-opening fixture in Las Vegas.

For his part, Webster said the Las Vegas mauling hasn’t entered the team’s thoughts, with this week being anything but a revenge mission.

As far as his teammates go, Capewell’s elevation is as deserved as much as it’s welcomed.

At fullback, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has the best seat in the house to see what happens as part of the Warriors’ attack and defence.

In a time where the NRL is rapidly becoming about skill and attack, players who excel in defence are often overlooked.

But for Nicoll-Klokstad, it’s the things that don’t get picked up week-to-week that make Capewell stand out among his peers.

Kurt Capewell of the Warriors celebrates his try against Canberra in Las Vegas. Photo / Photosport

“If you watch the game closely, and you’re able to identify all the effort areas, you’ll see Capey right up there in a lot of it,” he said.

“He leads by example, that’s what we need in a leader. He hasn’t had the captain symbol next to his name at all this year.

“But for him to get that opportunity, it’s rightly deserved. You’re going to see someone that just competes, gives his all and leads by his actions.

“That’s everything he’s done since round one.”

On top of making his Warriors’ captaincy bow, Capewell will also be out to prove a point on Sunday.

Earlier this week, he was overlooked by Queensland coach Billy Slater and won’t feature for the Maroons in the State of Origin season opener later this month.

But as far as his coach is concerned, Capewell isn’t sulking and will get on with the job at hand.

“I don’t think there’s any sour grapes,” Webster said. “Kurt is a proud Queenslander and he wants to wear that jersey bad.

“He loves it so much. If he got that opportunity, he’d do anything for it. He was annoying yesterday, he had his Queensland hat on.

“He’ll get on with things, I know he’ll be supporting Queensland like he normally does. But he’d love to be there.”

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.