ONCE WERE WARRIORS, BUT SIGNS ARE POSITIVE

THE jury is out. I don’t think anyone can be confident in predicting what will happen with the Warriors this year. They are back home which is a huge positive. They have family and friends close to them, which means they are going to be in a good mindset. I have worked around their new coach Andrew Webster. I think Webby can do a really good job there. I think this is a season of big improvement for the Warriors lingering on the edge of the top eight. If they can get in there, it would be a

successful season for them. BACKLINE

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has been a good player and Marcelo Montoya looked strong in the trials. The guy who caught my eye was Viliami Vailea. I am excited to see how he goes. He has some X-factor about him. The other guys are good without being great. They need to be at their best to push for a place in the top eight.

FORWARD PACK

Addin Fonua-Blake and Tohu Harris are top-class forwards. They have a pretty good forward pack. Mitch Barnett is tough – everyone who plays with him loves playing with him. Marata Niukore is a good player. So they have a strong pack which can compete with the top teams in the competition.

SPINE

This is where they struggle. They have bought Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and he does bring creativity at the back, but he is more of a runner. I have been impressed with Luke Metcalf. He will be out for the start of the season but he has speed to burn. I have been a fan of his for a long time – he is a first grader and he has some X-factor about him. If they can get him on the field with Shaun Johnson, I think they can have a bit of a lethal combination there and cause some havoc.