‘We go in with that bit of the unknown’
New assistant coach Richard Agar tells David Long that the Warriors will be a team that steadily improves in 2023.
The Warriors are aiming high this season and after 27 rounds of footy we’ll know how close they’ve got.
Right now, there are 17 NRL clubs all thinking this is going to be a good season for them and for more than half of them, that’s not going to be the case.
The Warriors, like everyone else, go into the campaign feeling optimistic, but there is a fair amount of uncertainty too.
‘‘Because we’ve got a lot of players coming in and we have a new team and a new coach (Andrew Webster), we go in with that little bit of the unknown,’’ said Warriors assistant coach, Richard Agar, another of those new faces.
‘‘In the trial games, there were parts where we could see what we’d been practising on the training field and the guys did some things really well.
‘‘Also, there were parts where it was obvious that it was the first time we’d done it together live.
‘‘As is always the case with preseason, you can train together as much as you want, but quite a lot of the time the improvement comes as you get going during the season.
‘‘Some of it wasn’t a surprise to us and in some areas we need to be much better, but if there’s one thing we can’t fault, it’s been the buy-in, the togetherness and the improvement in the guys from day one, to where we are now.’’
The Warriors won their trial against Wests Tigers 48-12, with both teams mainly fielding fringe players. Then in last weekend’s trial against the Storm, they lost 24-6, leaking four unanswered tries in the second half.
So looking at these games, it doesn’t reveal much about how they’ll fare this year.
‘‘On one hand, it would be great to get another four weeks of preseason, but on the other, it is a long preseason and the boys are ready to play,’’ Agar said.
‘‘It is going to be a journey for us and you probably won’t see the finished article in round one.
‘‘However, our coach has set the bar high and the expectations high. A phrase he uses is that we’re not talking about competing, we’re shooting for the stars.
‘‘From last Sunday, there were parts of our game that held up well and at the same time we didn’t turn the ball over well enough at all. I’m not just talking about our kicking game, but also where we finished out sets and errors within our game.
‘‘So we put a lot of pressure on our defence, but it was able to stand up for long periods of time and the guys showed some resilience, which is a positive to come out of the game.’’
There has been quite a turnover of players at the Warriors for the new season, with Mitch Barnett, Te Maire Martin, Dylan Walker, Marata Niukore and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad being the main acquisitions.
The player turnover should leave the Warriors a more balanced team, but the squad and combinations will need to gel.
But for the first quarter of the season they’re going to have to manage without five-eighth Luke
Metcalf, who looked so impressive in the Tigers trial, but subsequently picked up a hamstring injury at training.
‘‘It’s not a great one, which is really unfortunate,’’ Agar said of the medical assessment of the injury.
‘‘He had an impressive performance in the Tigers trial game and we were looking forward to him playing against the Storm.
‘‘We’re expecting and extended period of time on the sidelines and the initial prognosis is around eight weeks.’’
Webster has come in as the new head coach having previously been an assistant at the Panthers and Agar says Webster has looked to take an overarching role.
‘‘I know some clubs go attack and defence, but being a new coach, Andrew wanted to lay the systems down,’’ Agar said.
‘‘So he has the overall look on attack and defence. I do the edges, Justin (Morgan) does the middle guys and Stacey (Jones) does the transition element, last tackle plays at both ends and kicking games. But Andrew sets the templates on attack and defence and I think that’s important when a new coach comes in, not just for the players but the other coaches.’’