Keeping the faith: Testing time for rookie coach
Somehow, somewhere, something must change for worrisome Warriors
Andrew Webster will oversee his 40th match as an NRL head coach in Sydney tomorrow.
It may seem he has been around a while but Webster is vastly less experienced than most of his NRL contemporaries.
Tomorrow’s opposition coach, Trent Robinson of the Roosters, has been in charge for 294 NRL matches, and before that, 63 in the English Super League.
Parramatta’s Brad Arthur has 263 NRL games, Shane Flanaghan will bring up a double century soon (195) at the Dragons, while Newcastle’s Adam O’Brien has 106. Anthony Siebold (Manly) and Todd Payten (Cowboys) are relatively new but close to their own milestones, with 99 and 98 respectively.
And then there are the big five: Wayne Bennett (921), Craig Bellamy (560), Ricky Stuart (501), Des Hasler (466) and Ivan Cleary (433).
That’s something to keep in mind as Webster goes under the microscope. Unless at a powerhouse club, it’s difficult to crack the code early in a coaching career — and even harder to maintain it.
The NRL is a brutal arena; an intensely physical competition with subjective refereeing interpretations and a salary cap that helps ensure parity.
In that context, what Webster did last year was miraculous, as he turned around the Warriors and moulded them into contenders.
He got career-best years out of several players, including Shaun Johnson, and the 17-7 regular season has been bettered only once in club history.
It culminated in a preliminary final appearance, with Webster following Daniel Anderson (2002, 2003) and Cleary (2008, 2011) as the only coaches to take the club that far.
But that’s all gone now, with the Warriors in a muddle, on a fourgame winless streak and no sign of easy salvation, with games against the Roosters (seventh), Panthers (third) and Dolphins (fourth) over the next three weeks. There was a testing period last year but nothing quite like this, thanks to the buffer afforded by their brilliant 5-2 start. For Webster, that’s led to rare criticism, of his tactics, selections and use of the interchange, after he became almost a messiah-type figure last year. The Warriors’ strategy — so reliant on steadily building pressure — has been creaking, let down by ill discipline and errors.
Off the back of that, their attack lacks thrust and cohesion and the defensive application has been mixed. And injuries have blunted the pack.
Just like his players, Webster is on a steep learning curve. Privately, he would probably admit he got things wrong against the Dragons in the 30-12 defeat that started this malaise, opting for a lightweight bench against a team built around a dominant forward presence.
There were other questionable calls against the Titans and Knights, although the Warriors were only a favourable bunker call away from a different result in each match.
So far, Webster has also backed his regular starters, hopeful they can bounce back into form, rather than gambling on a rookie or youngster. His selection instincts were rarely wrong last season and they need to be spot on now.
Somehow, somewhere, something needs to change for this team.
Fans will be hoping it happens soon, but if not, they need to keep the faith. There could be some bumps in the road, but that has happened to every coach, from Bennett down.
Webster appears a special talent, working from a long apprenticeship in lower grades and as an assistant coach.
Maybe he overachieved in his rookie season but that doesn’t mean there aren’t even greater results to come.