When it comes to the Warriors one thing has never been in question; they have a possibly unmatched ability to tap into a pool of natural talent quite unlike any other. The natural athleticism of Polynesian and Maori in New Zealand has always been evident and for many of them Rugby League has always been the sport of choice. It isn’t a coincidence that when you talk about the Warriors golden years it was the style of play they exhibited that many remember, a style of play driven by the likes of Ali Lauititi and Logan Swann, Stacey Jones and Francis Meli. Polynesians that played the game in the Polynesian way. Ray Warren famously said of the Warriors that ‘they were playing Basketball’ as Sione Faumuina and Ervarn Tuimivave combined to score one of the great Wariors trys at Suncorp in 2003. Tempering this belief however was that this natural flair needed to be tempered by ‘Australian solidity’, the great Warriors teams were littered with Australians that could quite comfortably be classed as workhorses or journeymen. Campion, Cleary, Carlaw are all good players and were great Warriors but they filled a void in that team.
This was the development dynamic the Warriors tried to build on in the years following, with mixed success. Some years they got it right, others they didn’t. But for most of those years, from the outside anyway, it seemed as though the template was the same. Get some natural Polynesian flair and mix it with some solid Australians and hope the mix works. It seems in the last 12-months though that this thinking has begun to change, driven largely by the huge success of the Junior Warriors in the NYC.
There is a school of thought that says (and this could be applied to a number of teams for whom I support) if you have success at developing talent at the Junior level eventually you have to start trusting it, especially if it has been as successful as the Warriors Junior Development programs. It seems this is the path the Warriors have decided to follow. The best example is around the halves. James Maloney has been a revelation since he joined the Warriors and continues to develop, but he question of who would partner him in the halves has been one hanging over the Warriors head for the last 18-months. For much of the previous four or five seasons the Warriors chased a high profile 7, they tried to bring Casey Maguire back from England and by all reports aggressively chased Cooper Cronk by throwing some pretty big dollars at him. In the end they got Brett Seymour, probably on the cheap, a guy who had a proven record in the NRL but came with obvious baggage. When the Warriors have been able to put this combination on the paddock consistently they have looked like developing into a quality halves combination, however probably not a title winning combination.
Sitting behind Seymour and forcing disclaimers on any discussion around the Warriors halves combination though was the development of the halves that were leading the Juniors to a title in the NYC and carving teams apart in the process; Shaun Johnson and Isaac John with Carlos Tuimavave floating around behind those two. Andrew Johns once said about Shaun Johnson that he could be one of the greats to ever play the game. Big pressure on a young kid. But it is this talent that the Warriors have decided to trust and have signed; Johnson, Isaac John and a local product Pita Goodinet to contracts for the next 2-3 seasons, all this means that Brett Seymour, who has a proven NRL record, has been let go.
Already the trust placed in the development programs have seen Russell Packer and Ben Matulino emerge as international class front rowers filling the void left by the retirements of Wiki and Price. Elijah Taylor seems to be the natural successor to Michael Luck, Sione and Sam Lousi are the next ball-playing second rowers in the form of Lauititi and Swann. In the outside backs it has taken a season but we are beginning to see why Kevin Locke was a superstar in the U20s and with Glen Fisiiahi floating about as well the Warriors are well served in the outsides. Throw in Alehaana Mara, Isaac John and Bill Tupou and you have the core of the U20 sides for the four seasons of the NYC all making contributions at the senior level (Sonny Fai also had begun to show the talent he had before he was tragically killed in a swimming accident).
So the Warriors have all this talent, they play like New Zealanders but they have the added bonus of having cut their teeth in a competition against Australian players that previous generations did not have. Do they continue to pad out the natural talent with workhorse Australians? I think in some situations absolutely, I wasn’t convinced by the signing of Nathan Friend as I would have trusted Alehaana Mara as the man to lead the Warriors round the park from 9. Players like Lillyman and Latimore are playing a role at the moment but should eventually be phased out so the young players of this country can be bought through.
The great question remains though, can success at U20 level translate to success at Senior level, does it take different kind of players to succeed at U20 and Senior level? Who knows, Josh Dugan was the best player in the first season of the U20s and he has turned out alright. Like I said before, there is not point investing in player development and not trusting it. So I’ll back the Warriors as they move forward, trusting young Kiwis. There may be some moments spent hiding behind pillows or throwing things around rooms as the ridiculous off-load is thrown but boy it will be fun!
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