Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Ready For Summer
The return of NZ Warriors to Aotearoa resulted in a season-long celebration of rugby league with the two Andys establishing foundations for the future. Losses to Panthers and Broncos in finals footy put a slight stench on the season as Warriors weren't on the same level, although Warriors were the best of the rest along with Storm. Coming from pandemic darkness, there is nothing but gratitude for how this season panned out.
A key theme of this season is how the entire Warriors system and talent pipeline thrived in their return to Aotearoa. Warriors finished fourth in the NRL and third in NSW Cup. While Warriors finished ninth of 16 teams in their return to Under 19 SG Ball, a bunch of players graduated from SG Ball to NSW Cup and looked comfortable with the leap up to play against men. That's mainly due to the fact that most SG Ball players went into Fox Memorial footy against men in Auckland and these undercover wrinkles of the 2023 season are impressive development indicators.
NZW will take this further with two more junior teams next season with Under 17 Harold Matthews Cup and Under 21s Jersey Flegg Cup teams. The best talent will probably be playing against men as soon as possible but NZW will be able to cater to the needs of their development pipeline with more spots available in their system.
All of which takes significant financial investment. The business of NZW is sizzling and ownership is more than willing to spend money to bolster the entire organisations. For all the drama about ownership in recent years and how annoyed many fans were, the current ownership spends money which is all fans should care about. Big crowds at Mt Smart and around Aotearoa, as well as various sponsorship partnerships help fund growth as well.
Everything seems aligned and this is crucial for sustained success. There is plenty of buzz about coach Andrew Webster but Andrew McFadden is a notable figure behind the scenes in building the NZW junior pipeline. McFadden had his mits all over recruitment and development this year, which helped bring in Kiwi-NRL juniors from other NRL systems and in Kalani Going's case, rugby union. McFadden has also overseen the progress of the youngsters who transitioned from SG Ball to NSW Cup.
SG Ball to NSW Cup:
Tanner Stowers-Smith (Halswell), Jacob Laban (Randwick), Selumiela 'Leka' Halasima (Mangere East), Eddie Ieremia (Otara/Howick), Etuate Fukofuka (St Peter's College), Patrick Moimoi (Mt Albert)
Every Aotearoa Warriors Diary mentions these youngsters and many themes in this debrief have featured in AWD this season. Dive into the archives for more information. A few of the SG Ball players have been playing in the NZRL National Premiership as well, stepping up from Fox Memorial to representative footy. This includes play-makers William Piliu (Mt Albert), Sefanaia Cowley-Lupo (Bay Roskill) and Phranklyn Mano-Le-Mamea (Otara/Howick).
There is a steady supply of aggressive, powerful youngsters in the NZW system. The halves depth for NRL is Ronald Volkman and Luke Metcalf, two young Aussies. Play-making isn't quite as deep with local juniors as other positions but even then, three NZW play-makers are steering men around in the National Premiership. Mano-Le-Mamea for example is gaining experience playing halves, fullback and lock forward for Counties Manukau.
Harry Durbin (Pikiao) and Makaia Tafua (Linwood) are also playing National Premiership as SG Ball lads. Another nugget on offer here is how St Thomas of Canterbury won the NZRL National Secondary Schools competition and at least four lads from that team are signed to NZW. Stowers-Smith and Tafua are both from Canterbury as well, so don't stress about NZW getting around Aotearoa for junior recruitment.
NZW gave out NRL debuts to Taine Tuaupiki (Taharoa), Ali Leiataua (Papatoetoe), Demitric Sifakula (Otahuhu), Kalani Going (Mid-Northern) and Paul Roache (Richmond). All five are from Aotearoa with Leiataua and Sifakula shining as NZW juniors who endured the pandemic darkness, playing in the 2022 Redcliffe U21s Grand Final team.
They were among the best youngsters in Queensland last year and played key roles in making NZW one of the best teams in NSW Cup this year. Leiataua made the NSW Cup Team of the Year alongside Going. NSW Cup Warriors unfortunately lost Leiataua for most of the second half of their season after suffering an injury in his NRL debut vs Raiders. Sifakula didn't play the last few months of NSW Cup either and when adding in the young phenom Halasima, NSW Cup Warriors were missing key players for most of their finals campaign.
This group of lads offer what the NRL team needs. Coach Webster turned NZW into a top-four team by establishing fundamentals and he extracted all the improvement he could out of his roster. Skill development was evident. Mana was on show through effort and attitude. NZW routinely broke opposition teams down through patience, strategy and attacking shape. That's the baseline established in coach Webster's first season.
Maintaining this level of performance requires improvement. Let alone competing with Panthers and Broncos, or trying to get wins over Storm. Warriors lost all three regular season games to these teams and then conceded 30+ points in finals losses to Panthers and Broncos. While youngsters can't be relied on to elevate against the best teams, NZW have power and x-factor in their system that can thrive in the NRL squad.
Leiataua and Sifakula showcased their talent in the NRL this season. Both cover multiple positions which will help them get NRL minutes. Leiataua for example played fullback for SG Ball in 2020, made his NRL debut at centre and that came after dominating a NSW Cup game in the halves. Halasima was a dominant force in NSW Cup as a 17-year-old and he played in the middle, edge and at centre.
Zyon Maiu'u (Te Atatu) and Isaiah Vagana (Te Atatu) have scope to blossom into ruthless NZW forwards. Vagana is the biggest of NSW Cup youngsters and has been quietly brewing beneath the radar, while I have suggested on The Niche Cast that Maiu'u will be a cult hero as soon as he takes his first run in the NRL. Maiu'u runs hard, he runs straight and shares the same splash of aggression that Leiataua and Sifakula showed.
The most intriguing aspect of NZW in the second half of the NRL season was how Bunty Afoa and Tom Ale dropped out of the middle forward rotation. Both could have helped NZW in finals footy but coach Webster clearly wanted the mobility and versatility of Dylan Walker, Bayley Sironen, Josh Curran and Jazz Tevaga. Coach Webster had a plan and this isn't about the value of that plan, it's about highlighting the growth available to NZW for next season.
Afoa and Ale have a chance to develop this summer. Coach Webster and his staff seem like they will provide clear feedback and a plan to move forward. Afoa and Ale didn't kick up a stink in NSW Cup and instead opted to fire up in reserve grade which suggests that coach Webster was transparent in what he wanted for the NRL top-17. All of which is fascinating as Maiu'u and Vagana play a similar style to Afoa/Ale, to the point where their roles diminished as Afoa/Ale settled in NSW Cup.
NZW have four powerful, hard-running forwards chasing NRL minutes next season. That means that these four will be eager to grind through summer training and the competition for game time will bring the best out of these lads. NZW need oomph and with Sifakula offering value as a versatile bench option, NZW have a highly competitive crop of forwards ready to rip in over summer.
But that's the same for every position. Tuaupiki offers fullback cover and a dose of zip that Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad lacks. Edward Kosi offers wing depth, while Leiataua and Moala Graham-Taufa (Marist) can play wing/centre. Maybe Moimoi thrives around the NRL squad this summer? Need halves? Metcalf and Volkman are right there. NZW have Freddie Lussick behind Wayde Egan and Roache can step up as well.
There is no shortage of middle forward in the system, while Laban and Going are capable of playing edge forward in the NRL. Going's versatility offers depth in the Dylan Walker role. Laban and Halasima were both regular try-scorers in NSW Cup as targets for cross-field kicks, highlighting their athleticism. NZW have depth in every position and most of these lads are energetic youngsters who have already flashed their talent in the NZW system.
NZW finished fourth in NRL and third in NSW Cup because of all the mahi they did last summer. A key indicator of the summer training was NZW emerging as a top-eight team early in the season. Youngsters who trained with the NRL squad impressed in trials before consistent performances in reserve grade. Summer mahi was also evident in how SG Ball players looked comfortable playing against men in Fox Memorial and NSW Cup.
The two Andys don't seem like blokes who will kick back, content with how the 2023 season went for all NZW teams and players. Both showed that their style and systems work, now they have another opportunity to double down as well as adding to their game plan. Most importantly, NZW have depth to ensure a competitive off-season and any NRL player who doesn't showcase that vitality will be brushed aside by high quality youngsters.
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Peace and love.