The ‘simple’ plan behind the Warriors’ stunning rise without key stars
FOX SPORTS Australia · Matt Jones · 2026-08-22T11:42:33+00:00 · nguồn gốc
The ‘simple’ plan behind the Warriors’ stunning rise without key stars
Warriors coach Andrew Webster has explained how his side has managed to rise to top of the NRL ladder despite a horror injury toll in the halves.
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A last minute field goal by fill-in half Luke Hanson gave the Warriors a 19-point win over the Rabbitohs and took them to top of the ladder by edging one-point clear of Penrith’s for-and-against.
The Warriors have been entrenched in the top three all season despite losing three halfbacks including Tanah Boyd, Te Maire Martin and Luke Metcalf.
Chanel Harris-Tavita wore the No. 7 on Saturday night and scored a try and set up two others.
It’s hard to imagine a team could be on top of the ladder after 25 rounds despite losing its top three halfbacks.
In his post-match press conference Webster revealed how his team has continued to play well and score points while losing so many key playmakers.
“We have a simple plan and if the opposition does something we’ll do something else,” he said.
“If they want to go wide, we’ll go through them, if they get tight, we’ll go around them.”
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It’s a bit like Total Football – the tactic the Dutch national soccer side used in the 1970s where every player could cover any position if needed.
“What we pride ourselves on is that the next guy that comes in will just be seamless,” Webster said.
“We know who we want to be and how we want to do it, so anyone can fit in any time.
“To be fair, you just can’t be anyone, you’ve got to be a good player and be up to it. They’re all up to it.”
It’s been a good week for Webster, who signed a four-year contract extension to keep him at the Warriors until the end of 2032 which will make him the club’s longest serving coach.
He’s one of the best coaches in the NRL despite an unfashionable background, having never been a top former player.
In fact, he never played a first grade match.
But his coaching expertise is there to see and he’s turned the Warriors into an NRL heavyweight.
“I’m happy that I know that I’m going to be at this club for a long time,” he said.
The game on Saturday night was also Webster’s 100th as a first grade coach.
He said the players were the ones who deserved credit for milestones, not coaches.
“We don’t get tackled, we don’t break legs, we don’t hurt ourselves so as long as you don’t get sacked you’re going to get to 100 games,” Webster said.
“Being a coach is not easy but being a player playing 100 games is completely different.
“These guys are the ones putting their bodies on the line. There’s obviously sleepless nights as a coach but it certainly doesn’t deserve the same recognition as what these guys do.
“It’s not in the same caliber as what these guys do.”
Webster said it wasn’t only the side’s tactical ability that’s got them to the top of the ladder, but their mental toughness.
Souths fought back and got to within a converted try when Jayden Sullivan scored in the 61st minute.
And in the NRL these days, teams struggle to halt another’s momentum.
But the Warriors hit back with two tries to kill off the game.
Webster praised his team’s ability to deny a Souths comeback.
”When they got back to a six-point ball game I think most teams could go away there and just think it’s not their night, especially against a team that’s throws plenty at you,” he said.
“I just thought we regrouped really well. Even the field goal at the end, we just knew what we we’re doing.”