It is Deja vu reading some of these posts.
Warriors will finish 5-6th is the new black, usually (before this amazing season) you read fans predicting 8th - 9th.
I spose it is an improvement then, but it kinda pisses me off a little....just a tiny bit, it is still too conservative, too safe, too far from what we actually have, what we have is a team that can win a top four spot.
Now I know it is tempting to want us to be Penrith next year, or the Broncos, and fans are fully entitled to dream, and script a way to get there, but that is not how life works.
The Panthers are a once in a hundred years side. They are the Storm of the now.
The Broncos, might be a once in a generation side, but they have to win the GF to earn that title, and unfortunately for them, possibly the greatest club side ever stands in their way.
But...getting back to the Warriors, there is no magic wand for turning our team into them. Sorry, but it takes a ten year plan to get there, which is why it is a once in a generational ideal, and obviously, you hope that things come together a lot faster during your ten year cycle.
However if you do not have a ten year plan, you are the Warriors....a team that will NEVER win the NRL without one.
Some may argue that saying it takes ten years is arbitrary and maybe even pulled out of me arse.
No it is not.
Right now, there are fifteen and sixteen year olds running around in the South Island that are recent league converts and have won the national title, there are kids switching to League in their hearts and minds all over NZ.
Andrew McFadden is the guy who is going to turn the Warriors into the Panthers of tomorrow.
I digress, the thread is about next year, so the last thing I will say about why we will not be the Panthers next year, or the Broncos, is that who cares, the Warriors signed a lot of those South Island kid stars and they look like real footballers, they look like future Kiwi reps.
If we make the top eight in any position it will be a success that will tick the box of being a regular top eight side.
If we make the top four that will be incredible, that will mean we are a genuine heavy weight in the NRL whether we can beat the Panthers/Broncos or not.
Next year we will get some early love from the Refs because we have their respect (rule has qualifiers, it doesn't apply when we play Panthers/Broncos/Storm) we need to hit the ground running and bank those points early and get into the four fast.
If
SJ is ok, and our key guys, then we will.
You worry a bit about our team being flat after this years harsh ending getting thrashed in the finals, usually this coming year in a Warriors coaches life is the hardest, this is where the team gives up as the message gets stale.
This is why bringing RTS back was a genius move, he is a talisman, he is a voice that will lift spirits and a face that gives strength to those around him, and he is a genuine strike threat on a left edge that we lack at the moment.
Tohu will be all healed up next year, he will be able to run freely. These are key guys, you add
SJ and you have the trinity.
The other thing about us striking hard and fast from the start next year, is that the bandwagon will stick around. That buzz is huge for us, Up the Wahs has been one of the best things to ever happen for the club, like the man said...it is spiritual.
Get that packed out Mt Smart rocking again, and anticipate we will get a lot of home wins.
Next year we are not hampered by a rebuild and uncertainty about squad make up. People like Curran know they are training in preseason for a Jersey that is his to lose.
As Walker pointed out, they were not allowed to try new attacking moves until we played the Broncos this year, up until then we were defence focused.
Next year our squad is looking stable, we can attack from round one and race up the table, get that momentum we need, and bank points that will give us an even better shot at top two than we had this year, even if we play the Storm and Roosters and the other mega clubs twice.
In our last game this year people saw oblivion, darkness, no hope, I saw us find a way to get to the half way against the Broncos line speed, I saw us start fast and take the lead, I saw us string together some of our best attack of the season, and I saw our defensive line unable to get back in time because of ruck officiating fuckery.
Folks do not make the mistake of assuming Penrith and the Broncos will be the same next year as this year.
Every year the fans do this next season prediction stuff and make up a list based off what happened the year before.
Clubs fail, clubs fall apart, clubs lose key players and sink from the very top of the mountain.
We will not be the Panthers or the Broncos next year, but they may not even be their unbeatable selves.
One thing I have learned watching this team is they have a hunger, they love playing and they bounce back fast from hidings, all reasons why they (injury, Gods willing) have a shit hot run of success to look forward to because we have the best coach in the NRL.
