webster.webp

Staff Andrew Webster

Coach Grade
  1. NRL Head Coach
Date of Birth
Jan 17, 1982
Birth Location
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality
  1. 🇦🇺 Australia
Nickname
Webby
Forum Nickname/s
Andrew Webster
Warriors Debut Date
Mar 3, 2023
Warriors Debut Details
March 3 2023, Round 1 vs Newcastle Knights at SKY Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
Warriors Years Active
  1. 2015
  2. 2016
  3. 2023
  4. 2024
Signed From
Penrith Panthers (Assistant Coach)
Status
Active
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Webster_(rugby_league)
Rugby League Project
https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/coaches/andrew-webster/summary.html

NZWarriors.com

NZWarriors.com

Would you rather play the Dogs/Storm in rnd 1 or Dolphins/Sharks, which matchup is likely to give us the now favourable the rnd 2 opponent..

This doesn't make sense to me. You're saying that of these two options, you would pick A?

a) Have the Dolphins come to Mount Smart in a do-or-die game, if we win, then we have to go to Canberra or Penrith the following week for a Prelim Spot, in another do-or-die game.

b) Go to Canberra, if we lose, we go back to Mount Smart and host the Dolphins or Panthers for a Prelim Spot, if we win, we get a week off and a home game against Canterbury, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cronulla for a GF Spot.
 

NZWarriors.com

This doesn't make sense to me. You're saying that of these two options, you would pick A?

a) Have the Dolphins come to Mount Smart in a do-or-die game, if we win, then we have to go to Canberra or Penrith the following week for a Prelim Spot, in another do-or-die game.

b) Go to Canberra, if we lose, we go back to Mount Smart and host the Dolphins or Panthers for a Prelim Spot, if we win, we get a week off and a home game against Canterbury, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cronulla for a GF Spot.
Yep. Far more chance of beating the Dolphins at home and advancing to rnd 2 with confidence than losing to the Raiders away and advancing on to rnd 2 off a loss to play the Dolphins/Panthers full of confidence and in form..
 
Dear Andrew Webster.

Please do not listen to the experts in here, me included.

Webster has the correct game plan, the sport is defensive. It is an attrition and endurance based.

What Webster lacks is the best possible players to deliver that plan, so he has worked miracles with this sub par group to get them to over achieve.

People calling for more attacking players are ignoring the fundamentals of the sport. They are ignoring the past three decades, where not placing the foundations first, has seen the Warriors rarely make it into the finals.

If Webster went out tomorrow and played all the names I constantly read in pick your team, he would destroy what he has built and turn this place back into the old Warriors, he would turn us into the Titans....fast exciting attack, no fundamentals of Rugby league.

What people tend to misunderstand, is that many players cannot learn the fundamental defence of this sport, nor develop the endurance to deliver consistency for eighty minutes.

They think that you take a bunch of attacking players who are rubbish at defence and you 'coach' them with some magical fantasy football coaching secrets and make them into defensive players.

Yet this competition proves that there are some where this is possible and many who will never get it...the latter being the kind of exciting attackers Craig Bellamy will not hire...because he know's he hasn't got a magic wand, he has magic game plan, staffing set up, magic salary cap (players willing to sign for unders) and he only hires people that can be taught.

Webster needs to stick to the plan. It is a five year vision, one where some kids will become the next Leka Halasima etc, and many will never get there, despite what they are doing in cup or lower grades right now.

The cold hard truth is some do not have the heart, the motivation, the drive, the intelligence, most of all the desire to turn their talented physical gifts into
the type of player that can play Webster ball.

And I know many hate that, but without it we are back to the same rubbish.

If the Gods are with us, a decent bunch of these star juniors come through the system that Webster has built, play Webster ball, play percentages, and bring the attack everyone craves.

Time.
 
Dear Andrew Webster.

Please do not listen to the experts in here, me included.

Webster has the correct game plan, the sport is defensive. It is an attrition and endurance based.

What Webster lacks is the best possible players to deliver that plan, so he has worked miracles with this sub par group to get them to over achieve.

People calling for more attacking players are ignoring the fundamentals of the sport. They are ignoring the past three decades, where not placing the foundations first, has seen the Warriors rarely make it into the finals.

If Webster went out tomorrow and played all the names I constantly read in pick your team, he would destroy what he has built and turn this place back into the old Warriors, he would turn us into the Titans....fast exciting attack, no fundamentals of Rugby league.

What people tend to misunderstand, is that many players cannot learn the fundamental defence of this sport, nor develop the endurance to deliver consistency for eighty minutes.

They think that you take a bunch of attacking players who are rubbish at defence and you 'coach' them with some magical fantasy football coaching secrets and make them into defensive players.

Yet this competition proves that there are some where this is possible and many who will never get it...the latter being the kind of exciting attackers Craig Bellamy will not hire...because he know's he hasn't got a magic wand, he has magic game plan, staffing set up, magic salary cap (players willing to sign for unders) and he only hires people that can be taught.

Webster needs to stick to the plan. It is a five year vision, one where some kids will become the next Leka Halasima etc, and many will never get there, despite what they are doing in cup or lower grades right now.

The cold hard truth is some do not have the heart, the motivation, the drive, the intelligence, most of all the desire to turn their talented physical gifts into
the type of player that can play Webster ball.

And I know many hate that, but without it we are back to the same rubbish.

If the Gods are with us, a decent bunch of these star juniors come through the system that Webster has built, play Webster ball, play percentages, and bring the attack everyone craves.

Time.

Here, here.

Some people have short memories. This club was rudderless, pre 2023.

We at least look competitive for a large portion of the season now.

Webby knows what he's doing and I think it is pretty clear that all the young guys have picked up on it really well.

Demi V looks like a future captain and leader to me, very akin to a young JFH.

Stay the course. We will see the results in the near future.
 

NZWarriors.com

I think anyone expecting anything different from what we are seeing now from Webster will be disappointed. He is conservative in his approach and style. As much as there was talk about learning from last season, I'm not seeing it. Capewell clearly busted, CHT looks like he is too (3 runs for 19m against the Titans) Add in CNK and DWZ. He would rather play them than rest them to get them right even with someone like TT available. SJ and Tohu from last season ring any bells? Talk of not playing Egan for 80min a game but still doing so this season. We were comfortably in the top 4 with a buffer. If not against the last placed Titans when is a good time to actually manage the rosters work load especially with all our byes taken now? Last season he only really made changes after being absolutely forced to and then changed back to type from something that was working as soon as he could. Our gameplay this season is based on effort and out enthusing the opposition. Which is fine but over the course of the season takes its toll, particularly if you don't appear to have a plan B. There is only so long you can get up for the fight after week on week effort. Rugby League also isn't just about defense. Having the ability to convert position and possession in to points is crucial. We are approaching the pointy end of the season now and those sides that we managed to beat in effort areas have improved and matching that. That's literally all the Titans did, matched our effort areas, completed their sets but had the attacking gameplan to convert in to points. The attack asking questions of the opposition makes it so much harder to defend and following on from that it takes your energy away when you do have the ball. As has been talked about for the majority of the season, our attack has been very limited, I think 12th best attack in the league now? And how many tries have we scored from kicks? Must be close to top of the league in that regard? Our conversion of possession in the opposition 20 to tries is or very close to the lowest in the competition. And that has been for the most part with a very competitive forward pack and in most games a dominant one until Barnetts injury. Yet very rarely do we create space through attacking play. Rarely do we see variety when trying to make yardage, to often one out hit ups and kick. We are essentially the knights, defensively fairly strong and good effort but we have managed to close out the tight games early in the season through some individual play. I think the results have masked over a number of issues and many are quick to dismiss them because we managed to squeak some wins we probably shouldn't have got. The reality is we are a 6th - 12th type team currently. We do have some x factor available if AW wants to use them but that would mean being a little more flexible in his gameplan. We have the second worst winning percentage of current top 8 sides this season for games against top 8 sides. Something needs to change if we want any hope of not getting knocked out in the finals straights away - assuming we don't completely bottle it and miss the 8. I mean anything could happen in the finals but I don't fancy our chances currently against the majority of the teams in the 8 now.

Don't take this as an anti Webster post either. He is the best option for us currently. That doesn't make him beyond criticism or scrutiny though.
 
Last edited:
Dear Andrew Webster.

Please do not listen to the experts in here, me included.

Webster has the correct game plan, the sport is defensive. It is an attrition and endurance based.

What Webster lacks is the best possible players to deliver that plan, so he has worked miracles with this sub par group to get them to over achieve.

People calling for more attacking players are ignoring the fundamentals of the sport. They are ignoring the past three decades, where not placing the foundations first, has seen the Warriors rarely make it into the finals.

If Webster went out tomorrow and played all the names I constantly read in pick your team, he would destroy what he has built and turn this place back into the old Warriors, he would turn us into the Titans....fast exciting attack, no fundamentals of Rugby league.

What people tend to misunderstand, is that many players cannot learn the fundamental defence of this sport, nor develop the endurance to deliver consistency for eighty minutes.

They think that you take a bunch of attacking players who are rubbish at defence and you 'coach' them with some magical fantasy football coaching secrets and make them into defensive players.

Yet this competition proves that there are some where this is possible and many who will never get it...the latter being the kind of exciting attackers Craig Bellamy will not hire...because he know's he hasn't got a magic wand, he has magic game plan, staffing set up, magic salary cap (players willing to sign for unders) and he only hires people that can be taught.

Webster needs to stick to the plan. It is a five year vision, one where some kids will become the next Leka Halasima etc, and many will never get there, despite what they are doing in cup or lower grades right now.

The cold hard truth is some do not have the heart, the motivation, the drive, the intelligence, most of all the desire to turn their talented physical gifts into
the type of player that can play Webster ball.

And I know many hate that, but without it we are back to the same rubbish.

If the Gods are with us, a decent bunch of these star juniors come through the system that Webster has built, play Webster ball, play percentages, and bring the attack everyone craves.

Time.

Well said.
We are in a competition where long term planning is vital.
I don't believe that winning the competition is the focus this year. And maybe not next year. I think being too successful this year risks papering over the cracks that need work. Perhaps a bit like 2023?
As a diehard fan I want us to kick arse every week and it's frustrating when games like Saturdays happen but as you say we don't have the people. Yet.
But I believe that day is coming. Webby and co have a long term plan and they will get there
 
I thinks he’s done a great job with his game plan. The trouble is it was based on our area of strength which was our middles of JFH, Barnett and Clark. With Barnett out its no longer an area of strength.

The game plan was also designed to showcase Metcalfs strengths with CHT as a capable foil. Boyd while solid is a different player to Metcalf and the combo with CHT isnt as good.

We’ve got some good young cattle but some arent quite ready yet and some are in competitive positions. We are probably six or seven spots above where I thought we would be. Halasima and Vaimauga have taken big steps forward and we will be in contention to compete well next year.

Its a conservative game plan but one that matches the cattle we have. I’ll expect it to change next year when some of our young players are ready and Gannon and Linnane arrive both with intriguing skill sets.
 

NZWarriors.com

I thinks he’s done a great job with his game plan. The trouble is it was based on our area of strength which was our middles of JFH, Barnett and Clark. With Barnett out its no longer an area of strength.

The game plan was also designed to showcase Metcalfs strengths with CHT as a capable foil. Boyd while solid is a different player to Metcalf and the combo with CHT isnt as good.

We’ve got some good young cattle but some arent quite ready yet and some are in competitive positions. We are probably six or seven spots above where I thought we would be. Halasima and Vaimauga have taken big steps forward and we will be in contention to compete well next year.

Its a conservative game plan but one that matches the cattle we have. I’ll expect it to change next year when some of our young players are ready and Gannon and Linnane arrive both with intriguing skill sets.
I mean im looking forward to the halves debate next year and in the coming years. To have metcalf, boyd, jett competing for 7 and CHT, Linnane going for number 6.

With a player like Gannon looking to play some ball playing lock with clark and healey getting an engine for regular FG play. Now we just need Ali to grow a little more and himself plus rocco to stablise there bodies to be a little less injury prone. All we're really missing is a good up in coming winger(s) to challenge DWZ and RTS (Sio Kali 🤨).

Our attack looks like it could be quite interesting next year. So nail down the structure/defensive systems and who knows. We are getting the right talent togther to be a much better attacking side. Just hoping that webby is getting them into FG at the right moments, and lays out a clear plan for the future.
 
Here, here.

Some people have short memories. This club was rudderless, pre 2023.

We at least look competitive for a large portion of the season now.

Webby knows what he's doing and I think it is pretty clear that all the young guys have picked up on it really well.

Demi V looks like a future captain and leader to me, very akin to a young JFH.

Stay the course. We will see the results in the near future.
We have inverted our W:L record of yesteryear and its still not good enough for some
 

NZWarriors.com

I think im finally at the point, that we won't find much extra. The club has done well to achieve what it has got this season (which is beyond anything I could have imagined).

If somehow they can hold 4th spot, it would be a miracle. I just hope the club can get in as many finals games as possible, so the young guys can soak up the experience of finals footy, that should set them up for the next sesson.

The problem next is who is going to lead the club into 2026 while Barnett and Metcalf are out, and will the club just sit on its hands until they are back or proactively try strengthen the squad?
 
Dear Andrew Webster.

Please do not listen to the experts in here, me included.

Webster has the correct game plan, the sport is defensive. It is an attrition and endurance based.

What Webster lacks is the best possible players to deliver that plan, so he has worked miracles with this sub par group to get them to over achieve.

People calling for more attacking players are ignoring the fundamentals of the sport. They are ignoring the past three decades, where not placing the foundations first, has seen the Warriors rarely make it into the finals.

If Webster went out tomorrow and played all the names I constantly read in pick your team, he would destroy what he has built and turn this place back into the old Warriors, he would turn us into the Titans....fast exciting attack, no fundamentals of Rugby league.

What people tend to misunderstand, is that many players cannot learn the fundamental defence of this sport, nor develop the endurance to deliver consistency for eighty minutes.

They think that you take a bunch of attacking players who are rubbish at defence and you 'coach' them with some magical fantasy football coaching secrets and make them into defensive players.

Yet this competition proves that there are some where this is possible and many who will never get it...the latter being the kind of exciting attackers Craig Bellamy will not hire...because he know's he hasn't got a magic wand, he has magic game plan, staffing set up, magic salary cap (players willing to sign for unders) and he only hires people that can be taught.

Webster needs to stick to the plan. It is a five year vision, one where some kids will become the next Leka Halasima etc, and many will never get there, despite what they are doing in cup or lower grades right now.

The cold hard truth is some do not have the heart, the motivation, the drive, the intelligence, most of all the desire to turn their talented physical gifts into
the type of player that can play Webster ball.

And I know many hate that, but without it we are back to the same rubbish.

If the Gods are with us, a decent bunch of these star juniors come through the system that Webster has built, play Webster ball, play percentages, and bring the attack everyone craves.

Time.
If the gods are truly with us, the refs and the bunker will be consistent and not keep moving the goalposts for a change 😜
 

NZWarriors.com

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