Pick Your Team 2023 Finals Week 1 - Penrith vs Warriors

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Honest mate, I couldn't believe what I was hearing...we are planning to beat Penrith, or something like that, and he said it as cool as a cucumber.
He said (regarding the 6 or 7 day turnaround) he doesn’t care, we won’t complain, we will win it, that’s what we have to plan to do.

Nothing wrong with that, it’s business time and the troops won’t believe it if you don’t.
 
I really think we are flying under the radar. No one is giving us a chance, in fact we are hardly being spoken about. I’d say partly due to our form being a bit patchy against lower sides lately and no big scalps, but geez they are talking up Newcastle as if it’s 1997, and sure they have gone on a big run but we would also likely be on a 7 match streak and in 3rd if we played our full strength team on the weekend.

Whenever I hear commentators saying it’s “insurmountable” or “no chance” then I always think of the Patriots v Giants in 2007 when the Pats were unbeaten all year in bay to be beaten at the big dance. Anything can happen…

I’m also channeling Warriors vs Storm 1 v 8 semi 2008.
 
He said (regarding the 6 or 7 day turnaround) he doesn’t care, we won’t complain, we will win it, that’s what we have to plan to do.

Nothing wrong with that, it’s business time and the troops won’t believe it if you don’t.
dont get me wrong, i wanna see them win. I just think a game against Penrith after they won the minor prems, at their home, its gonna be stacked against the warriors.

My other concern is they seem to play well with fast track dry footy, but anytime something changes the plan doesnt seem to - its my big criticism of webby. And finals football the rules will change. Are they prepared for that?
 
dont get me wrong, i wanna see them win. I just think a game against Penrith after they won the minor prems, at their home, its gonna be stacked against the warriors.

My other concern is they seem to play well with fast track dry footy, but anytime something changes the plan doesnt seem to - its my big criticism of webby. And finals football the rules will change. Are they prepared for that?

You have to remember what Webster has to work with. Changing game plans are for the elite sides of an era in the NRL with the dodgey looking Salary caps.

From what I have been watching it has taken a year for almost any rubbish club to get good at one game plan and even then sides go flat for spells.

Until the Warriors have a spine that looks like Slater Cronk and Smith I think the cliche about only worrying about how well you do your game plan is true.

I like the way we play, I know all plans have limits, but the fundamentals of how to win do no change whatever your plan is.

If you keep them scoreless you win.
 
The team are flying over on a private jet.

First time in club history.
.....and fans are worried about the club hanging onto Webster

Probably a chartered Air NZ flight?

Gulf streams and the like only seat 19 people.
 

The Warriors won’t be cutting any corners as they prepare for their biggest match in more than a decade – with the club deciding to use a private jet to transport the team to Australia later this week.

After finishing in the top four for the first time since 2007, the Warriors face Penrith in the qualifying final on Saturday night (6pm NZT).

If they beat the minor premiers, they will be one win away from the grand final, as they would receive a bye to the preliminary final, which in that case would be staged in Auckland. The carrot of that potential scenario – plus other logistical factors – has seen the club decide to take the huge step of investing in charter flights for the team, with the squad travelling in a 65-seat private plane.

It’s a move that is almost unprecedented in club history, though there were some similar arrangements made in 2002 when the club reached the grand final for the first time.

It will be a considerable expense - at least four times the cost of using a commerical flight - but Warriors chief executive Cameron George is adamant the cost is justified. It’s also a sign of the lengths the club is prepared to go to ensure an optimal preparation.

“We are chips-in for this,” George told the Herald. “This is a huge moment for our footy club, and we want to try to get everything as smooth and as streamlined as possible. This is our commitment to the footy team, the staff and the fans; we want to do everything we possibly can to have the best preparation.”

The Warriors celebrate against Manly. Photo / Photosport
There were several factors that swayed the decision.

The first was to alleviate the risk of delays, which have blighted their recent transtasman travel. The Herald understands the squad has faced disruptions on at least three of their recent away trips. The most prolonged occurred last week. They were meant to arrive on Thursday 6pm (local time) in Brisbane, ahead of the Dolphins clash last Saturday, but didn’t land in the Queensland capital until after midnight.

It also allows the Warriors the option to return home on Saturday night, instead of having to fly from Sydney on Sunday. The match will finish around 6pm (Sydney time), which allows them plenty of time to get to the airport before the 10pm curfew, after which planes aren’t allowed to take off.

”It makes travel real efficient, [being] on our own plane,” said George. “There have been a couple of instances recently where we have had delays. This hopefully helps us to reduce that risk or even eliminate it by having our own charter. And it means we can get home quicker, instead of getting home at 5pm or something on Sunday and losing a day of recovery.”

It was also going to be a headache to find an appropriate commerical flight out of Auckland. The club didn’t receive confirmation of the finals schedule until late on Sunday evening, by which stage it was difficult to find a Thursday afternoon departure with the required seats available for their 45-strong party.

”The planes were full by the time we knew the timings,” said George.

The alternative would have meant a Friday departure post-captain’s run in Auckland, which is far from ideal for an early kick-off the next day or an early morning flight on Thursday, which wouldn’t be the best option in an already compressed week.

”Commercially, it was challenging for us,” said George. “This is the best pathway for us to get there, in the most efficient and best-prepared way.”

Adam Pompey crosses for a try. Photo / Photosport
While it is a significant outlay, George said the potential upside was too hard to ignore.

”The club has worked for years to get these opportunities,” said George. “This is an investment to try to achieve the best result we can. We are not here to make up the numbers - we are here to win it.”


“If we go there and win, we have got two weeks off and we’ve got the biggest event in sport in New Zealand. Or if we go there and get beat, at least we are home a day early to recover and get ready to go again next week. There were lots of positives for us.”

“We want to give Webby and his team all the support, and the best possible preparation that we can. That’s my job, for the environment. We want to seize this opportunity.”
 
He said (regarding the 6 or 7 day turnaround) he doesn’t care, we won’t complain, we will win it, that’s what we have to plan to do.

Nothing wrong with that, it’s business time and the troops won’t believe it if you don’t.
Yes but Webby is usually very conservative. Sounds good to me
 
The biggest difference in what Harrigan did and what the new boys do is that the refs now coach for individuals in games.
Harrigan was his own man. He was the fittest referee by far. They have training every week at Moore Park and he left them all for dead. That showed in the games, he was always up with the play.

The players liked him and respected him him as well...almost all anyway... Gorden Tallis blew up in SOO and called Harrigan a cheat. Got sent off.
 
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