Player Sam Healey

[Tokyo Warrior]

I thought it might be tempting fate to debut him against a team looking for a hooker for next year

 

[run_it_str8_again]

That jersey presentation gave me hope that he will stick with us

He used the word debt. So he feels indebted to Cappy, Webby, etc. Looks like Ford when he said "I just needed someone to believe in me". Healey said he hadn't had too many people believe in him so keeping that in mind he's just debuted and is named for another go. I like it

 

[Get them onside ref!]

While it likely is the end of Lussick as a hooker back up (we agree on that) let me expound on what Cappy is up too til people get sick of reading it.

Our mass import of Australian spine players (halves and hookers not Fullbacks) is a design to change the style of play of our NSW cup sides.

You read that right, I am inverting the equation where every Warriors fans assumes an Aussie import is only recruited for a first grade pathway.

We are creating a NSW cup team that allows our mostly Poly future star fowards to play off an Australian Hooker and half.

Why?

Because the true worth, the accurate assessment of said poly forward in the past was restricted by them playing in a Weak NZ NSW cup squad.

The type of squad where someone like Taukeiaho would look average and get shipped to the Roosters.

The kind of squad where the next Leka would get sick of playing in a weak NSW cup Warriors side, get sick of not winning GF, and get sick of not getting good ball to rack up Try's and protect their future earnings.

Ergo Cappy imports a ridiculous amount of Aussie halves, too many to even contemplate them being hired as future NRL options.

And the same is going to be true of hookers by the looks, we are going to flood the zone and therefore find out how good these Kiwi kids are playing in an Aussie matrix.

Which has other benefits, if you have ten million Aussie Jnr halves, the Warriors becomes a well known and popular tourist destination for Australian youngsters looking for a holiday in another country.

Of that sample size a percentage will love it here, a percentage will eventually prove to be kids that want to keep crossing the ditch during footy season because they love the NZ life style.

The bigger picture that Webster and McFadden are clearly shaping their vision around is making the Warriors a 'normal' destination for Australians.

They are basically normalizing the Warriors geographical distance by bringing in as many Australians as they can to create a new NRL culture about the "New Zealand experience'. And the easiest way to do that is to bring in Aussie youth....therefore Cappy is subverting the cap restrictions and other bias that experienced Aussies have against the Warriors.

We have the most beautiful country in the world. We have been expert at promoting and selling this country....except for the Warriors who have tarnished it by their years of underperformance and years of being Isolationist with their pre Webster Mcfadden era local (almost) quota of Australians mentality.

The thing that I admire most about McFadden who I think is the most influential person in Warriors history (don't get me started on how he was the first to create shapes in our attack and offensive defence) the thing I admire most about him is that he has thrown the rule book out, hired hundreds of Aussie halves, hunts Aussie junior hookers...because he understands he is finally joining the Warriors to the rest of the NRL in such a way that the Warriors staff recruitment no longer has any road blocks to getting any type of Australian they want, any time they want them.

Let me put it simply.

The more Australian kids that come here and have a wonderful time before deciding to play in Australia, the more the NRL gets to hear about how going to the Warriors is a life changing opportunity for Australians wanting to explore the world.

Big picture....the three hour flight which is less than a long drive to the beach for most Australians is no longer foreign, no longer a sacrifice....just another club with more to offer locally than they will find in Australia for the Aussie with an adventurous spirit.

Always say
Find our junior players here
Lots Penrith juniors formed their powerhouse
Are we saying we ain’t got those players positions here right now

 

[sup42]

Always say
Find our junior players here
Lots Penrith juniors formed their powerhouse
Are we saying we ain’t got those players positions here right now

McFadden knows this system very well. He has been here for years between his various roles.

He knows the ole party line at the Warriors, home of the sleeping giant in the NRL...best nursery in the comp yadda yadda.

He is a former half himself (in the same vein of this thread he looks like he is taking the same view of hooking positions at the Warriors).

Clearly he has identified that using halves that need a year or two to catch up to their Aussie highschool trained counter parts is what is holding back the other positions in a football team.

Simply if you have crap halves, they make every one else look crap.

It is nice to have this dream of developing the next whatever.....but lets be real, it hasn't worked, and it now looks as though someone has figured out that it is a dead end.

We are forming a powerhouse like Penrith, but the truth is, you cannot take kids that have not had weekly school games and school practice, under semi pro school systems in a league hothouse and expect them to grow into junior halfbacks that can kick a field kick, that can distribute the ball in a set pattern and most of all you cannot make them the articulate/loquacious chatty little Aussie kid that yells and directs unless the kid has it in them....or is being bred for it in the school years.

That is not to say that the kiwi kids cannot get a pathway to halfback at the Warriors - they just have to be at the same standard as all these imported players we have flooded our system with at the fundamental level that is organizing a Rugby league team.

 

[The Warrior Waka]

View: https://youtu.be/4rnBem_RWII?si=Zst9ayh8a0Ru6WOe

 

[snake77]

A good article about his day finding out he will be starting against the Sharks.

Has a little bit about his move to NZ. Currently living with Stowers-Smith and a few other NSW Cup guys. The comment about them all cooking separately is interesting. In the past you'd hear about 1-2 or two guys would do it or they'd share. Likely due to them all having specific requirements set out by the club to meet targets.

'I'm probably on': Inside Warriors rookie hooker's last-minute call-up

Healey looks one to watch; part of a cohort of young Warriors turning heads.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[MrFrankWhite]

A good article about his day finding out he will be starting against the Sharks.

Has a little bit about his move to NZ. Currently living with Stowers-Smith and a few other NSW Cup guys. The comment about them all cooking separately is interesting. In the past you'd hear about 1-2 or two guys would do it or they'd share. Likely due to them all having specific requirements set out by the club to meet targets.

'I'm probably on': Inside Warriors rookie hooker's last-minute call-up

Healey looks one to watch; part of a cohort of young Warriors turning heads.

www.nzherald.co.nz

“Webby was really positive,” recalled Healey of their first conversation. “He thought I could genuinely be a No 9 in the NRL and that’s all I needed ... someone to believe in me and, have confidence in me.”

JFC another player and the exact same words. I kind of am in awe of Webby's ability to get people to believe in themselves and in doing so, commit to HIS plan. He's a god with it.

 

[CWC]

A good article about his day finding out he will be starting against the Sharks.

Has a little bit about his move to NZ. Currently living with Stowers-Smith and a few other NSW Cup guys. The comment about them all cooking separately is interesting. In the past you'd hear about 1-2 or two guys would do it or they'd share. Likely due to them all having specific requirements set out by the club to meet targets.

'I'm probably on': Inside Warriors rookie hooker's last-minute call-up

Healey looks one to watch; part of a cohort of young Warriors turning heads.

www.nzherald.co.nz

Was he as shocked as Mahoney and Sexton when they were told to get hooked or change positions lol

 

[snake77]

“Webby was really positive,” recalled Healey of their first conversation. “He thought I could genuinely be a No 9 in the NRL and that’s all I needed ... someone to believe in me and, have confidence in me.”

JFC another player and the exact same words. I kind of am in awe of Webby's ability to get people to believe in themselves and in doing so, commit to HIS plan. He's a god with it.

I know the development club strategy is more for the local kids growing up in NZ. But it can extend a bit out to poaching players stuck in the lower grades at another club.

We are seeing a bit of it with some of the positions we are not strong in where they have signed some halves from Australia.

Hopefully, we get to the point where people from outside see us as a club that develops players and gives them opportunities in first grade. All sides do that of course but we are having success with two that were stuck behind established players at the Sharks.

A lot to like with the way Healey has been going this year. He does provide a point of difference from Egan.

 

[Noitall]

Was he as shocked as Mahoney and Sexton when they were told to get hooked or change positions lol

I get the feeling this is the difference between Webster and Ciraldo. Webster seems much more nurturing and up front whereas Ciraldo seems much more cold and calculated. I’m sure Webster has a brutal streak in him too behind the scenes as is likely needed to be a successful coach

 

[MrFrankWhite]

I get the feeling this is the difference between Webster and Ciraldo. Webster seems much more nurturing and up front whereas Ciraldo seems much more cold and calculated. I’m sure Webster has a brutal streak in him too behind the scenes as is likely needed to be a successful coach

Big call putting it on Ciraldo. My bet is this is all Gus and the club.

 

[CWC]

I get the feeling this is the difference between Webster and Ciraldo. Webster seems much more nurturing and up front whereas Ciraldo seems much more cold and calculated. I’m sure Webster has a brutal streak in him too behind the scenes as is likely needed to be a successful coach

IMO Ciraldo's being bossed around by Gus and Webby kinda did his brutal streak by retiring Tohu/SJ and moving on AFB/Walker/Zyon Maiu’u/Vailea and almost CNK/TMM(?)

Can't imagine us bringing in an unproven troublemaker to play 7 and make Metcalf play hooker and dump Egan and half the team, the coach and the crowd just go bat crazy against the 2nd worst team in the comp because their members email told them the world is against them like some kind of a cult.

Imagine Luai and Taruva watching Burton and Crighton celebrating the second cumming of Galvin like that

 

[Noitall]

Big call putting it on Ciraldo. My bet is this is all Gus and the club.

If they’re smart, that’s how it is. Good cop, bad cop

 

[MrFrankWhite]

IMO Ciraldo's being bossed around by Gus and Webby kinda did his brutal streak by retiring Tohu/SJ and moving on AFB/Walker/Zyon Maiu’u/Vailea and almost CNK/TMM(?)

Can't imagine us bringing in an unproven troublemaker to play 7 and make Metcalf play hooker and dump Egan and half the team, the coach and the crowd just go bat crazy against the 2nd worst team in the comp because their members email told them the world is against them like some kind of a cult.

Imagine Luai and Taruva watching Burton and Crighton celebrating the second cumming of Galvin like that

This move plus Fafita will make or break the Dogs. I personally think it will fall apart. They are losing the very thing that made them good. A tight knit group of players

 

[Noitall]

This move plus Fafita will make or break the Dogs. I personally think it will fall apart. They are losing the very thing that made them good. A tight knit group of players

Think it’s tigers are the Sydney club that are interested in Fifita? Pretty sure that’s not true on the nrl recruitment thread

 

[Rizzah]

“Webby was really positive,” recalled Healey of their first conversation. “He thought I could genuinely be a No 9 in the NRL and that’s all I needed ... someone to believe in me and, have confidence in me.”

JFC another player and the exact same words. I kind of am in awe of Webby's ability to get people to believe in themselves and in doing so, commit to HIS plan. He's a god with it.

What strikes me is how frequent you hear 'I just needed someone to believe in me' from players in supposedly high performance environments. I would have thought coaches would prioritise building their players confidence/belief through clear communication and support - especially young players sitting just outside the playing 17, who also play a critical role when the season is so long and easily disrupted with injuries to the first choice 13/17. Webby’s approach is clearly centred around confidence/belief, communication, and development. From the outside looking in, it feels like an obvious focus in any elite setup - especially when form is often a reflection of that belief. But it's clearly missing from many coaches tool kits.

 

[JustVisiting82]

IMO Ciraldo's being bossed around by Gus and Webby kinda did his brutal streak by retiring Tohu/SJ and moving on AFB/Walker/Zyon Maiu’u/Vailea and almost CNK/TMM(?)

I don't know how many of those were Webby being brutal - maybe Vailea and Zyon Maiu’u who seemed to be deprioritised compared to other players. However the Kepu twins did disappear under mysterious circumstances early in his reign.

 

[FormerlyJamesW]

Here's a head scratcher for you lot.

Do we think that Healey is here for the long term?

 

[Christchurch_Warrior]

IMO Ciraldo's being bossed around by Gus and Webby kinda did his brutal streak by retiring Tohu/SJ and moving on AFB/Walker/Zyon Maiu’u/Vailea and almost CNK/TMM(?)

Can't imagine us bringing in an unproven troublemaker to play 7 and make Metcalf play hooker and dump Egan and half the team, the coach and the crowd just go bat crazy against the 2nd worst team in the comp because their members email told them the world is against them like some kind of a cult.

Imagine Luai and Taruva watching Burton and Crighton celebrating the second cumming of Galvin like that

Not sure if Galvin will end up being that good. He is kind of giving me Jackson Hasting vibes.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Here's a head scratcher for you lot.

Do we think that Healey is here for the long term?

If we make the conditions suitable. Being Egans back up will probably wear thin. Will probably need to keep one and lose the other