Warriors can hold heads high after stellar NRL season, but 2024 will be tougher

ANALYSIS: As Reece Walsh’s pass sailed several metres forward and the Broncos coasted in for their fifth try in Saturday night’s NRL preliminary final in Brisbane, the heads of Warriors players dropped all around Suncorp Stadium.

But as the dust settled on that thumping 42-12 defeat, and the sun indeed rose again in the Sunshine State, those heads could be held high after an exceptional, expectation-defying season.

It always loomed as a very tough ask against the No 2-ranked Broncos, and the classy hosts indeed proved too much for the underdog visitors, who were unable to write another chapter in their 2023 fairytale.

The manner of the defeat will sting. The Warriors had not been beaten by that much all year. Yes, they scored three tries in the opening half-hour, but the Broncos scored four, themselves, in an absolutely frantic start to the contest. And the goalkicking battle of the Adams (Reynolds v Pompey) was as one-sided as it gets, to help the hosts kick clear.

Having been so solid defensively through this campaign, the inability to shut down the Broncos’ offloading game was the Warriors’ biggest worry. Brisbane’s men through the middle were too easily able to get their arms free, and in-turn that just meant a field day for the speedsters out wide, with Walsh particularly electric.

The flying fullback’s forward pass to open the second-half scoring was unbelievably not picked up by referee Gerard Sutton or the near-side touch judge (the bunker is not allowed to rule on forward passes), and while it was not a match-defining play, it certainly felt like there was no way back for the Warriors after that, at 30-12 with 25 minutes to go.

Next Sunday’s grand final promises to be a cracker, featuring two sides who have been a cut above the rest all season, and with the Broncos looking at least a reasonable shot of halting a Penrith Panthers juggernaut hunting down a first three-peat the competition has seen in 40 years.

For the Warriors, they will sit back and watch that decider pondering what may have been, but will also know there is a way to go.

A top-four finish was beyond anyone’s wildest dreams at season start. A caveat, mind you, was a favourable draw meant the Warriors only had to face the other top-four sides once during the regular season. They lost on all three occasions, plus twice more to them in the finals. And while the Sydney Roosters (seventh) and South Sydney Rabbitohs (ninth) didn’t finish as high as expected, they are two highly-regarded outfits easily capable of contending again, and the Warriors went 0-3 against them.

That 0-8 record alone means 2024 will, in many ways, shape as a much tougher proposition for brilliant new coach Andrew Webster, who must be wary of second-year syndrome.

When he took over the coaching gig this year the expectations were zilch. Having finished 15th in 2022, and had four different men in charge the past three seasons, stability, and success, were more dreams than reality for a tiring fan base.

But Webster – who surely has to win Coach of the Year at Wednesday night’s Dally M Awards – proved a masterful mentor. Not only did he quickly get buy-in from the players, thanks to his strong belief instilled in them, but he also got the fans’ faith, too. Mt Smart Stadium became a regularly packed-out place, the unforgettable ‘Up The Wahs’ catch-cry rose to prominence, and the previously-private team song going public only helped to further connect the team with the masses.

And, crucially, it was not just at home where the Warriors played well. For a side who has historically struggled on the road, an identical 8-4 win-loss record at home and away was significant, perhaps a by-product of their Covid days spent across the ditch.

It has laid a brilliant foundation for the club – who have a coach who is contracted till 2025 but has stated he wants to be there “forever” – and for rugby league in general in New Zealand to surge in popularity.

But the Warriors know all-to-well that it’s hard to back up. The last three times they made it as far as the preliminary final (including a grand final appearance in 2011), they ran 14th the following season.

While there are no notable departures from this year’s squad, and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Chanel Harris-Tavita are returning to the ranks next year, there is not a whole lot of player movement across the competition elsewhere to indicate those top sides are about to get much weaker, either.

That means the Warriors cannot rest on their laurels. They will still have to lift their game if they are to seriously foot it with the big dogs, particularly without that element of surprise they had in this memorable 2023.