Warriors v Knights recap: Andrew Webster’s side fail to bounce back

Marcelo Montoya of the Warriors in action against the Knights. Photo / Photosport

All the action from the NRL clash between the New Zealand Warriors and the Newcastle Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle.

Andrew Webster confident and Warriors confident of form turnaround

Over the next three weeks Andrew Webster could be facing the biggest challenge of his coaching career – but he is not shying away from the prospect.

It’s too early in the season to panic but the Warriors have put themselves in a difficult situation ahead of a tough run of fixtures. Their victory song hasn’t been heard since April 6 – when they beat the Rabbitohs in Sydney – and the three performances since have ranged from patchy to poor.

Their issues were epitomised by the shock Anzac Day defeat to the Titans, when a fast finish couldn’t mask an unprecedented fade in the middle period of the game, where they conceded 27 unanswered points. On top of a heavy injury toll – they have used an NRL-high 27 players – they are down on confidence and belief, while some individuals are struggling for form.

It’s not exactly where you want to be, given what is coming. They face a trip to Newcastle this Sunday (4pm) – always one of the toughest places to play, given their feverish home support – before away games against the Roosters and three-time Premiers Penrith.

With a 3-1-4 record, the Warriors can’t afford to slip much further. They had difficult moments last season, particularly when they lost four of five games at one point (round eight to round 13) but that came when they already had the buffer of a 5-2 start to the year. Now there is much less credit in the bank.

Webster enjoyed a rare weekend off, spending time with his young son and wife, along with watching the other Warriors grades, highlighted by the Harold Matthews Cup (Under-17) team winning their grand final over the Western Suburbs Magpies 34-16 on Saturday. Now he is ready to go again.

“It is a challenge and it is something that we probably haven’t faced simply because of expectation,” said Webster. “We had worse areas last year but it is simply because people expect more of us and that’s cool, we expect more of ourselves. It probably is the biggest challenge but it is a challenge I am looking forward to. That is why I wanted to be a head coach, to enjoy these moments and go after it.”

The issues are obvious. The team have lost – or hopefully misplaced – the defensive resilience that made them so hard to beat last season. It’s not just the amount of points being shipped (79 in the past three games) but the way they are conceding tries, with bad defensive reads and individual misses.

“Our bad is as bad as anyone’s in the competition if I am being honest and the boys agree with that,” lamented Webster. “We are one of the bottom teams [in the NRL] for defending our errors at moment and that is not something we want to be, that wasn’t our identity last year.”

There’s also been something missing on attack, often lacking the instinctive connection and timing that was so apparent in 2023.

After three days off, there was a painful review on Monday morning – “the boys knew the answers, they were very forthcoming”. On a positive note, the longest turnaround of their season (10 days) has come at the right time and the team will benefit from four field sessions this week.

“We get to build combinations, get to get our fundamentals back,” said Webster. “We pride ourselves that our fundamentals stand up under pressure and they haven’t for the last couple of weeks.”

If body language is any measure, the Warriors are primed to bounce back. The players looked upbeat on Monday at a sharp training session, which focused on defensive alignment, making decisions under pressure and smart ball work.

Despite the recent performances, Webster ruled out making “wholesale changes” this week, saying he retains complete faith in the squad.

“We are really confident this group can get back to playing the footy that we want to play,” said Webster. “They have turned up with a great attitude [on Monday] to want to get better, we didn’t gloss over anything.”

Kurt Capewell is expected to come back into the mix for the Knights game, after he missed the Titans match with a throat injury, while Webster said Bunty Afoa (hamstring) was “a chance”, with others to return in the coming weeks.