Webster’s apology to fans as Warriors approach make or break

By Alex Powell

As his side’s season teeters on a knife’s edge, Warriors coach Andrew Webster is urging his side’s fanatical fanbase to keep the faith.

Since his arrival at the Warriors at the start of 2023, just about everything Webster touched turned to gold.

Players enjoyed career-best form, and the side ended a five-year absence from the NRL finals with a fourth-placed finish in the regular season.

Nine months on, though, things look very different at Mt Smart.

This time last year, the Warriors sat sixth on the NRL ladder with eight wins and six defeats.

But after a record-equalling defeat to the Gold Coast Titans, Webster’s men are currently 13th, with six wins and eight losses - to go with a draw.

However, the results of that 2023 season are still being seen.

This year, the Warriors are on course to sell out every home game they play. The fanatical legion of fans that got on the bandwagon are largely still there, supplementing the Mt Smart faithful who’ve been there the whole time.

And even with the Warriors languishing in 13th place, they’re only three points outside the top eight and finals football.

Last weekend’s 66-6 loss against the Titans equalled the worst result in the club’s history.

But in the context of that record being shared with a 70-10 defeat to the Melbourne Storm during the Covid-affected years in Australia, last weekend’s loss should be considered worse.

As a result, Webster took it upon himself to issue a rallying cry to the fans on behalf of the players.

“We love them, we apologise,” he said. “None of the players went out to do that.

“They’ve tried their absolute guts out for the jersey for a long time. The last 18 months, I think, they’ve shown so much pride in it, and care even when we have got beaten.

“They let themselves down, the fans down, and each other down.

“Stay with us. What can I say? We’ve always loved your support. I’m sure the Mt Smart crowd will give us a lift.”

Any lift will be vital, come Saturday, when the Warriors welcome the Brisbane Broncos.

Like the Warriors, the Broncos have also struggled to replicate their 2023 success this year.

After Kevin Walters took Brisbane to the NRL Grand Final last year, and only lost after one of the all-time great individual displays from Nathan Cleary, the Broncos currently sit seventh on the ladder, only three points ahead of the Warriors.

Both teams are approaching “must-win” territory in their campaigns, with just 11 rounds to go in the regular season.

And for Webster, who has professed he never looks at the NRL ladder, there is acknowledgement that his side’s slide needs to be arrested.

“Every week you lose, you’re getting closer to it getting harder,” Webster continued.

“I don’t need to look at the ladder to do that. We need to win games.

“But it needs to start with a good performance that gives us an opportunity to win.

“Every game you lose from here on in will make it mathematically harder.

“The one thing I do know is how tight it is, the ladder. We’ve got to go out this week and firstly get some confidence back, and hopefully it results in a win. It has to.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission