During the Warriors’ 2020-22 COVID odyssey, the club’s lower-grade program essentially consisted of a feeder arrangement with Queensland Cup outfit Redcliffe Dolphins.
But in just their third season permanently based back in New Zealand, the Warriors boast five teams: their first-ever Harold Matthews Cup side, which has won back-to-back titles, SG Ball Cup, Jersey Flegg Cup, a NSW Cup line-up that currently leads the 2025 competition and the NRL outfit. The Warriors also return to the NRLW next month after a four-season hiatus.
“We’re very proud of some of the achievements we’ve already been able to make,” Warriors general manager recruitment, development and pathways Andrew McFadden tells Big League.
“It’s still a bit of a journey for us. We’ve spent a lot of time setting things up for the first time, but now it’s about operationally just improving every year.”
Resourcing teams to compete in the NSWRL competitions is particularly challenging for a club as geographically removed as the Warriors.
McFadden praises owner Mark Robinson’s commitment to providing the necessary financially backing for the club’s pathways.
“It’s the most important part, and to be honest with you, I probably wouldn’t be here without that,” the Warriors’ 2014-16 NRL head coach says.
“Mark Robinson is certainly a rugby league man. Clubs are built on making sure your pathways are right, so I’m very lucky that he’s willing to invest in that. We’ve got some really good staff that drive it.”
The club’s twin under-17s triumphs in two seasons of the team’s existence provides a tantalising window into the Warriors’ future.
McFadden admits there are no shortage of exciting prospects in the club’s ranks, but he warns it’s a long road to parlay junior titles into NRL glory.
“It just shows you how much talent is here in New Zealand, first of all. A lot of the talent’s been stripped out of here in previous years, particularly when we went through COVID.
“But the Harold Matts age group is probably that generation where they’re going to have a complete pathways program to go into and we’ll see that in the test of time, how the development of these kids transfers into first grade.
“It obviously gets trickier as they get older and particularly when they get to open age, but we’re very confident that any kid that comes through our program is going to be well equipped to be a really reliable NRL player.
“It’s not even just about playing NRL, it’s about being premiership winners. That’s what we’re trying to develop – a certain class of player that we are looking to find and looking to mould.”
The primary focus for the Warriors is developing players from the abundant pool of talent in their backyard, but the club took the rare step of recruiting an age-group player from Australia in the form of ex-Penrith SG Ball halfback Jett Cleary.
The Cleary name carries a massive legacy at the Warriors courtesy of father Ivan’s stints as player and coach, which encompassed the 2002 and 2011 NRL grand finals. But it’s his older brother, champion No.7 Nathan, that ensures Jett inevitably carves his path in the game lumbered with the weight of expectation.
“It is a challenge, it’s probably the toughest situation for any kid that he gets that attention based on the name – and the name Cleary is just built with success,” McFadden concedes.
“That’s a big burden for him to carry. But I think he’s really enjoying being out of the Sydney bubble and not having that pressure. I know he enjoys his time over here and he’s developing nicely.
“We’re not putting any pressure on him [but] we’re not putting any limitations on him, either. How quickly he moves will be up to him. And you can see by the way he plays, he’s very competitive.”
Signing with the Warriors until 2027, 20-year-old Cleary has developed into the Jersey Flegg team’s linchpin in his first season in the grade, as well as earning a NSW Cup debut last month.
Cleary impressed in the table-topping Warriors’ 40-24 win over Canterbury in his open-age debut, producing a try assist on top of 79 running metres, 15 tackles and a sound kicking game.
“We put a huge amount of pressure on young halves to hit the ground running,” McFadden explains.
“Largely the ones that do succeed at an early age are generally really good athletes. What I mean by that is physically they’re very strong and dominant. But some of the craftier halves take a little bit longer, and I think that’s where Jett will slowly develop.
“But he’s going really nicely, he’s going to go into full-time training next year and be in our development squad. That’s when we’ll start to see some real movement.
“He’s got all the attributes [to be an NRL half] for sure. There’s no guarantees with any of these guys that we signed, but we see a really bright future and he’s just got to go out and do it.
“Ultimately they’ve got to be able to take someone’s spot at NRL level and be that premiership-winning player that we want.”
