Signing of the Season for Warriors Emerge

Over the summer, Warriors coach Andrew Webster decided his pack needed more grunt in 2025 after the disappointments of last year. Enter Erin Clark, the former Titan and one of the most under-rated hard men in the NRL. The 27-year-old journeyman, who began his career with one solitary game for the Warriors in 2017, has been a standout for the Kiwi club in his return to arms. Clark topped the Warriors' tackle count in the easy win over the Knights on Friday night and also ran for over 150 metres. With James Fisher-Harris missing, Clark has become a key man in the Warriors' forward armada, and he led the troops in fine style in Christchurch.

'Never know': Coach's hint on late Warriors switch

Could the Wahs be set to pull a late switch on the eve of the massive clash with the Raiders in Sin City? Coach Andrew Webster certainly floated the possibility in an exclusive chat with Wide World of Sports in the lead-up to the game. Webster has the luxury of three top-class halves in his 23-man squad that got on the plane for the USA last week. He's named Luke Metcalf and Chanel Harris-Tevita as his starting halves and left Te Maire Martin out of the 17 men down to play the game. But Martin, while filling in for the injured Shaun Johnson last year, was the architect of some of the team's best wins in a disappointing season. "Whoever is playing the best will be in the starting side," Webster told WWOS before actually revealing his squad. "But one could also be on the bench - you never know." Webster has named two young relative unknowns on the bench in the current 17 - second-rowers Leka Halasima and Demitric Vaimauga - who have played just 11 top grade games between them. Will he roll the dice and drop one for the unpredictable Martin to give him more creative power? Watch this space…

Coach's shock American connection revealed

The individual who will bring the most American fans to Las Vegas this weekend won't be Nathan Cleary or Nicho Hynes. It will in fact be Warriors coach Andrew Webster, who has drawn his own personal cheer squad from the east coast of the USA. It's a little known fact that Webster began the coaching journey that brought him to Vegas in the small town of Norwalk, Connecticut. "I realised pretty early on that I wasn't going to make it as an NRL playmaker," Webster told Wide World of Sports. "So I decided to travel and play the game as I did so. "I ended up at the Connecticut Wildcats as player-coach. I was only 23 but had picked up plenty of good knowledge from smart coaches in my short time in the NRL in the game in Sydney. "We ended up making the grand final and I just loved the experience. "Then I went to visit my brother in England and did some footy work over there as well. "It gave me the passion for coaching and coming back here to the USA means a lot to me. "There are a lot of people I haven't seen since I was here in 2005 - 20 years ago - and a heap of them will be coming across country for the game. "It will be great to have them here, catch up again and reminisce after the match." Having been involved in league in the USA at grass roots level, Webster is convinced there is a future for the game here. "They love their NFL but the spectacle they are after is people with no shoulder pads running hard at each other," Webster said. "I remember watching the games on TV last year and (Manly's) Lachlan Croker suddenly had blood on his face from a head clash. "I reckon the Americans thought 'wow how tough is this sport'. "We've grown up with it, you get a knock, you just keep going, but to them it is a real novelty." The Warriors kick off the NRL season against the Raiders in Las Vegas. The game begins at 11am in Australia's eastern daylight states.