Warriors bidding for Sonny Bill Williams?

Contrary to various denials over the course of the week it appears that the Warriors are bidding for SBW - all bids must be in by Friday as this is the deadline for SBW to accept an A$1.5m three year offer tabled by the Bulldogs.

Notably Warriors CEO Wayne Scurrah has commented that finding the money to bid is not the issue due to the likely positive impact of SBW on gate takings - the issue is fitting SBW's inevitably massive salary under the cap. I also note Scurrah is saying that "there are no more salary cap skeletons in the closet" so lets hope he doesn't bend on his principles to try and sign SBW - the last thing this team needs is another points deduction for a breach.

And please god if they are bidding I hope they include a provision that SBW has to pass a physical prior to round 1 of every season in order to be paid his full salary and qualify under the cap. Presumably SBW's management and the Warriors could work out a way to insure the salary package such that if SBW was injured long term both he and the team would be compensated for his salary and the loss of gate takings. As much as I would love to see SBW in a Warriors uniform - this seems to me like a salary cap rort waiting to happen - unless Price gets ditched (and in fact the talk is that he will also be renewed if his body holds up) or Wiki takes a big pay cut I can't see how the numbers will work under the cap.

As part of a broader picture of where the Warriors are going in terms of player retention and management strategty - check out this article from the herald. Includes a useful list of players who will be off contract at the end of this year.

Warriors Selection Speculation

I arrived back in London yesterday afternoon and have now just about completed my first day back at work. Time change is a weird experience and I woke up this morning at 4.30am. London started off bad this morning with pouring rain as I walked to the tube stop but has now cleared and doesn't seem as cold or dark so at least that is something. New Zealand seems like another dimension of reality sitting back here and considering the distances involved it really is in some ways.

Anyway enough about me - we are really closing in on the commencement of Cleary Year II with ten days till kick off and I simply cannot wait. I am developing a real sense of anticipation about this Warriors squad - I think they have real depth in the finesse positions together with a typically strong forward pack. When the injured players such as Wairangi Koopu return they will be even stronger.

If people would like to start posting their suggested starting thirteen for round 1 that would be cool. Remeber you don't need to register or give your name to comment just say what you like anonymously if you wish.

I think my choices would be as follows - but bearing in mind I didn't attend the trial game v the Bulldogs and there a number of new Australian players to consider I am more than willing to listen to argument on the issue. If Koopu was available I would definitely pick him as well. Also the question of whether Mannering should be played as a forward or a centre is open for discussion. I like him as a centre but Cleary seems to be using him as a forward lately.

1 McKinnon
2 Martin
3 Mannering
4 Hohaia

5 Vatuvei

6 Witt

7 Rovelli

8 Wiki

9 Fien

10 Price (c)

11 Swann
12 Luck

13 Anderson

Bench - Lauaki, Tuimavave, Ropati, Crockett/Kirk/Gatis (don't know - Australian utility back sub?)

For anyone with issues with league positional numbering check out this link.

Champions league knockout games tonight and tomorrow - most entertaining may well be the Liverpool v Barcelona clash tonight at Anfield with Liverpool currently up 2-1 on aggregate with 2 away goals - will be down to the final eight teams after this round. A repeat Man U treble is still a possiblity.

Finally if the Warriors even think of signing Wendall Sailor I will be deeply disturbed.

Warriors win big in trial vs Bulldogs

Very impressive win for the Warriors last night v the Dogs out at Albany 36-6. I could get very used to that type of scoreline. Was a full strength dogs side including Sonny Bill. Sounds like everyone made a contribution including a standout 50m try from new fullback Wade McKinnon.

Its my last day in NZ today - flying back to London via Singapore this afternoon. Has been a great trip and I leave full of confidence that Cleary Year II is going to be a massive year for the Warriors.

A big shoutout to all the peeps in Auckland and the Wellington crew, its was great to catch up with you all and hope you keep following the blog. Also a special shoutout to Dan who claims to check the blog at least every week - if not everyday - you are a model for all the other readers out there.

Other big NRL story of the day is Gasnier out for the season with a pectoral tear. I purchased another copy of Rugby League Week earlier on in the week and the whole issue was basically devoted to the decision to shift Gasnier from the centres into no. 6 - I guess that discussion is a total waste of space now. In bigger picture terms this may totally undermine the St G season and thereby bring the Warriors another step closer to an elusive top four spot.

See you all back in London soon as we zero in on NRL Round 1 2007.

Warriors lose to Cowboys in trial match

Well unfortunately a purportedly full strength Warriors side managed to lose to a Cowboys trial side 32-14. Lance Hohaiha apparently had a strong game as did new fullback Wade McKinnon.

Another trial this weekend vs the Dogs out at Albany - looks like Mason will make an appearance - Sonny Bill may also be a chance to play. Utai is likely to be out with an ankle injury.

Only three weeks till the 2007 season kicks off vs the Eels at Mt Smart.

I had been wondering what was the injury status of Wairangi Koopu - as he has been one of the most consistent performers for the Warriors over the Watson era - anyway I would not expect him back anytime soon as his shoulder specialist is saying it may be as long as another two months before his injured nerve in his shoulder is sufficiently healed for him to take NRL contact.

New Zealand trip

Well I am writing this post from my family abode in Auckland. Must say NZ has put on a fine show so far on our visit with sunny warm weather. Managed to make it to the far north for a couple of days at the beach location pictured on the right which will remain unamed and was fantastic. The recent performances by the Black Caps have also been out of this world!

Anyway quite a bit has been happening on the Warriors front and as I sit here sipping a Lion Red listening to the cicadas I feel that I am in ideal position to recap. In the first trial match the Warriors beat the Lions 64-4 - can't take too much from this result seeing as the Lions are basically a Warriors feeder/reserve/development team that have been included this year in the New South Wales Premier League and will play their home games as curtain-raisers to the Warriors - however a good result none the less.

The tallk of the media seems to be the amazing depth in the halves that Cleary now enjoys with the arrival at the Warriors of former rookie of the year contender Michael Witt on a one year contract. This guy could be a real diamond in the rough and another great buy by Cleary - if nothing else for his goal kicking.

I picked up a copy of Rugby League Week down at Lynnmall yesterday and it includes an article pointing out that in addition to the incumbent starting halves combination of Rovelli and Ropati, Cleary can now choose from Witt, Fien, and Hohaia with Gatis as a final option. This is awesome depth and Ropati will have to perform very well in the trials to keep his position with Witt a real threat to start at no. 6. Having guys like Fien and Hohaia (3 tries v Lions) in reserve is a great comfort as these guys are quality and an injury of some shape or form in the halves is inevitable.

However before I get too warm and fuzzy about RLW I do note they are picking the Warriors to come 12th in the NRL this year ahead of only the Panthers, Tigers, Roosters and Raiders. Sydney Morning Herald is picking Warriors to come 10th. If either of these picks were the case I think it would be a tremendous dissppointment considering that the boys managed 10th last year in spite of the four point deduction. I think we can seriously expect improvement on last season and that would mean the lower ranks of the top eight at a minimum.

Warriors are travelling to Queensland for a trial against the Cowboys this Saturday night with Cleary set to start a near full strength side including captain Steve Price and vice-captain Ruben Wiki plus ex-Parramatta fullback Wade McKinnon, winger Manu Vatuvei, centre Simon Mannering, standoff Jerome Ropati, hooker Nathan Fien and back rower Micheal Luck. And just to make my day - Sione has been named in the Cowboys side to face the Warriors in their trial this Saturday. Awesome.

Warriors consider Price contract extension

Would you beleive it some actual substantive Warriors news today. Apparently the Warriors are doing some forward planning and reviewing all their contracts and salary cap position for the 2008 season now. In particular Steve Price is looking to extend his contract - due to expire at the end of this season - for one additional year. This would mean he and Wiki both come off contract at the end of 2008 and theoretically both retire at that point in time opening up a vast salary cap opportunity in 2009 and also positional space in the forwards for new boys Russell Packer and Sam Rapira.

Sounds ok in principle provided the Warriors are disciplined enough about this opportunity to avoid over-paying for Price who is well worth a good salary but is approaching the end of his career. The Warriors may be full of enthusiasm about the season ahead (and so am I) but to my mind they need to be patient to see how Price's body holds up this season before investing a significant proportion of their 2008 cap on him. The response to this argument would be that they have watched him train all pre-season so have a good idea of how he is doing physically.

Overall I think this is a response to the salary cap breach points deduction debacle and the loss of Webb - the Warriors dare I say it may actually be planning their salary cap management a couple of seasons at a time. This has got to be good for the future of the team.

In Training

Well the off-season continues to drag endlessly.

I will be paying a visit to all the NZ based subscribers of this blog in one weeks time and I am really looking forward to it.

Not much news to report on the Warriors front other than the fact that their training visit to Waiheke Island was a success but that the Fullers ferry system is so inadequate that as many as 120 people had to spend the night on the wharf after being stranded when the last ferry left without them. Awesome anticipation and planning all round! In a shock act of foresight Fullers are now scheduling extra ferries for busy Waiheke weekends.

Community carnival and a few trial matches are coming up (including vs Bulldogs at Albany on the 3rd March) and I have added some more images to the blog - only about 5 weeks to go till kickoff v the Eels on 17 March. Cue the Final Countdown!