http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/4096862/Warriors-bank-on-NZ-talent
Warriors bank on NZ talent
The biggest item in Dean Bell's modest office at Mt Smart stadium is a substantial whiteboard screwed to the wall, which bears 90-odd names the players contracted to the Warriors.
It's a constant reminder for the club's recruitment and football manager of his ultimate aim: long-term planning for a club which has sometimes stood accused of living too much in the present.
On the left are the 31 contracted first-graders. In the centre, the under-20 squad. On the right, 20 signed-on development players the youngest of those just 14 years old. There's even another group who have trained at the club, but aren't paid.
There's a fuss been made of how few Australians are in this Warriors team just four last weekend but it's not just their nationality, but who produced the players that matters most to the club, who are backing themselves to unearth up to three first-graders a year from their own system. They couldn't cope with any more.
They also reckon with more prudent forethought, they can slash the costs which come with cutting players mid-contract. While Nathan Fien took a paycut to leave the club early for the Dragons to get some first-grade play, most NRL clubs agree to keep paying some of their players' wages when they offload them early to other clubs. In the past two years, for example, the Warriors have offloaded Fien, Grant Rovelli, Michael Witt and Wade McKinnon early in long-term contracts.
"It's not an exact science," says Bell, citing form, injuries and changing team dynamics as uncontrollable factors. "I have worked that one out, but it is all about making the right decisions from the start but you're never going to get it 100 per cent right all of the time. Sometimes, there is the simple fact that there is a better option: hopefully, in the future it will be some of our young players. One of the big things is making sure our succession planning is in place so we sign guys at the right time, extend at the right time, and at the right money too that's really important."
Bell can predict eight years ahead who should be playing in what position for the Warriors, but says one of the biggest intangibles is knowing which promising young players translate that ability at NRL level.
That forward planning explains the real surprise: while the club is "very healthy" on its salary cap next season and has lots of room to manouevre, it has no specific recruitment targets in mind. The Warriors showed no interest in Kiwis' backrowers Greg Eastwood, Frank Pritchard and Jeremy Smith when each came on the market. "We got backrowers coming out of ears and some good young ones coming through," explains Bell. "We don't need anyone [there] at the moment ... you don't buy a player for the sake of it, do you? You buy them because that's what your needs are. We are pretty happy with the squad we've got at the moment. Not pretty happy we're very happy. We are in a good position financially we've not got millions in the bank, but we are in a good position if a quality player becomes available and fits our needs we would be ready. But we are certainly not desperate to go out and sign someone."
Likewise, they don't want a hooker to replace the departing Ian Henderson rookie Alehana Mara is doing well enough, and Bell says these days having two frontline hookers is a luxury.
They thought they wanted a prop, but now Ben Matulino is doing so well in the frontrow, they're no longer worried.
And while they wanted a centre, if there isn't a quality one willing to cross the Tasman, they won't be buying. The days of buying-in Australians with the intention they would be dependable, but unspectacular back-ups (think Aidan Kirk or Michael Crockett) are gone.
"We would rather give that money to our up-and-coming young players," says Bell. "It's our aim in future not to have to go to the market too often: we will produce our own. It's obviously much more cost-effective, and it's what we want: we want as many young Kiwi players as possible." The next challenge, he says, is the next tier down the kids who haven't even made it on to the whiteboard yet. "We get them very raw," offers Bell. That's not strictly the Warriors' job, but the NZRL's, but he is heartened by what he sees these days on the other side of Beasley Avenue.
After that, his other task is explaining why not every decent kid can play first grade in Auckland.
"Not all of them can play for us. But if they can play for someone else [and be successful] or they had a positive experience being here, we've done our jobs."
Good news most of it bar this. I have no doubt in Matulino's talent and rate him highly but we still need an experienced 1st grade prop
no need to search
