Harold Matthews success just the beginning as New Zealand pathways welcomes next generation

The Warriors created history after making the Harold Matthews finals in their first season. After being in the pathways wilderness for three years, this shapes as the start of the next gen of home-bred New Zealand stars.

The Warriors are having a party after qualifying for the Harold Matthews Cup finals. Picture: Sean Teuma

No club felt the brunt of Covid more from a pathways perspective than the New Zealand Warriors.

Border closures in particular made it impossible for their involvement in the NSWRL competitions to continue as they dropped out of SG Ball, Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup.

Now there’s a sense of resurgence across the ditch with the Warriors fielding teams in all four major male competitions for the first time ever, with their U17s boys the toast of the town.

In their inaugural year of Harold Matthews Cup they won five of their last six games to advance to the finals.

“Most teams have some experience in their side from the previous season,” development and pathways manager Andrew McFadden said.

“You’ve got bottom and top age players in every age group. With our Harold Matts team, everyone was doing it for the first time, everyone was jumping on a plane for the first time.

“The whole experience was all new to them, let alone the competition. They were feeling it out early in the season.

“After that first win they went ‘you know what, if we play well we can beat these teams’. They have improved so much this year and the staff has improved as well.

“Most of our staff is doing it for the first time as well. We want to promote local staff.

“It’s been a steep learning curve for everyone this year including myself. We’ll take those learning and aim to improve every year.”

Lennox Tuiloma of the Warriors U17s. Picture: Sean Teuma

McFadden brings 100 games of NRL experience and three years of coaching the Warriors at the top level to his role in pathways and recruitment.

He said establishing the potential for growth from teenage years through the elite level was key to the long-term success of the club.

“It’s been our achilles heel for a long time is not having the same competitive pathways as other clubs,” he said.

“We’re lucky we’ve got an owner who has been willing to invest in our pathways

“Now we can tell these kids with certainty that they have the same opportunities as anyone else in Australia.

“With the success of the Harold Matts team, in some ways this is the first generation of it.

“We’re seeing with our Flegg side at the moment that we don’t have that depth because we didn’t have a pathways system for three years.”

Malakai Cama was strong out wide for the Warriors in SG Ball. Picture: Sean Teuma

The Warriors momentum took off last season in their full season at home post-Covid with huge crowds and the #UpTheWahs hashtag going nuclear on social media.

McFadden said that sentiment has translated down through the grades with many locals getting behind the junior reps teams in the town of Pukekohe, an hour south of Auckland.

“There’s a real pride in the Warriors jersey at the moment and we want to have that right through all our grades,” he said.

“Every kid reaches their level at some point. Some of that might be NRL, some might be in Harold Matthews.

The Warriors are the hottest ticket in town in New Zealand. Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

“But it’s such a great achievement and should be celebrated.

“When you go to Pukekohe there’d be 1500 people in the stands watching these games, so there’s quite an atmosphere.

“You see the smiles on their faces when they win. It’s quite rewarding.”

Their next task is a daunting one as they come up against an unbeaten Parramatta side, but a Warriors side playing with house money promises to give it their all.

“It’s super exciting for the kids. They’ll be up for it and they’ve got nothing to lose,” McFadden said.

“We need to be a development club and they’ve certainly developed over the season.

“Whatever happens, happens. It will be an experience either way.”