‘These boys are the future’: Warriors defy odds to chase historic Harold Matthews Cup title

The New Zealand Warriors are the fairytale story of the NSWRL Junior Reps season, and now are just one game away from creating history in this weekend’s Harold Matthews Cup grand final.

Jeremiah Lemana and the Warriors are surging into the Harold Matthews Cup grand final. Picture: Adam Wrightson Photography

In a competition littered with the best talents across NSW, few expected the New Zealand Warriors to make the finals in their inaugural Harold Matthews season.

Even their staunchest followers saw that hope slowly fading on the back of an 0-2 start.

A last-second win over South Sydney in round four saw them pick up their first ever win, sparking the fuse for an incredible run that will reach a thrilling conclusion in this weekend’s grand final against Western Suburbs.

If they can cause the boilover it would solidify their place as the competition’s giant killers, sneaking into the top six and earning their spot in the decider after knocking off the previously undefeated Eels and Bulldogs.

Pathways manager and former Kiwis legend Tony Iro said the process has taken time as the group of young men found their way in a completely new competition, but consecutive finals wins has them daring to dream.

“We always knew we had the ability, but for these young guys to get used to the travel and standard of footy has taken a while,” he said.

“They got a lot of belief out of their win over Parramatta (in the semi final).

“They’ve worked really hard and we’ve had a couple of things in the back half of the year go our way. It’s not a long season, but to give our guys the chance to experience pressure football.”

Warriors chairman Ken Reinsfield is no stranger to success on the big stage, competing at the Olympics and winning a Commonwealth Games silver during his wrestling days.

The Warriors celebrate their win over Canterbury at Henson Park. Picture: Sean Teuma

He said the board was over the moon with the efforts of the young Warriors, labelling them the future of the club.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” he said.

“I’m happy for the whole team, the coaches and support staff. It’s just an amazing effort.

“It’s great for the club. These boys are the future.

“We want to thank the NSWRL for giving us the opportunity to be in this competition. It’s going to help us as a club and promote footy in New Zealand.”

Coach TJ Ashford has been there every step of the way with this young group, and said the belief has always been there on what they could achieve in a short amount of time.

“The belief has been there for a few weeks. We knew we could play some good footy, and like everyone in the competition we’ve worked hard to get here,” he said.

“It was quite hard for us because we don’t get any pre-season games, it’s more in-house for us.

“The first couple of weeks was a good feeling point for us. To win a grand final we’re going to have to knock off the top three teams that haven’t lost a game all season.”