NRL

Speaking after the narrow 31-30 home win over Manly, New Zealand Warriors coach Andrew Webster has admitted his side has work to do ahead of a likely Week 1 finals match-up with the high octane Dolphins.

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“It’s clear we’ve got a couple of things we have to iron out,” Webster said, while acknowledging the significance of the Warriors recording their 18th win of the 2026 NRL season.

“We created history tonight, most wins in a season for a Warriors team,” he said.

“There are a couple of things that will have a big impact on our game — and we’re going to sort those out this week.”

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Asked what those ‘things’ were Webster was blunt.

“Edge defence clearly, we were just missing that last little bit of detail defensively, but I’m not worried.” he said.

“I’m not stupid, I know we’ve got to clean some stuff up, but I also know what sort of week we need to have this week and I know how much better we’re going to be for the run… we’re in a good spot.”

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Beyond the Manly win itself, another thing Webster was delighted with was the opportunity for his players to come out on top in a very tight contest just a week before the finals.

“We’ve practised a few things during the week around teams going for field goals, what do we want to do? If we want to kick one, what do we want to do?” he said. 

“To be in that moment and have that opportunity a week before the playoffs was awesome.

“I’m really proud of the team, they held their nerve and we came back and won. We’ve done that a lot this year, where we haven’t looked likely sometimes, but we’ve found a way.”

If Penrith beat the Wests Tigers by 2 or more points on Sunday afternoon, the Warriors will host the Dolphins in Week 1 of the NRL finals. Any other result will see them face the Roosters.

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