BY JOHN DAVIDSON
IT’S THE phrase you can’t escape, that is spreading like Covid at a Chinese market.
‘Up the Wahs’. Essentially it means ‘Go the Warriors’. But while its origins may be difficult to pin down, and plenty have tried, what is more remarkable is not the growing catchphrase itself but the intense support tied to it and that has gathered around the Warriors this year.
This is a movement that has gripped New Zealand, taking over the Land of the Long White Cloud.
‘Wahs Fever’ has gone global, with everyone from NBA great Steve Kerr and the All Blacks getting involved, to front pages of The New Zealand Herald, songs, TikTok videos and beer brands creating ‘Up the Wahs’ lagers.
Rugby league is on the march in the Shakey Isles. And after several tough years, which included the Warriors relocating to Australia during the pandemic and no professional footy in the country for a long period, the 13-man code is back in a big way.
And talk about timing.
At a period where the All Blacks have finally lost a few games, New Zealand Rugby Union is struggling and Super Rugby has gone off the boil in the eyes of many, the NRL as a product is thriving.
Not just in Brisbane, or Newcastle, or Melbourne, but in especially in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and the rest of New Zealand.
The transformation at Mt Smart Stadium of the ‘Wahs’ has been nothing short of fantastic. Remember, this is a team that finished 15th last year and almost got the wooden spoon in 2022. They won just six of 26 games. They were piss-poor.
But granted the Warriors haven’t just been average last year, but for some time. In 2021 they finished 12th, in 2020 10th, in 2019 13th. In 2018, under Stephen Kearney, they scraped into the finals when they finished eighth. But that was an abnormality as between 2012 and 2018 they finished outside the top eight every single season.
The Warriors have been known for mediocrity ever since Ivan Cleary led them to the grand final in 2011 and then left – they have recycled through nine different coaches in 12 years.
This year was not expected to be much different. No Roger Tuivasa-Sheck again, Reece Walsh had gone to the Broncos, Eliesa Katoa to Melbourne Storm, Ben Murdoch-Masila to St George Illawarra.
New signings were minimal – Marara Niukore, Luke Metcalf, Dylan Walker, Mitch Barnett, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Te Maire Martin, Jackson Ford and Brayden Wiliame.
It was up to little-known head coach Andrew Webster to put it all together. A long-time assistant, who had coached everywhere from America to Hull KR, Wests Tigers and in Auckland, Webster had served a lot of time as an assistant coach to Cleary at Wests and Penrith.
Now was his chance.
Few could have predicted how well the ginger 41-year-old would have done, and for the Warriors to win the hearts of a whole nation in just seven months. He has done it with a coaching staff that includes former Leeds and Hull KR coaches Richard Agar and Justin Morgan, as well as club great Stacey Jones.
Veteran New Zealand Herald sportswriter Mike Burgess has been covering rugby league in the country and has never seen anything like it.
“It has been amazing,” he told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads.
“A big part is being home, after three years of a nomadic existence. Everyone underestimated how hard that was.
“They also recruited really well…all of the new guys proved to be good buys, adding to the quality and especially the culture. And most of all… Webster. He has been a revelation, the perfect fit for both the Warriors and this group of players.
“What he has done to get the best out of SJ [Shaun Johnson], for example, is remarkable.”
Another Antipodean journalist told us a number of factors have combined to spark the Warriors revival. A big part undoubtedly is the coach, Webster.
“The fact there’s no uncertainty,” he said.
“I also think Webster’s got the human care factor.”
Johnson seemed on the scrapheap when he left Cronulla and returned to the club. But he has been an inspired season and is aging like a Grange in a dirty old wine cellar.
Webster has been able to not only get the best out of the halfback, but many, many other players when other coaches couldn’t. Nicoll-Klokstad is back to his 2019 Canberra grand final form. Jerry-curled winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has been absolutely brilliant, bagging 21 tries. Captain Tohu Harris has recaptured the kind of performances he used to dish out at the Storm.
Josh Curran has been inspired in the forwards, Walker has been a great signing and Barnett has added steel and grit in the pack. Prop Addin Fonua-Blake has been tremendous and little-known players, such as Tom Ale and Rocco Berry, have made vital contributions.
In its 29-year existence, there has been little for the Warriors to cheer about, apart from two grand final appearances.
New Zealand has always been the little brother to big brother Australia in rugby league. The Kiwis have regularly been whipping boys to the Kangaroos, and the NRZL skint compared with the flush ARL.
But you cannot discount the talent and skill that the Kiwis have produced to the benefit of the NRL and the Australian game for decades, and to English rugby league as well.
You take a look across the Australian-based NRL clubs and star power abounds – James Fisher-Harris, Jahrome Hughes, Dylan Brown, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Joey Manu, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Joe Tapine, Jesse Bromwich, Isaac Lui, Briton Nikora, Jordan Rapana – the list goes on.Â
And on. And on.
It’s the same in Super League.
But it has taken near on three decades for the Warriors to put it all together. The hope is that they can make this transformation last and build on it. The playing talent is undoubtedly there.
The fans are there too. This year the club is averaging crowds of 21,280 per home game, the fourth-highest in the NRL. This is a massive increase from the 11,333 they averaged in 2022.
The rugby league community can help them by granting them the 2026 World Cup, and by eventually allowing a second New Zealand team into the NRL, whether it be in Wellington or Christchurch. Let’s fish where the fish are. Strike while the timing is hot.
Will the Warriors beat the Broncos in Brisbane this Saturday?Â
Maybe, maybe not.Â
The Broncs are on their own fairytale. They finished second on the ladder, and only lost six games all season. They’re at home and will have huge support. Walsh and Adam Reynolds are on song. Brisbane are a very, very good side.
But regardless of the result at Suncorp, this has been the year of the Warriors. The season where the Kiwis kicked back.
Up the Wahs.
