The Star: March 07, 2019

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday March 7 2019 39
Cayless heaps early praise on Warriors
AS THE start of the NRL
season approaches, former
Kiwis captain Nathan Cayless is
already impressed with what he
has seen at the Warriors.
In Christchurch recently as
coach of the Warriors’ Intrust
Super Premiership side for their
match against the Rockcote
Canterbury Bulls during the
opening of Nga Puna Wai Sports
Hub, Cayless said the club’s early
season preparation had been
impressive.
“Their level of training is way
ahead of last year and hopefully
that will come to the fore in the
early matches of the season,
including our third-round match
against the Manly Sea Eagles
here in Christchurch on March
30,” said Cayless.
“Last season, the Warriors
were fast out of the blocks and
we want to do the same again
this season, but we need to be
able to sustain that early form for
the entire competition.”
Cayless, a new arrival at the
Warriors, is currently a Kiwis
assistant coach and a former
World Cup-winning captain.
He played 38 tests for the Kiwis,
as well as 259 games for the
Parramatta Eels, including
AS A lover of test cricket – the
true decider of power – the
recent elevation of the Black
Caps to second in the ICC’s
test rankings came with an
immense sense of joy.
However, what does it mean
for our status in the game . . .
apparently nothing.
While we grind away
watching our team deal to an
unimpressive Bangladesh this
month we should remember
that this is the last test series
of its kind we will be hosting
until the West Indies visit in the
2020/21 summer.
I’m talking about three-test
series.
Last year when the ICC
COACH: Former Kiwis captain Nathan Cayless has been
impressed with what he has seen from the Warriors so far.
217 as skipper. “Even though
we are a few weeks away from
playing here in Christchurch, the
Warriors are really excited about
the match, as will be Manly.
The Warriors had a great win
here last year before a very good
crowd and they are hoping for
the same result. From talking
with them, they know they get
great support when they play
here.
“This is actually a home game
for Manly, but I know they are
released their future tours
programme through until
2023, there was one thing that
immediately struck a chord for
me.
Next summer we won’t host
any three-test series.
What’s wrong with that? Are
we forgetting the two-test series
which saw us defeat England
1-0 last year, only craving a
also looking forward to the
weekend. This is a great teambuilding
exercise for them. They
can come over here for several
days and really bond together.
“For many of the sides in the
NRL, they don’t get to travel
away from home very often, and
if they do it might just be for two
nights. Having several days away
together helps build chemistry in
the team,” he said.
A key part of Cayless’ job is
preparing young players for
One-eyed Cantab
Gordon Findlater
gordon.findlater@starmedia.kiwi
third test after Ish Sodhi held
onto our hopes by batting out
a match the visitors probably
deserved to win.
The 2019-2020 New Zealand
summer has all the makings
of what should be a cracker. At
last we have a test side to trump
usual powerhouses England
and No 1 ranked India who
both pay visits.
the NRL. “The gap between
the Intrust Super Premiership
competition and the NRL
is massive, both physically
and mentally. The young
players I have already seen are
tremendously talented, but talent
will only take you a certain way.
You have to know how to train,
and that is one of my key goals.
“The players need to be selfdriven.
An NRL player will do
everything in their power to be
ready for a match. Some young
players need to learn this work
ethic as they have relied for much
of their career on their natural
skills, rather than hard work.
“When you are training up
to six days a week and sometimes
between six and 10 hours a day,
you have to be both mentally and
physically strong. The NRL is an
incredibly physical competition.”
Cayless has been impressed
with both the respect shown by
the group for each other as well
as their training ethic, and this
was evident in the side’s preseason
warm up victory over the
Melbourne Storm at Geelong on
February 23.
•The Warriors’ season kicks off
against the Bulldogs at Mt Smart
Stadium on March 16 at 5pm.
No 2 team deserves more than two tests
However, we will only see two
tests on both occasions. What
could be a potential match-up
between the world’s top-two
test nations surely demands
more than two tests.
It’s worth noting we are set to
play an absurd five T20s against
both countries . . . it’s sad to say
but we look set to suffer from
a case of two pump chump
syndrome next summer due
to today’s obsession with the
shortest format.
On a bright note we do have
a three-test series including
the MCG Boxing Day test in
Australia to look forward to,
if only we had the same in our
own backyard.
LUCKY FAN: Brendon
Crowe receives his Warriors
tickets from Star Media
advertising sales manager
Shane Victor.
Tickets to
the Warriors
make perfect
wedding gift
THERE ARE two special
dates coming up in the life of
Warriors VIP winner Brendon
Crowe.
“Me and my partner (Hannah
Thomson) have just come up
with a date when we’re going to
get married,” he said.
“Mum came around and my
partner said to mum ‘have you
heard the good news?’”
“My mum said, ‘yes, I heard
you’d won tickets to the
Warriors game’.”
Needless to say, it wasn’t what
Hannah was talking about.
Brendon is an avid fan who
has followed the Warriors
since he was a young lad, even
travelling to see them play in
Auckland.
He has played league for the
Halswell Hornets and for the
Hornby Panthers where his
children now play.
Brendon was the lucky
winner of a Star Media VIP
experience worth $2000, which
includes watching the Manly
Sea Eagles take on the Warriors
at Christchurch Stadium on
March 30.
He will be sitting with three
friends on a sideline couch and
will attend a Thursday night
dinner at Christchurch Casino
and enjoy the after match
celebrations.
5PM SAT 30 MAR
CHRISTCHURCH STADIUM
THE ONLY NRL GAME
IN THE SOUTH ISLAND
Grab your tickets at
ticketek.co.nz now!