New Warriors recruit Adam Blair is excited for what lies ahead in his first season with the Auckland club.
The 31-year-old signed a three-year deal with the Warriors in October and he will bring much-needed experience to the Warriors forward pack, following the departures of Ben Matulino, Jacob Lillyman and Ryan Hoffman.
The Northland-born Blair has played in 266 NRL games with the Melbourne Storm, Wests Tigers and, most recently, Brisbane Broncos. On top of that, he has donned the Kiwis jersey on more than 40 occasions.
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News of Blair's arrival drew mixed reactions from Warriors fans, but despite that, he is excited to play for the team he grew up watching.
"I'm enjoying it," Blair told media. "This is my fourth week so to put on the jersey the other day, when we did the photos and stuff, felt a little surreal."
"As a kid, I didn't watch much rugby league, but I watched the Warriors growing up and always thought I'd play for the Warriors, and now I have an opportunity to work hard and get a position to play for them.
"It feels good to be a part of the Warriors and it's exciting."
Despite captaining the national side, Blair will not lead the Warriors in 2018 season, with the club confirming Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will keep the armband for the upcoming season.
Blair was supportive of the decision to keep Tuivasa-Sheck on as captain, indicating that being skipper wasn't a priority for him.
"For me, it's about making sure that I get here, work hard, grind away, do my time and all those things will come in the future.
"Roger's done a great job here, we're all here to support him and we've got some great boys around him."
Newshub.
