NZ Warriors coach Nathan Brown has cast one eye to the future, putting his faith in his young guns, as the Auckland club looks to build on a challenging 2021 season.
After a third win on the bounce with Sunday's 24-10 victory over Canterbury Bulldogs, the Warriors season is still alive, with the ability to have a say in their own fate in the hunt for a top-eight finish.
The Warriors are currently 12th on the ladder after 21 games, two points off eighth-placed Gold Coast Titans, whom the Warriors meet in round 25 in their last regular season match.
One highlight of Sunday's win over the Bulldogs was the performance of young playmakers Reece Walsh at fullback and five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita.
Walsh scored one try, assisted another and kicked three conversions in the Warriors win, while Harris-Tavita also registered an assist.
At 19 and 22 years old respectively, both Walsh and Harris-Tavita have their best days ahead of them, and with the returnin of Shaun Johnson to their roster in 2022, Brown is confident the club has the building blocks in place for one of the NRL's strongest spines.
"I'd like to think we've got some stuff to work with there, definitely," Brown says. "Reece is very young, Chanel's young games-wise as well, with 25 games or so.
"Hopefully, we have some luck with them injury wise, and they can all grow together and play together.
"One would think Shaun's experience would be a big benefit to them.
"They're all works in progress. [I'm] certainly happy with the young blokes today in the halves. All our halves and fullbacks were only young today.
"We were good in periods, not so good [in others], but that's experience and youth, I suppose."
Regardless of the Warriors' fortunes in their next three matches, 2021 may be a case of wondering what might have been, with the side losing seven games by less than eight points this season.
Up next, the Warriors face the 15th-placed Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, looking for a fourth consecutive victory for the first time since 2018.
But despite a slow start to the season, Brown expects a challenge from the Broncos, who pushed Sydney Roosters all the way in a 21-20 loss last weekend.
And with every game effectively serving as the Warriors' last chance to keep their 2021 ambitions alive, Brown knows his side can't rest on their laurels, despite their winning run.
"Next week, we play the [Broncos]. From their first half of the year, they've obviously made a lot of changes and are starting to cause teams a lot of trouble.
"It'll be another hard game next week, so I know it's a common one, to worry about week by week, but I think, for us, where we're pottering along each week, we're going to need to play a little better next week."
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