Throughout a spectacular maiden season as NZ Warriors coach, Andrew Webster has made a point of never looking too far ahead.
That's classic coaching philosophy - highs never too high, lows never to low, one game at a time - but despite his conservative approach, Webster has revealed he dares to dream.
After their nailbiting goldenpoint win over Canberra Raiders last Friday, the Warriors occupy third place on the NRL table, four points beind defending champions Penrith Panthers and in-form Brisbane Broncos.
With a guaranteed two competition points from this week's bye, they are likely to stay there after the coming round, before they embark on a home run consisting of five opponents with losing records, sitting in the bottom half of the ladder.
Their 12 wins have already more than doubled the six they managed during their 2022 COVID-19 exile across the Tasman.
While the rest of the competition - including Aussie media - have been forced to sit up and take notice, Webster, 41, has been at pains to downplay his team's achievements this season.
He admits to Fox Sport's NRL 360 that he and his staff have turned their gaze towards the top of the table and, heaven forbid, a championship crown.
"We dreamed at the start of the year, we wanted to have a crack," he said. "We wanted to win as many games as we could and, like every other NRL team, we wanted to win the comp.
"That hasn't changed for us. We've had some honest chats and we believe our game right now is not going to get us where we want to get to, but we feel like there's enough time.
"What we want to improve on is simple, so we can have a real impact quickly. We do dream, but we don't get lost in that.
"We've got to keep getting better every week, because we're so aware that what we're doing now is not going to get us there, but we're confident enough and good enough that we can get that done."
When Webster left Penrith last year to return to the Warriors, where he had previously served two seasons under Andrew McFadden, most of the hype was around fellow Panthers assistant Cameron Ciraldo and his bid to revitalise Canterbury Bulldogs.
While the Bulldogs languish one spot off the bottom of the table, Webster has made a surprising run at Coach of the Year honours, bringing a style that has brought the best out of his players - notably seasoned performers like captain Tohu Harris, veteran half Shaun Johnson and front-rower Addin Fonua-Blake.
"With our staff, we went away for three days, we sat down and mapped out just what we thought always wins in the NRL," he told NRL 360. "No matter what, if you do those things, you will always come away with the victory.
"We said to ourselves, 'We're going to practice those things as often as possible'. We've just really narrowed our focus and simplified things to give the boys real clarity.
"If you were there on day one at pre-season, you'd understand the boys have come a long way. We're really proud of the buy-in, because if we hadn't got the buy-in from the boys... I don't think we'd be where we are."
Webster prescribes to a collaborative philosophy, seeking input from staff and players along the way.
"I'd say I work with the players," he said. "I don't think I stand over the top of them, I get to know them... I get their ideas as much as my ideas.
"I don't shout and yell. I think we've been behind a few times at halftime this year and there's been no sprays.
"If I've wanted to be firm, I do it in a different way. I like to coach them, I like to get my hands on them, and help them individually and as a team.
"We've got to have fun - that's one of the big things I believe - and if you combine that with hard work and good people, you're halfway there."
Starved of the Warriors during the COVID pandemic, the team's diehard fans have embraced them back to newly rebranded Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, where the average 22,656 attendance ranks third in the competition, behind only the Broncos (34,600) and Sydney Roosters (25,151).
Webster's aspirations for the club reach beyond winning a championship.
"I just want to win as often as possible," he said. "I want young local rugby league players not wanting to leave and go to another club.
"I don't want them to go to Australia, because they think there's no pathway here. If we're having success, and we're helping these kids and generating the pathway for them... it starts at the top, if we're winning every weekend.
"I think kids in New Zealand at the moment are looking at our first-grade side and saying, 'I want to be a part of that', so now it's up to us to help that along.
"In three years' time, if we're winning as often as possible and creating a winning culture, I feel like kids in New Zealand won't want to play for another club or play rugby union. We want them to play rugby league.
"In three year's time, I just hope we've all had fun along the way."
