When NZ Warriors run out in front of another soldout crowd at their home fortress for their NRL clash with Manly Sea Eagles on Friday, it won't be the Go Media Stadium turf they'll take to.
The NRL has designated this weekend as Daniel Anderson Round, raising funds for the rehabilitation of the coach, who was left a quadriplegic by a bodysurfing accident at a New South Wales beach in December.
In an initiative befitting the Australian's status as the Warriors' most successful head coach, the club has gone a step further and renamed the ground Daniel Anderson Stadium for the match.
In his first head coaching role, Anderson steered the club through a golden era, guiding it to its first playoffs series in 2001, then its first minor premiership and Grand Final appearance in 2002, where they lost to Sydney Roosters.
The following season, they fell agonisingly short of becoming repeat grand finalists, beaten by Penrith Panthers in the preliminary final.
Those years are treasured by the Warriors faithful and fondly remembered as the club's prime, the halcyon days featuring icons like Stacey Jones and Ali Lauititi.
Many of those players from Anderson's tenure will be at Friday's match as part of the Warriors' annual old boys day, which the club has rescheduled to coincide with the fundraiser.
The occasion is particularly poignant for current head coach Andrew Webster, who has the resurgent Warriors on track to return to the heights rarely seen since that famous age.
Anderson mentored Webster during his early years as an aspiring coach. Coincidentally, the Warriors will be out to replicate a feat they haven't achieved since Anderson's 2002 team, as they seek a sixth straight win.
Back in Australia after a six-year stint with England Super League side Hull Kingston Rovers, Webster reached out to Anderson, cold-calling him for a coffee date to tap into his wealth of wisdom.
Anderson had just completed a stellar four-year run in England with St Helens, whom he led to consecutive Challenge Cup victories in 2007 and 2008, and was preparing for his new gig at Parramatta Eels.
"I just wanted to reach out to experienced coaches and ask them some questions about creating a pathway for myself as a coach," Webster recalled.
"He was generous with his time. He was a busy man at the time and he was more than happy to do it.
"I didn't know him personally, but he was happy enough to give me his time and I learned plenty off him from just that one conversation."
After leaving the Eels - whom he helped to an unlikely 2009 Grand Final appearance - Anderson worked with the NRL to developing coaches, with Webster was an enthusiastic beneficiary.
"I watched him lecture at a few different ones, and hung around afterwards to have a conversation and just pick his brain," he added. "Just really grateful [to have had his time]."
Webster has stressed to his players the importance of Anderson - who is currently head of recruitment at Sydney Roosters - both to the Warriors and the sport of rugby league as a whole.
"I just explained how big an impact he had on this club, also knowing the impact he had on the Super League," he said. "He created one of the best Super League teams in history at St Helens.
"So many players that are on our staff have been coached by him, and they just talk so fondly of their memories and how good he was as a coach, so we need to honour that.
"I think it's important to repay him and also we have our old boys here too, and a lot of them have been coached by him too.
"We're big on respecting the past, the present and the future, so there are lots of things about the past this weekend that we want to celebrate."
The Warriors are holding a silent auction as a fundraiser, with all proceeds going towards the Daniel Anderson Support Fund, which has been set up to help Anderson with essential equipment for his home and specialist treatment.
Items up for bidding include lunch dates with Webster, incoming All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, and Kiwi UFC stars Israel Adesanya and Kai Kara-France, alongside coach Eugene Bareman.
The Warriors will don a 2003 throwback jersey for the match against Manly - the iconic black-and-silver strip synonymous with the season they went within a win of making the Grand Final for the second straight year.
All teams will auction signed gameday jerseys from their respective captains from this weekend's games.
Warriors skipper Tohu Harris says the team are determined to ensure their performance against the Sea Eagles lives up to the occasion, which has provided an extra dose of motivation.
"In a short amount of time, he had a big impact on the club and it's still felt today," said Harris. "The things that they were able to accomplish and the calibre of players that came through under him, and then came on under him, they made the club what it is today.
"He was a huge part of the club and we really want to do our part to help him on his journey, and help raise funds if we can and also just acknowledge what he means to the club."
Perhaps the Warriors could eventually pay Anderson the ultimate tribute by becoming the first since 2011 to reach a Grand Final?
"Exactly," Webster offered, with a smirk. "You never know, you never know."
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