Even after a breakthrough season, NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster is setting his standards even higher for 2024.
In his rookie season as Warriors head coach, Webster hit heights few before him were able to with the NRL's Kiwi club.
Of their 27 games played this year, Webster's Warriors won 17 of them, and came within one victory of reaching the NRL Grand Final before they were felled by Brisbane Broncos.
But aside from what they accomplished on the field, the way the Warriors did it breathed new life into rugby league in Aotearoa, as Go Media Stadium Mt Smart saw week after week of packed stands to support their team.
Now, though, the challenge for the Warriors is going even better.
The Warriors' run saw the club return to the NRL finals for the first time since 2018, while the top-four finish was their first since 2007.
But regardless of how well they did this year, Webster wants more from his charges.
"I thought what we did was really good," said Webster. "From where we started from where we got to was outstanding - but it wasn't good enough.
"We should be proud of the improvements, but at the end of the day we should be hungry for that extra level of what we want to do to win.
"At the end of the day, we got close, but not where we wanted to get to. It was a great year, but not good enough."
But entering their new campaign, the Warriors are well-placed to produce the results Webster wants.
The club have seen both Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Chanel Harris-Tavita return to their roster, while Queensland State of Origin representative Kurt Capewell is a huge boost to the forward pack.
On top of that, the last 12 months has set a platform for the club to build on, having started from zero when Webster arrived at the end of 2022.
"It's really important that what we were good at last year, we get even better at," he continued. "That's going to be the focus.
"The second part of that is if we achieve that, so we get better at what we were good at, we can add stuff to our game.
"We're not stripping it back right to the start. We're [saying] 'this is the level we finished at, boys. You've got to start training now at this level'.
"If you train at that level, and achieve what we want to do at a higher standard than we were last season, then we can add stuff.
"This time last year, we were nowhere near what we're doing now. It's good."
The Warriors are currently in their final days of their pre-Christmas pre-season training, before returning in the New Year to get their NRL preparations fully underway.
