Sees light at end of tunnel

‘‘No way in the world should Stacey be measured on what’s going on. Stacey stepped in at a time of need for the club. It’s his character, his passion and commitment to the club.

‘‘Anyone who’s got an understanding of the sport would have seen an improvement in the team from Stacey’s influence.

‘‘I think he should be commended and he’s a high performance coach. My recommendation is he should be the next coach of the Kiwis, after Michael Maguire’s tenure.

‘‘Everything he’s done here has shown how much the footy team has improved under him, barring last weekend’s game.’’

While the club has made some impressive signings for next year, including Te Maire Martin, Mitch

Barnett and Marata Niukore, the core of the Warriors squad will remain for next year.

So can they transform from a club that may just avoid the wooden spoon this year, to one that’s challenging for a place in the top eight? George is optimistic they can.

People will think he’s going to say that, but he outlines a number of crucial reasons why things will be different in 2023.

‘‘There is going to be a number of contributing factors to the football unit next year which will be beneficial, none greater than being home permanently.

‘‘There will be the separation of the team and the footy staff outside of work hours.

‘‘Then you bring in the personnel we’ve got coming in next year, be it the players or staff. ‘‘I’m extremely optimistic about every one of those contributing positively to the whole environment. Strategically, in terms of the players coming in, every one of them has a competitiveness that we really want to see in our footy team,’’ George said.

‘‘They have a class about them, they have speed, skill and a toughness. All the things you build a team around.

‘‘Then you marry that up with an extremely good, up and coming coach [Andrew Webster] that’s going to get a chance to stamp his style on a team, it will benefit the type of players we’ve got.

‘‘Then we’ll introduce our

NSW Cup team and our under-19 team next year. So all of a sudden we’ve got a footy club back in its entirety.

‘‘Next year, everyone in our club will be connected within our system. We can play 22 in reserve grade next year, not six,

‘‘So I’m really optimistic about next year, for all of those reasons.’’