Storm’s Warbrick sets his sights on grand-final ‘gold’

With his biggest sporting achievement coming in an empty stadium, Melbourne winger Will Warbrick is looking to soak up the atmosphere of his first NRL grand final.

Before joining the Storm ahead of the 2022 season, the Kiwi played off for a gold medal in the sevens at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, with Fiji taking the spoils, but because of COVID-19 there were no fans allowed.

While an Olympic silver medal is something to treasure, Warbrick is hoping Melbourne won’t be second best to Penrith in front of a full house at Accor Stadim in Sydney on Sunday.

“To be honest, I’m not daunted by it, I think probably more excited for what it is,” the 26-year-old said.

“I can’t really compare this week to the Olympics – they’ll be quite different, as obviously with the Olympics there was no crowds, and the atmosphere of it was a bit different.

“So I think this week will be a whole new experience and I’m looking forward to that.”

In just his second full season of NRL, Warbrick was a finalist in the Dally M winger of the year award and topped Melbourne’s try-scoring with 16 from his 23 games.

He put his progress down to his growing confidence that he deserved his place in the Storm’s starting side.

“I’ve gained confidence as I’ve played the game a bit more, and I feel like I’m slowly starting to understand things a bit better,” Warbrick said.

“When I’m on the field, I can sort of see things unfolding, if that makes sense, and the more games I’ve played, I’ve started to understand my strengths and where I can apply it in the game.”

Fittingly for his new home in Melbourne, Warbrick has an AFL background and as a teenager was part of a New Zealand representative touring team.

He said he still had a keen interest and tried to incorporate the code’s aerial skills into his own game.

“Obviously I watch a little bit of AFL down here and I admire the way they go into the air contest, so I’ve tried to find a way to apply that in the game and just compete any time the ball’s in the air,” he said.

With Warbrick standing 193cm and his wing partner Xavier Coates 194cm, on paper they have a vast aerial advantage over Penrith pair Brian To’o, who is 175cm, and Sunia Turuva (181cm).

The Storm flyer said they intended using it as an attacking weapon.

“It may be an opportunity, but it’s more about the way we play as we see it as one of our strengths, no matter who is in front of us,” he said.

Warbrick said To’o set the standard for NRL wingers.

“He plays to his strengths – he’s powerfully built and hard to handle and he’s good at getting his team on the front foot with his carries,” Warbrick said.

“He’s a great finisher and probably also an under-rated defender, so he’s the benchmark winger and I enjoy matching up with him.”