4. Talking Points
On the road again: The Warriors face the very real possibility of spending a second full season away from home. It's hard to imagine the difficulty of not being able to sleep in your own bed for nine months, let alone not seeing your closest family and friends.
The squad were super tight last year and largely able to overcome every hurdle thrown at them, but lost two strike weapon wingers halfway through the season due to them having to return home.
You can't begrudge players wanting to head home, especially those with young families. Hopefully it won't last the full season but until international travel is allowed and quarantine is dropped, the Warriors are here to stay.
Who replaces RTS?: News broke a few weeks earlier that RTS will leave the club at the completion of the 2021 season. That loss is tough to put into words. Not only is he, by far, the Warriors best player, but he's also the face of the club and their influential leader.
It's eight months away but it's a question that needs to be answered. I expect the Warriors to be super aggressive in the player market. Will it prove a distraction or will it bring the team together to try and send their leader out on the back of a finals appearance?
Big, big forwards: The Warriors built their early reputation on a massive, aggressive forward pack. You knew when you were playing the Warriors that you were going to be belted from siren to siren.
The Warriors enter 2021 with a big, aggressive pack. AFB and BMM are legit monsters. This could go one of two ways. Either the Warriors dominate the middle and allow their outside backs to run riot, or the Warriors forwards fall victim to the second season of new rules and become soft in the middle. The answer to this will largely dictate their early season.
