“I haven’t hit the targets we want to hit,” Webster said. “It’s not just about me, but the whole club hasn’t.
“Do I think we’ve achieved a lot in four years? Yeah, I do.”
He said as a club, the Warriors have “done lots of good things, particularly the players”.
“I think to say that I shocked myself would be to say that I set the bar low, but we haven’t achieved what we want to achieve yet, so certainly haven’t hit what we need to do.”
Webster has tried to downplay the significance of winning the J.J. Giltinan Shield and even though it is in sight, he has one goal this week before the finals.
Even if they do win, there is no guarantee they do finish top because if the Panthers can beat the Wests Tigers by a bigger margin, then they win the trophy.
“There will be no one prouder if we happen to be minor premiers,” Webster said.
“It says you’ve been the first past the post of the regular season. Like, we’d be proud of it, but not at the expense of what we need to do to play our best football this week and that is to improve.
“We’ve got lots of things we need to improve on. We haven’t been happy with a couple of things the last couple of weeks. We’ve been obviously very disjointed, but we’ve got a next-man-up mentality and whoever wears the jersey knows their job. And we feel like we’ve missed a couple of things.
“If we get them right, I’ll be happy and then if that means we get the minor premiership, then that’s a bonus.”
Leka Halasima has been ruled out with an ankle injury. Photo / Photosport
Warriors v Sea Eagles line-ups
The Warriors have been forced to make one late change to their side with Leka Halasima ruled out with an ankle injury.
He is expected to be fit for next week’s finals match.
Taking his place in the centres is Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, while Taine Tuaupiki slots in at fullback after initially being named on the bench.
Overall, Webster has avoided the temptation to make mass changes, despite their top-two status being confirmed, with only Wayde Egan and Kurt Capewell being rested.
Sam Healey and Eddie Ieremia-Toeava start in place of Egan and Capewell respectively, while Chanel Harris-Tavita and Te Maire Martin have been named to make their return from injury in the halves.
Warriors: 18. Taine Tuaupiki, 2. Adam Pompey, 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 3. Ali Leiataua, 5. Alofiana Khan-Pereira, 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7. Te Maire Martin, 8. James Fisher-Harris, 9. Sam Healey, 10. Mitch Barnett, 11. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, 12. Jacob Laban, 13. Erin Clark.
Interchange (from): 14. Makaia Taufa, 15. Tanner Stowers-Smith, 16. Demitric Vaimauga, 17. Eddie Morgan Gannon, 20. Kayliss Fatialofa, 21. Jett Cleary.
Despite having nothing to play for, other than dropping from ninth to 10th in the standings, Kieran Foran has named the same 19-man squad that beat the St George Illawarra Dragons last week.
It will be the final game for the Sea Eagles for Reuben Garrick and Nathan Brown.
Sea Eagles: 1. Tom Trbojevic, 2. Jason Saab, 3. Josh Feledy, 4. Reuben Garrick, 5. Lehi Hopoate, 6. Clayton Faulalo, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Simione Laiafi, 9. Brandon Wakeham, 10. Nathan Brown, 11. Haumole Olakau’atu, 12. Ben Trbojevic, 13. Jake Trbojevic.
Interchange (from): 14. Jake Simpkin, 16. Corey Waddell, 17. Caleb Navale, 18. Onitoni Large, 19. Fletcher Baker, 22. Jackson Shereb, 20. Blake Wilson.
Kieran Foran is in his first season as coach with the Manly Sea Eagles. Photo / Photosport
Where will the match be won?
Part of this will be determined on which Manly side decide to show up.
The Sea Eagles were in the depths of despair at the start of the season before sacking coach Anthony Seibold and they found a new lease of life under Foran, winning eight of his first 10 games in charge and looking like they would be a top-eight side.
But the magic dust fell off, the attack fell flat, the defence fell away and their finals hopes vanished as they went on a six-game losing streak.
They have found that attacking spark again in their last two games, scoring 44 points in each of those, so if they can bring that form to Auckland then expect a high-scoring contest, with the Warriors possessing the best attack in the NRL.
Defence has also been an issue for the Warriors in their last two games, but with some key players and combinations back in the side, expect that part of their game to be improved.
Tanner Stowers-Smith. Photo / Photosport
Warriors v Sea Eagles history and recent matches
Manly have dominated this match-up over the years, winning 30 of the 45 meetings between the two sides, with the Warriors winning 14. There has been one draw.
At Mt Smart Stadium, they’ve met 18 times with the Sea Eagles winning 11 of those to the Warriors’ six, while the draw was played there in 2024.
However, the Warriors have had the better run of form with games at their home ground, winning three of their last four to go with the draw. The Sea Eagles’ last win in Auckland was back in 2017.
A host of players have also represented both clubs, including Foran, Lewis Brown, Matt Ridge and, most recently, Jazz Tevaga.
Three memorable matches
If you are a regular reader of this column, you know there is a tendency to cover the weird and wonderful moments of rivalries – so here are three that spring to mind.
One of the skydivers falls to the ground during the Warriors-Manly halftime show at Eden Park in Auckland. Photo / Photosport
Warriors 20, Sea Eagles 26, March 4, 2012
We love the wacky here and the grand final rematch in round one of the 2012 season delivered just that when the halftime entertainment went horribly wrong.
Six skydivers were meant to drop into Eden Park, but swirling winds sent them off course and brought them in fast, with one sustaining a broken leg.
On the field, it was a tough start to the post-Ivan Cleary era for the Warriors, who trailed 16-0 early but fought their way back into the contest, only for the Sea Eagles to pounce on a late mistake and claim the win.
Warriors 26, Sea Eagles 27, September 5, 2025
The match got off to a crazy start when Warriors captain James Fisher-Harris scored from the kickoff – the fastest try in NRL history.
But that was as good as it got for the Warriors as Manly raced out to a 16-point lead early in the second half and controlled the momentum for the majority of the match.
Two late tries from the Warriors set up a thrilling contest, but it was too little, too late.
Warriors 29, Sea Eagles 22, August 18, 2023
The Warriors paid tribute to former coach Daniel Anderson, who led them to the 2002 grand final, by renaming the stadium after him for their clash with the Sea Eagles.
The move was made in order to raise funds for Anderson, who suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury in a body surfing accident.
The Warriors managed to honour their former manager with a come-from-behind win, thanks to a Dallin Watene-Zelezniak hat-trick.
Warriors co-captains James Fisher-Harris and Mitch Barnett. Photo / Photosport
Form guide (past five matches)
The Warriors head into the contest as arguably the in-form team of the NRL, having won five straight games against the Gold Coast Titans, the Penrith Panthers, the Brisbane Broncos, the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Newcastle Knights.
The Sea Eagles have won their last two games, beating the Knights and the St George Illawarra Dragons. However, they had lost their last six before that.
Warriors v Sea Eagles TAB odds
Warriors $1.30 Sea Eagles $3.40
Warriors v Sea Eagles – how to follow the action
You can watch the game on Sky Sport 1 and it will be livestreamed on Sky Sport Now. Coverage starts at 4.30pm.
You can also find live updates at nzherald.co.nz.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.