Tanah Boyd waited half a season for his club debut, after arriving from Gold Coast. Photo: Brett Phibbs/www.photosport.nz
NZ Warriors v St George-Illawarra Dragons
8pm Friday, 15 August
Go Media Stadium, Auckland
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Less than a week after dropping Tanah Boyd from his line-up against Canterbury Bulldogs, NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster has had to go back to his jilted halfback, asking him to come back.
Last Tuesday, Webster named Boyd for his fifth straight game in the No.7 jersey, but made the late call to replace him with Te Maire Martin, who had served as an interchange utility through most of the season, but played at five-eighth - outside Boyd - the previous week.
"I thought Te Maire forced his way into the team," Webster said. "He had played good football and Boydy was very hard done-by by myself.
"He had done some very good things in first grade, but I thought it was a good opportunity to reward Te Maire for his efforts.
"At the same time, I got it wrong, didn't I, because Te Maire got injured and we only had one half. That's life.
"Boydy's a fantastic part of the direction we want to go and it was a hard, hard call, but something I thought was best for the team."
The first inkling anyone outside the club had that a change was afoot came when Boyd surprisingly suited up for the reserves in NSW Cup on Saturday afternoon. The switch became official an hour before kickoff, when coaches must confirm their playing squad.
Depending on his team's practice schedule for the week, Webster admitted he was unlikely to make big selection calls public when the team was announced each Tuesday.
Last week, several injured players faced fitness tests to confirm their availability, so that also played a part in the late decision to drop Boyd.
"I'm not going to drop them through the media and I'm not going to pick them through the media," he said. "It's actually landed a lot this year.
"I know what the 22 looks like, but I'm not going to ring them up and tell them they are or aren't playing on the phone, out of respect to the player.
"We made it clear to the halves that we would go with two hookers, so one of them wouldn't play. As soon as we knew they all came through training OK, we would make a call."
Tanah Boyd offers a skillset based on a strong kicking game. Photo: Brett Phibbs/www.photosport.nz
Boyd, 25, came to the Warriors this season, after logging 69 games across six seasons with Gold Coast Titans. He was a big reason the reserves are top of the NSW Cup table and currently on a 16-game unbeaten stretch that includes one draw.
He waited more than four months, before finally getting his club NRL debut, when incumbent Luke Metcalf suffered a season-ending knee injury. Boyd offered a very different skillset, based on a strong kicking game, and his first outing against Wests Tigers was on point.
His second was a last-gasp win against Newcastle Knights, where he missed two field goals and a penalty that could have clinched victory in the dying moments, then ironically, the winning try came from a third dropkick that was charged down into the hands of teen sensation Leka Halasima, who raced 40 metres to score.
Then came losses to Gold Coast Titans, sitting last on the NRL table, and the Dolphins, battling to make the playoffs. Neither were directly Boyd's fault, but there was a sense that something needed to change to shake the team out of their doldrums.
"I went through it blow by blow each week - what he was doing well and what he needed to work on," Webster said. "There were things we wanted to celebrate with him, things we needed to work on.
"There were things he needed to go back to Cup and work on, but it wasn't a case of, 'You've been crap, I'm dropping you'.
"He took it like a man and it was a hard conversation. When you get your chance and, after four games, you're told you're not playing this week, that's obviously disappointing - and you want them to be disappointed, because that means they care.
"He was awesome. We went out and trained that day, and he trained in the other team and was really hard to handle for us."
With Martin now sidelined under concussion protocols, Webster had to turn back to Boyd to fill the vacancy against St George-Illawarra Dragons on Friday.
"I said, 'Mate, do you want to play this week?' and of course he says yes," Webster said. "It's a no-brainer.
"Those conversations aren't easy, but they're fine to have, when you have a good relationship with the player."
Boyd signed for one season with the Warriors, plus a player option, which he took up even before stepping into first grade.
This week, Martin also signed a one-year extension with the club, which already had Metcalf and Chanel Harris-Tavita on its books for 2026, and highly touted Jett Cleary lurking in the wings, so Boyd faces plenty of competition in the halves.
Once Martin clears protocols, Webster faces a tough decision over who fills those halves positions this season, with four games remaining and a pack of playoff hopefuls now breathing down their necks.
"I'm not going to pick next week's team this week," he chuckled. "I've got complete clarity over the way we want to play and whoever fits that will get the nod."
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