While the Warriors are happy to adopt a “next man up” mentality, Jackson Ford has mighty shoes to fill in stepping in to replace injured co-captain Mitch Barnett for the rest of 2025.

With Barnett now ruled out of the rest of the season after an anterior cruciate ligament rupture, the Warriors’ strength in depth will be tested in a way that it hasn’t been in Webster’s tenure.

In Webster’s own words, the NRL won’t wait for Barnett to recover. But while his loss is without question huge, the Warriors don’t lack options to step in for him.

Marata Niukore is more than adept at filling in as a front-rower, while cult hero Bunty Afoa would be another contender – as well as the younger group of forwards itching to prove themselves as first graders.

But as the Warriors face a return to action on Saturday night, away to the Cronulla Sharks, Ford has been elevated from the interchange to the starting side with the unenviable task of filling the huge hole Barnett leaves.

Having first arrived as a back-rower, the 27-year-old has quietly gone about reinventing himself as a prop – albeit largely off the bench. This season, though, all of his starts have been at prop.

And now, at arguably the most important juncture of his time at Mt Smart, Ford’s similarity to Barnett has his coach unequivocally backing him as the first cab off the rank.

“He’s an out-and-out front-rower in my eyes,” said Webster. “He’s definitely ready, he’s doing it already. He’s playing the best football he’s played.

“I’m more than confident in that. There’s other guys, it’s just who starts and who does what. We’ll leave that to game day. But everyone will find out then.

“He’s got the same motor, he’s got the same toughness, you can’t hurt him, he keeps moving.

“He’s willing to do whatever the team needs him to do. He’s definitely similar in a lot of ways.”

Regardless, Barnett’s absence could prove to be the make-or-break in a campaign where the Warriors have already matched their win total from 2024.

While the Mt Smart side have lost important players in the past, Barnett missing the rest of the season hurts on more than one front.

Not only have the Warriors lost their starting prop – a newly minted New South Wales starter – they’ve lost one of their most important leaders and standard-setters.

One point of proof is that before he goes under the knife, Barnett has been a fixture at Warriors HQ this week, helping the team prepare to face Cronulla.

Jackson Ford is tackled by Canberra Raiders defenders. Photo / Photosport

And even though the Warriors are – to a man – devastated for their co-captain, Webster has already made it clear the onus is on the rest of the squad to step up to the mark.

“We’re gutted, because he’s such a good player,” he continued. “But there’s optimism that someone gets to stand up and take that spot. It’s a challenge for the new group.

“He was really good yesterday at training with his leadership. Talking to the boys about what they’ve got to do next was really impressive.

“He’s naturally very frustrated and emotional about it. Sometimes life’s not fair, we’re all gutted for him. He’s a tough cookie, Mitch, he’s helping us move on already as well.”

Unfortunately for Ford, though, this weekend’s assignment is arguably the toughest in the NRL.

For the first time since August 2020, the Warriors will line up against Addin Fonua-Blake – in the conversation of being the game’s leading front-rower – after the 29-year-old left the club at the end of 2024.

In three years at Mt Smart, Fonua-Blake transformed himself into as close to the perfect prop as you could ask for in the modern era.

Already in his 12 games for Cronulla, Fonua-Blake has scored four tries, averages just over 16 hit-ups and 178 running metres per game, to go with 316 tackles.

His pace and power, in conjunction with his abilities with ball in hand, make Fonua-Blake a threat to any side he comes up against.

But in the same way that the Warriors have got the better of Brisbane Broncos prop Payne Haas and Wests Tigers enforcer Terrell May already this year, Webster backs his players to get the job done.

“You certainly can’t do it by yourself against Addin,” Webster said.

“If you try and do that, he’s going to have a field day. We need to make sure we focus that if we get our part right, it’ll limit what Addin does.

“We can’t be scared of the moment, we’ve got to enjoy it. We all know that he’s a good player, but our boys have backed our talent as well.

“I’ve got lots of respect for him as a player. But I’m sure once that whistle goes, the boys will be going after the moment. He’s a quality player.”

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.