Warriors v Dolphins
Kickoff 8pm Friday, 1 August
Go Media Stadium, Auckland
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NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster is desperate to turn down the volume on calls to hand Jett Cleary an NRL debut this season.
As the season has progressed, injuries have taken a toll on the club's first-grade squad, which has had to dip deep into its reserves to cover key absences.
Webster has lost starting halfback Luke Metcalf to a season-ending knee injury, while five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita will sit out this week's encounter with the Dolphins, nursing a calf niggle.
These setbacks have co-incided with a spike in form from Cleary - youngest son of former Warriors coach, now Penrith Panthers mastermind Ivan and younger brother of Panthers superstar Nathan.
All eyes are on Cleary, playing the first season of a three-year contract at Mt Smart, with many - especially across the Tasman - expecting him to force his way into first grade at any time.
Webster insists that just isn't going to happen.
"Jett's played five reserve grade games this season, but the last two weeks have been his best," he said. "He's had his best two weeks at training, but to be honest, Jett's a long way away.
"We believe Jett will be first-grade player at our club, but we're not going to put pressure on him by throwing him in sooner.
"If I answer that strongly, everyone hopefully will stop asking."
Given his pedigree, Cleary's decision to join the Warriors attracted considerable attention, with the anticipation he would eventually follow his dad and brother into the NRL.
Ivan Cleary played 53 games for the Warriors and coached them for six seasons, playing a part in both grand final appearances in the club's history.
Jett Cleary scores a try for Warriors reserves against South Sydney. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Nathan Cleary was a Warriors ballboy as a kid, but has grown into one of the game's greatest-ever players, combining with his father to help the Panthers to four straight premierships.
Jett Cleary, 20, has spent most of this season in the Warriors Jersey Flegg (U21) side, but with injuries higher up the depth chart, he has progressed into the reserves side, currently riding a 14-game winning streak in NSW Cup.
Last week, he scored two tries and added two conversions, after taking over goalkicking duties from Taine Tuaupiki, in their 68-6 win over South Sydney Rabbitohs. That performance has tongues wagging about his inevitable promotion to the top level.
Cleary began the season behind Metcalf, Harris-Tavita, Tanah Boyd, Te Maire Martin and Luke Hanson among the club's halves. Metcalf is gone for the season and the next three are now on first-grade duty - Martin primarily as a utility - while Hanson is also injured.
"Everyone likes to put pressure on Jett for obvious reasons and we love him, he's going great, but he's got a lot to work on and he knows that," Webster emphasised.
"He's had a terrific couple of weeks and he's building confidence, but you don't need to ask if he'll be playing seniors - we just wouldn't do that."
With the injury toll mounting in first-grade, a depleted reserves side face a major challenge to their unbeaten run, when they visit Wollongong to face St George Illawarra Dragons in a top-of-the-table encounter on Saturday.
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