October 3, 2025 • 8 mins
Two Warriors have been awarded a high honour in the NRL world.
Erin Clark and Payton Takimoana have made it onto the 2025 Dally M Team of the Year – Clark as the lock for the men’s team and Takimoana as a winger for the women’s.
A consistent player in the season, Clark featured in all 25 of the Warriors’ games, starting in all but one.
He joined Piney to unpack the season and discuss what it’s like to win a Dally M award.
“To be at a function among some of the best players in the game was pretty special,” he said.
“And then to hear my name ... I was like, damn, that was pretty surprising, but yeah, I was pretty proud, and I’m happy.”
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Completing your NRL Team of the Year lock Ford Aaron Clark,
New Zealand Warriors. Here you go. That was Warriors play.
Aaron Clark receiving his accolade at the presentation event for
the Dallyms on Wednesday night. Fellow Warrior Peyton Tukeimwana also
(00:35):
secured a spot on the team. She was one of
the wingers in the women's team. Aaron Clark was voted
lock of the Year in the men's team. Eron Clark
featured in all twenty five of the Warriors games this season,
starting all but one of those matches, and he joins
us now eron congratulations on this recognition, this accolade and
(00:57):
tremendous season. How cool was it to stand up there
on Wednesday night as one of the members of the
Dallym Team of the Year?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Oh? Hello? First off, but I think just being recognized
was a big achievement for not just me but my family,
and to be at a function among some of the
best players in the game was pretty special. And then
to hear my name at the end there, I was
like Damn. That was pretty surprising. But yeah, I was
pretty proud and I'm happy.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, what were your goals and ambitions when you joined
the Warriors at the end of last season.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Honestly, Bro, I just wanted to come here just and
come home. And I felt like I had unfinished business
here in a way because I left here and I
wasn't I could have given my all at that time
because I wasn't in the right mental space. And I
feel like I'm in the right mental space now and
I can do that. And I'm quite happy that I'm
(01:57):
giving my wall to this club because that's all I
wanted to do.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
From being honest, how different are you from the player
and the person who left the Warriors in twenty six Well.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I think well, honestly, I think the person side of
things is what's helped my game a lot. I've got
a good group of boys around me at the club,
good coaching stuff to keep me on the straight and narrow.
But yeah, I think just I think having three kids, Bro,
kind of you've got to grow up quick and it
gives you a bit of a purpose. It's not just
about you anymore. So I think that's the biggest one.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
How happy were you with your season? First of all,
let's talk about you personally. How how happy were you
with the way you played across the season?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
I was happy with mate. But the cool thing is
like for me personally, is I still got so much
to improve on it, so much to learn it. It's
different this year because I'm on the field a lot,
a lot longer, so I need to learn certain ways
to save energy here and there. But now I'm just
(02:59):
just loving it, bro, just loving the opportunity that was
given to me, and I'm hopefully I've taken it with
both hands. I hope everyone can see.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
I didn't see you saving energy at all during the
seas and when were you doing that?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
But personally, I think just trying to free up my
halves a bit more like obviously you see the run
I do and the carries, but I think I can
work on my passing game to give my helves a
bit of space, and that's something that's that's going to
help me save energy, where I can put my energy
into different places other than just running all the time.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I look at the stats and I know they only
tell some of the story, but you made more tackles
than any other Warriors player. This season, you averaged thirty
four tackles per game at ninety five percent tackle efficiency.
How much do you pride yourself on that part of
your game?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
I think defense. Defense is the massive part of our
game these days made and when I get tired, I
need to make sure that stays up. And I didn't
even know those that's broken. It's quite quite musty that
because I thought it was heaps worse than that. So
you saying that, I was pretty proud.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
What sort of physical toll does that take on? You know,
a game when you're making thirty four tackles on average,
you're up and down. That isn't even in start. You know,
to think about the time with ball and hand yourself
and the run meters that you make, what is your recovery?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Like You've probably be first and asses used to put
up with it the next day. But to go from
playing twenty minutes at the time as the year before
to maybe fifty plus week and week out, it definitely
took a toll on me o body. But I think
midway through the year kind of I've kind of got
(04:41):
used to it. By at the start made packing up
the next day hard. They could move, and that's the
game we play, and it's the toughest game in the world,
and I wouldn't want it any other way. Like, I'll
put everything on the line for my team and all
the fans and my family. So yeah, that's I don't
care about my body At the time.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
When you were having conversations with Andrew Webster, you know,
at the start of the season and during the season,
is that something that he was keen for you to do,
to play those sort of fifty five minute games rather
than the twenty minutes.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
No, honestly, But I think I just came to be
that bench middle, to come off the bench and maybe
do that twenty in a minute role. But obviously we
lost two great players and Dylan and Tahun and I
just found myself there and what an opportunity to take
and I wanted to take it with both hands. And heah.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
And here's another stat for you. You averaged one hundred
and forty seven run meters per game, so that's ball
and hand stuff. Only Roger and Chance ran for more
meters than you did this season for the Warriors. So
how how proud are you of your ball and hand
contribution to this team?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Yeah, I'm proud, bro. But like I said, so, it's
got so much more to learn. And that's something I
wanted to work on this year was my attack And yeah,
I just felt like it's slowly coming. But yeah, like
I said, I just want to get better with my
passing game to three up my half packs and for
next year.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So no tries though, what's the story there? No tries
this season?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
No tries?
Speaker 1 (06:20):
No?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Oh truth, No, I didn't go there to score tries.
I'll roll the sleeves up and let the other boys
score the trials. I'll do they running for.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
The love that love that And if we look at
the team, I mean, a good season, especially compared to
last season, made the eight and then obviously one week
into the playoffs. What what do the Warriors have to
do to build on twenty twenty five when twenty twenty
six rolls around.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I think with this year, mate, look, obviously we lost
a lot of key players and Mitch and Luke, and
over the year we lost a bit of experience with
Fish going down, Chanelle going down for a week, and
we got to butt a few of the young boys.
And I think next year they're going to be in
our season NRL players and that's only going to help
(07:06):
us our depth at this club's crazy brown, It's it's good.
So I reckon those young boys are going to have
a big influence on how we go to next year.
And they'll be really lucky with this year, but even better.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
So, how will you switch off during the off season?
I guess three kids might be the answer to that.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Wife and three kids fully takes up so much time
during the year, brow and I think all my time
is going to be with them. They mean a lot
to me, bro So yeah, that's that's all.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
No better way, no better way to spend it, man,
no better way to spend it. Got a prediction for
the Grand Final? Storm or Broncos? Who you got?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
I'm going Broncos made. I just think they're hitting their
stretch at the right time, and they've got a lot
of a lot of key players and Rheese Walsh and
playing Heath and the Reese is firing that they're just
going to be too hard to stop. And with Reynolds,
Reynolds and the Harvest, he's just the maister of their team. Brosa,
I reckon, Broncos are gonna do it this time.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Aaron congreats on a terrific season. We've loved watching you
play and awesome to see you receive that accolade on
Wednesday night. Enjoy the off season, look forward to seeing
what twenty twenty six brings well.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Thank you mate, thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Now, I appreciate you joining us here and thanks indeed,
and congratulations again Aaron Clark lock of the Year in
the M Team of the Year, announced on Wednesday night
at the awards ceremony in Sydney.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk said B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Completing your NRL Team of the Year lock Ford Aaron Clark,
New Zealand Warriors. Here you go. That was Warriors play.
Aaron Clark receiving his accolade at the presentation event for
the Dallyms on Wednesday night. Fellow Warrior Peyton Tukeimwana also
(00:35):
secured a spot on the team. She was one of
the wingers in the women's team. Aaron Clark was voted
lock of the Year in the men's team. Eron Clark
featured in all twenty five of the Warriors games this season,
starting all but one of those matches, and he joins
us now eron congratulations on this recognition, this accolade and
(00:57):
tremendous season. How cool was it to stand up there
on Wednesday night as one of the members of the
Dallym Team of the Year?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Oh? Hello? First off, but I think just being recognized
was a big achievement for not just me but my family,
and to be at a function among some of the
best players in the game was pretty special. And then
to hear my name at the end there, I was
like Damn. That was pretty surprising. But yeah, I was
pretty proud and I'm happy.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, what were your goals and ambitions when you joined
the Warriors at the end of last season.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Honestly, Bro, I just wanted to come here just and
come home. And I felt like I had unfinished business
here in a way because I left here and I
wasn't I could have given my all at that time
because I wasn't in the right mental space. And I
feel like I'm in the right mental space now and
I can do that. And I'm quite happy that I'm
(01:57):
giving my wall to this club because that's all I
wanted to do.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
From being honest, how different are you from the player
and the person who left the Warriors in twenty six Well.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I think well, honestly, I think the person side of
things is what's helped my game a lot. I've got
a good group of boys around me at the club,
good coaching stuff to keep me on the straight and narrow.
But yeah, I think just I think having three kids, Bro,
kind of you've got to grow up quick and it
gives you a bit of a purpose. It's not just
about you anymore. So I think that's the biggest one.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
How happy were you with your season? First of all,
let's talk about you personally. How how happy were you
with the way you played across the season?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
I was happy with mate. But the cool thing is
like for me personally, is I still got so much
to improve on it, so much to learn it. It's
different this year because I'm on the field a lot,
a lot longer, so I need to learn certain ways
to save energy here and there. But now I'm just
(02:59):
just loving it, bro, just loving the opportunity that was
given to me, and I'm hopefully I've taken it with
both hands. I hope everyone can see.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
I didn't see you saving energy at all during the
seas and when were you doing that?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
But personally, I think just trying to free up my
halves a bit more like obviously you see the run
I do and the carries, but I think I can
work on my passing game to give my helves a
bit of space, and that's something that's that's going to
help me save energy, where I can put my energy
into different places other than just running all the time.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I look at the stats and I know they only
tell some of the story, but you made more tackles
than any other Warriors player. This season, you averaged thirty
four tackles per game at ninety five percent tackle efficiency.
How much do you pride yourself on that part of
your game?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
I think defense. Defense is the massive part of our
game these days made and when I get tired, I
need to make sure that stays up. And I didn't
even know those that's broken. It's quite quite musty that
because I thought it was heaps worse than that. So
you saying that, I was pretty proud.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
What sort of physical toll does that take on? You know,
a game when you're making thirty four tackles on average,
you're up and down. That isn't even in start. You know,
to think about the time with ball and hand yourself
and the run meters that you make, what is your recovery?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Like You've probably be first and asses used to put
up with it the next day. But to go from
playing twenty minutes at the time as the year before
to maybe fifty plus week and week out, it definitely
took a toll on me o body. But I think
midway through the year kind of I've kind of got
(04:41):
used to it. By at the start made packing up
the next day hard. They could move, and that's the
game we play, and it's the toughest game in the world,
and I wouldn't want it any other way. Like, I'll
put everything on the line for my team and all
the fans and my family. So yeah, that's I don't
care about my body At the time.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
When you were having conversations with Andrew Webster, you know,
at the start of the season and during the season,
is that something that he was keen for you to do,
to play those sort of fifty five minute games rather
than the twenty minutes.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
No, honestly, But I think I just came to be
that bench middle, to come off the bench and maybe
do that twenty in a minute role. But obviously we
lost two great players and Dylan and Tahun and I
just found myself there and what an opportunity to take
and I wanted to take it with both hands. And heah.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
And here's another stat for you. You averaged one hundred
and forty seven run meters per game, so that's ball
and hand stuff. Only Roger and Chance ran for more
meters than you did this season for the Warriors. So
how how proud are you of your ball and hand
contribution to this team?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Yeah, I'm proud, bro. But like I said, so, it's
got so much more to learn. And that's something I
wanted to work on this year was my attack And yeah,
I just felt like it's slowly coming. But yeah, like
I said, I just want to get better with my
passing game to three up my half packs and for
next year.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So no tries though, what's the story there? No tries
this season?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
No tries?
Speaker 1 (06:20):
No?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Oh truth, No, I didn't go there to score tries.
I'll roll the sleeves up and let the other boys
score the trials. I'll do they running for.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
The love that love that And if we look at
the team, I mean, a good season, especially compared to
last season, made the eight and then obviously one week
into the playoffs. What what do the Warriors have to
do to build on twenty twenty five when twenty twenty
six rolls around.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I think with this year, mate, look, obviously we lost
a lot of key players and Mitch and Luke, and
over the year we lost a bit of experience with
Fish going down, Chanelle going down for a week, and
we got to butt a few of the young boys.
And I think next year they're going to be in
our season NRL players and that's only going to help
(07:06):
us our depth at this club's crazy brown, It's it's good.
So I reckon those young boys are going to have
a big influence on how we go to next year.
And they'll be really lucky with this year, but even better.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
So, how will you switch off during the off season?
I guess three kids might be the answer to that.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Wife and three kids fully takes up so much time
during the year, brow and I think all my time
is going to be with them. They mean a lot
to me, bro So yeah, that's that's all.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
No better way, no better way to spend it, man,
no better way to spend it. Got a prediction for
the Grand Final? Storm or Broncos? Who you got?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
I'm going Broncos made. I just think they're hitting their
stretch at the right time, and they've got a lot
of a lot of key players and Rheese Walsh and
playing Heath and the Reese is firing that they're just
going to be too hard to stop. And with Reynolds,
Reynolds and the Harvest, he's just the maister of their team. Brosa,
I reckon, Broncos are gonna do it this time.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Aaron congreats on a terrific season. We've loved watching you
play and awesome to see you receive that accolade on
Wednesday night. Enjoy the off season, look forward to seeing
what twenty twenty six brings well.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Thank you mate, thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Now, I appreciate you joining us here and thanks indeed,
and congratulations again Aaron Clark lock of the Year in
the M Team of the Year, announced on Wednesday night
at the awards ceremony in Sydney.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk said B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.