‘Tough dude’ Warren Jeffrey brings grit to Archers’ league-best defense
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‘Tough dude’ Warren Jeffrey brings grit to Archers’ league-best defense
Zak Wolf
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5 min read
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If you were to poll PLL attackmen about their least favorite players to be guarded by,Connor MaherbelievesWarren Jeffreywould be a common answer.
There are two reasons. One, Jeffrey is just a smart defender who can blow up plays off the ball or silence attackmen with lockdown on-ball defense.
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Two, Jeffrey is as tough as they come. He isn't afraid to mix it up with opponents, and if there's a scrum, he's usually in the middle of it. Maher feels the veteran brings a grittiness and edge to the PLL's best defense.
"I don't think anyone wants to cut across the middle of the field and see Warren standing there ready to welcome an attack into the crease," Maher said.
For five seasons, Jeffrey's been one of the most hard-nosed players in the PLL and a consistent defensive presence for the Utah Archers. Since he entered the league in 2021, the Archers have had a top-three defense every season and won two PLL Championships (2023, 2024).
Jeffrey and the Archers will begin their quest for a third title on Monday when they face the Denver Outlaws in the semifinals (3 p.m. ET; ESPN2).
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"We have to really prepare for all that noise and be able to kind of zone it out and just focus on the game," Jeffrey said. "Just think about stuff like that and getting ourselves fired up, ready to rock."
This offseason, Jeffrey wanted to mix things up with his preparation. His trainer is friends with people who work with UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, so Jeffrey began training at ONX Elite, a mixed martial arts gym run by Gaethje's coach, Trevor Wittman.
His sessions typically consisted of boxing, where he focused on technique, hitting gloves or using a punching bag, before mixing in some sparring. He only saw Gaethje a few times but relished learning from someone who's widely considered one of the toughest people to ever step in the octagon.
"He's a badass, man," Jeffrey said of Gaethje. "He probably could do whatever he wanted to people, so just hanging out with him and realizing he's just a pretty regular dude was cool. He likes to grind and likes to work hard, and he can flip that switch when you need to, but it's not always on."
Outside of the occasional fights that break out – like the one thaterupted between the Archers and Boston Cannonsback in July – the crossover between lacrosse and MMA is minimal. One similarity, Jeffrey said, is the importance of being able to get hit and stay moving, along with having to keep your footwork sharp while also focusing on what to do with your hands.
Maher wasn't surprised to hear about Jeffrey's new training methods. Neither was Archers short-stick defensive midfielderPiper Bond. Bond said Jeffrey usually doesn't start fights, but he's often the first to defend one of his teammates, especially goalieBrett Dobson.
The perfect example for Maher is when Jeffrey got kicked out of a game as an MLL rookie. Watching it back, Maher finds it funny because a fight broke out on one side of the field, and when the camera panned to the other side, Jeffrey was entangled with an opposing attackman.
"We know he's the guy, and he appropriately sends a message that he's there to the other team, but guys don't want to get in scraps with him," Bond said. "I mean, he's a big dude. He knows what he's doing in scrap scenarios. This league is built on a lot of tough dudes, and he's just fricking another one of those tough dudes that we're glad to have on our team."
To boil Jeffrey's game down to brawling would be disingenuous. Bond said Jeffrey does a lot of things the casual fan might not notice, and his versatility often stands out. One game he could be defending an all-action attackman likeRob Pannell, and the next he could be shutting down a crease finisher likeXander Dickson.
Jeffrey's bread and butter is his ability to wreck games off the ball by getting into passing lanes. His rotations are always on point, and if someone messes up a slide, Jeffrey is usually right there to help the Archers recover.
"If you mic'd up Warren during a game, besides defensive communication out there, you're not gonna hear a ton," Maher said. "But at the same time, he's someone you can look to at any point of the game, and he's just going to be playing tough, hard-nosed lacrosse, and just always is in the right spot."
With Jeffrey alongside defensemenMason WoodwardandBrendan Lavelle, it's no surprise the Archers made scoring goals like pulling teeth this season. Having an MVP finalist in Dobson behind them helps, but the Archers' poles are paramount, and Jeffrey is the elder statesman of the group.
He climbed the mountaintop with the Archers during their back-to-back championship runs in 2023 and 2024. Now Jeffrey's looking for his third championship in four seasons, but the path to attaining one won't be easy.
First up is the Outlaws' dangerous quartet ofBrennan O'Neill,Pat Kavanagh,Jared BernhardtandLogan Wisnauskas. If Jeffrey and the Archers can shut them down, then they'll see either the white-hot Cannons or the supremely talented Philadelphia Waterdogs offense in the 2026 U.S. Bank Championship on Sept. 20.
Whatever happens, Jeffrey has been here before, and he knows what it takes to come out on top.
"Our coaches and our leaders set the tone for that, and they've bought in and done a great job, too," Jeffrey said. "We have a good group who cares about each other and wants to work hard and do battle for each other. So it makes it easier to show up on the weekends."
