Easts would go on to reach the 1980 NSWRL grand final against Canterbury-Bankstown with Warnecke playing at lock.
In the second half, Canterbury player Greg Brentnall put up a bomb and Canterbury winger Steve Gearin jumped over the top of Easts player David Michael and caught the ball scoring a try in the process.
[3][4][5] In 2013, Warnecke spoke of the grand final defeat saying "They keep showing that bloody Steve Gearin try, So it stays in your system and you keep getting reminded about it, it never leaves you, The thing I remember most about that game was it wasn’t one of our best games.
[7] Warnecke played 13 games in his one season at Wests as the club finished towards the bottom of the ladder.
[8] He spent three seasons with the club, helping the team reach the final of the 1986–87 Lancashire Cup, and winning the 1987–88 Second Division Premiership.