WIZ: Have the Warriors hired the right man?
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Newly announced New Zealand Warriors coach Matthew Elliott. Have the Warriors got the right man? Wiz isn't sure. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)
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I am feeling bad – very bad – for Tony Iro after today’s appointment of Matt Elliott as coach of the New Zealand Warriors.
Iro was the perfect man for the job, in my opinion, and I cannot say with any confidence that the choice of Elliott will benefit the Warriors in the long haul.
Consider the following facts:
Iro came through the New Zealand ranks to become an international league star (25 Tests) and as a home grown product, he must know the workings and psyche of Kiwi league teams better than most.
He has been in the Warriors system as a coach since 2008 and was named the Warriors inaugural Toyota Cup coach in 2008.
He has also become assistant coach of the Kiwi Test team and was regarded highly enough to replace Brian McClennan over the last few rounds of this season.
Iro loves the club, he wanted the top job badly and he had already announced plans for much-needed changes to the way the Warriors prepare for and play their football.
Fitness was very high on his list of priorities and we all know how poorly the team fared in this department in 2012.
I will add here that Tony Iro is a friend of mine but that is not the reason why I am upset that he missed the coaching job.
I honestly believe he had the credentials to demand the position when it was learned that Craig Bellamy was not interested in leaving Melbourne Storm at this time.
The Warriors management handled the whole coaching scenario poorly. I believe they should have conducted their business in-house instead of letting it play out in the media.
I understand Iro was one of the first interviewed, so what sort of faith were they showing him by releasing the names of the procession of applicants who filed into the Boardroom?
Matt Elliott is a good bloke and a coach with a fair record and I sincerely wish him luck as he embarks on his two year term as coach.
There are some things that he will need to get into place from the outset.
Fitness must be paramount in his thoughts. The team cannot fade as alarmingly as it did late in games this season.
The Warriors badly need to find a five-eighth now that James Maloney has gone to the Roosters and as for halfback Shaun Johnson, well, he needs to give the team structure from game one and keep doing it if the team is going to be successful.
Every side that made the NRL finals this year did so on the back of a set structure. If Elliott and the Warriors don’t set up and stick to a rigid pattern, they will be wasting their time and again finish down in the competition cellar.
I feel the captaincy of the team for next year and beyond is going to be crucial.
If I were Elliott, I’d be appointing big front-rower Ben Matulino as skipper. This guy is quickly developing into the world’s best prop and he is leadership material for sure.
I hope the Warriors and their new coach can pick up an experienced player or two who may help blood the young members of the side into the rigours of NRL competition but really, who is left on the market? No-one readily springs to mind.
Matt Elliott has accepted an extremely high pressure position and he will feel it from day one.
If the Warriors don’t make the finals next season, I would not want to be in his shoes.
Gary 'Wiz' Freeman is one of the great halfbacks in New Zealand rugby league history. Now an outspoken and popular media personality, he joined The Roar in 2012 as an expert rugby league columnist, and continues in 2013.
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October 12th 2012 @ 12:14pm
james said | October 12th 2012 @ 12:14pm | Report comment
Elliott is such a bad choice.
the coach market isn’t good atm but Elliott would be very far down on my list.
I hope he proves me wrong as I really want the warriors to win a comp soon.
October 12th 2012 @ 1:10pm
Pot Stirrer said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:10pm | Report comment
The Warriors didnt exactly improve thier game or efforts when he took over to finish the season. Also i think the fact the players wanted him after thier performance for the season wasnt good for him. What i think the warriors and all teams need is a coach thats more important to the club than the players so his job doesnt depend on getting along with the players. The owners of the Warriors are smart buisiness people and probably thought that the coach would be influenced by the players instead of the other way around. They definatley needed someone with NRL experience and i think Elliot was the best choice out of an ordinary bunch that were prepared to move to NZ.
October 12th 2012 @ 1:35pm
steve b said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:35pm | Report comment
The best choice out of an ordinary bunch ,owe it’s hard to be humble when your perfect in every way , he’ll do fine !!!
October 12th 2012 @ 2:58pm
Pot Stirrer said | October 12th 2012 @ 2:58pm | Report comment
ok well who are the good coaches in your opinion that were mentioned as possible candidates. And he may do fine but im pretty sure the fans want better than “fine”.
October 12th 2012 @ 3:51pm
steve b said | October 12th 2012 @ 3:51pm | Report comment
I don’t think anyone of the lads that were considered an ordinary person or they wouldn’t have even been on the shopping list !!
October 15th 2012 @ 12:30pm
mushi said | October 15th 2012 @ 12:30pm | Report comment
If you amalgamated all league fans views there are really only something like 6 or so “decent” coaches the rest are apparently all rubbish.
October 12th 2012 @ 1:13pm
Pogo said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:13pm | Report comment
I hope he surprises and I’m willing to give him a fair go, but I have.
There is positive and negative in his record, two super league titles earlier on but a sub %50 win ratio for the last decade. A fair bit of coat tailing behind Brian Smith going on there.
October 12th 2012 @ 1:14pm
Gareth said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:14pm | Report comment
I though the safe money was on keeping Iro for another season and then going out hard after Bellamy in 2014. They may still do that, I’m predicting Matt Elliot will be in for a tough year. If I believe everything that I read, the players are already offside on this decision.
October 12th 2012 @ 1:29pm
Sylvester said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
I just don’t think the Warriors were willing to waste a year. The players would lack motivation and Iro would hardly been fizzing.
After McLennan, clearly they didn’t want to gamble on another Kiwi coach with no NRL credentials. Local knowledge didn’t help Endacott, Graham or Kemp.
I’m willing to give Elliott a go. He’s done reasonably well with average Canberra and Penrith teams.
October 12th 2012 @ 1:24pm
Mount Smart said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:24pm | Report comment
Sorry Gazza, I don’t agree.
I don’t like the appointment of Elliot any more than you do but I get the feeling Tony Iro is just a bit too close to the players to be the disciplinarian the club desperately needs. We needed an outside appointment to be made.Someone external that knows how to prepare a team for the week to week hardship that is an NRL campaign.
Personally I wanted Jim Dymock. We need the next Michael McGuire or Des Hasler not the next Tim Sheens. Someone young at the start of their career, a student of the modern game. Someone that grows with the club and I really believe Dymock is going to be one of the great coaches of the next 10 years.
Shouldn’t have been so quick to send Cleary up the creek me thinks…..
October 12th 2012 @ 2:47pm
Josh said | October 12th 2012 @ 2:47pm | Report comment
You know that Matt Elliott is 3 years younger then Des Hasler so not exactly the next Tim Sheens but not the next Des Hasler
October 12th 2012 @ 1:30pm
Alex said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:30pm | Report comment
How many times has the Warriors made the finals with a Kiwi coach in charge? Zero. Why is that? I personally do not believe that they are demanding enough, get too chummy with players and are tactically and from a sport science perspective, always behind the eight ball. The players can blame themselves for Iro not getting the job, their back half of the season wasn’t down to poor fitness, it was due to a lack of heart. They quit every week after 50 minutes. It was humiliating as a Warriors fan to watch.
Elliott needs to get in there and kick some serious backsides, and if the players don’t like it? They don’t play, no matter who they are.
It’s time for those players to stop whingeing, take some responsibility and start improving their attitude.
October 12th 2012 @ 1:36pm
Chris said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:36pm | Report comment
Bizarre choice.
There are so many ex-NRL coaches who have actually won the majority of their NRL games. Matthew Elliot has been abysmal at two clubs and widely hated once he left.
October 12th 2012 @ 1:41pm
Valleys Diehard of Brunswick st said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:41pm | Report comment
Matt Elliott would have to be the most intriguing coach of the past 20 years. All clubs that he’s coached could be described as achieving modest results, yet the man can find a gig any time he appears to put his hand up! What an enigma. His media manner is excellent, I do not recall any off field issues under his tutelage and he appears to understand the complexities of modern defence oriented Rugby League as well as anyone… yet his teams never look like contenders. I like him! Good luck to him at the Warriors, the club that hints at greatness. I’ve got a good impression that he will have a solid year in 13, maybe… just maybe his larrikin demeanour and candid appraisal of player performance is what the Warriors need? Iro, for all the comments about his eligibility was always a long shot. Look what happened to their last 1st year NRL coach.
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October 12th 2012 @ 2:05pm
Christo the Daddyo said | October 12th 2012 @ 2:05pm | Report comment
Sounds like its not so much that the players don’t want Elliott, but that they like Iro.
Which is a pretty good sign the Warriors have made the right move.
October 12th 2012 @ 2:24pm
Lancey5times said | October 12th 2012 @ 2:24pm | Report comment
I have a feeling Kiwi coaches have there cards marked. So many attempts and zero success. Surely you can understand why clubs are hesitant these days. The numbers don’t lie.
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