Opinion
For their entire existence the Warriors have been in a constant fight between embracing their flamboyant nature and trying to be more structured like most of the Australian-based NRL teams.
Rarely have they got the balance right.
In 2002 they made the grand final on the back of a razzle-dazzle style where offloads were unleashed at will under Australian coach Daniel Anderson but they were no match for the star-studded Roosters in the title decider.
In 2011 they played a more structured game but had the unpredictability of rookie halfback Shaun Johnson giving them the edge as they surged through the playoffs under Australian coach Ivan Cleary before losing on trophy night to Manly.
The club has oscillated between supposedly hard-nosed Australian coaches and Kiwi mentors who have more experience in the Polynesian culture since 1995.
John Monie, Anderson, Cleary, Matthew Elliott, Andrew McFadden and Todd Payten have been imported across the Tasman, interspersed with the likes of home-grown coaches Frank Endacott, Mark Graham, Tony Kemp, Brian McLennan and Stephen Kearney.
Nathan Brown is the latest Australian asked to solve the Warriors’ perennial search for consistency and he got off to an inauspicious start under trying circumstances last year with an 8-16 campaign leading to a 12th-placed finish.
For the third season in a row the Warriors will be based in Australia and despite the New Zealand government quashing self-isolation requirements for travellers, the club will remain at Redcliffe with the hope of playing four games in Auckland from July onwards.
In their first season under Brown, the Warriors were their usual model of inconsistency. They went 5-6 in the first 11 rounds with almost perfect alternating between wins and losses before a seven-game skid all but ended their finals hopes.
A three-game win streak then revived the corpse before a hat-trick of defeats to finish the season led to last rights being called once and for all.
In the main stats categories last year, they were mostly ranked towards the bottom to reflect their ladder position – 13th in attack (18.9 points per game), 12th in defence (26) and surprisingly for a team with a monster pack led by noted metre-eater Addin Fonua-Blake, they struggled to get into the opposition 20-metre zone, ending up 14th overall at just 24.2 tackles per game.
They still love an offload (fifth with 10.3) but they didn’t win the possession battle, making 324.2 tackles per game which was the second-most of any team, only fractionally behind the Dragons.
Overall it was an extremely meh year on the statistical front, which is unusual for a club which is often among the best in at least a few areas, particularly in attack.
The question needs to be asked – should the Warriors keep waging their battle to become a consistent team which grinds its way to victories or should they embrace their up-and-down nature with a view to building enough wins when they’re hot so the cold spells don’t cost them a finals berth?
Brown’s hopes of a settled start to 2022 have been washed away – their second trial against the Titans was cancelled due to the recent deluges in South-East Queensland, halting the momentum they had established the previous week with a 30-18 trial win over the Storm in Melbourne.
There has also been conjecture about rising star Reece Walsh’s future at the club beyond this season despite being under contract next year. Walsh will at least be back on the field a week earlier in round two after the NRL agreed to allow the All Stars game to be included in his ban for cocaine possession last September.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
“Honestly, I don’t even look into that sort of stuff,” Brown said on Tuesday when asked about the Walsh contract speculation.
“I don’t worry about that too much. I keep working hard with Reece and keep challenging him every day at training and his training’s improving and I’m sure we’ll get some good footy out of him over the next few years. That’s probably the best way to sum it up. Hopefully he’s a long-term player for the Warriors, we’ll just see.”
Johnson is back at the club after a three-year stint at the Sharks and is set to partner Kodi Nikorima in the halves for Round 1 against St George Illawarra next Saturday at Redcliffe with Chanel Harris-Tavita switching to fullback for Walsh.
The veteran halfback showed last year in particular before his season ended early due to a severe hamstring tear that he is a much more consistent playmaker while still retaining that spark which has made him one of the NRL’s most potent attackers for more than a decade.
“He’s come off two years where he’s had a fair bit of surgery and missed a fair bit. He’s been training quite well,” Brown said. “Since he’s been back in full-time [training] I don’t think he’s really missed much at all, once he got out of rehab so he’s ticking over pretty good.”
The Warriors have the benefit of a soft draw to start 2022 with the Titans the only top-eight team they’ll face in the first five rounds with the Tigers, Broncos and Cowboys also on the schedule.
1. Manu is not No.1 at Roosters Everyone knows Joey Manu is a really good fullback. He’s probably in the top five in the…
Whose side are you on?
Manly and the Warriors settled for a draw in a dramatic 22-22 finish in Auckland.
Manly and the Warriors have fought each other to a standstill in an epic 22-22 draw in Auckland, with Shaun Johnson and Daly Cherry-Evans…
Josh Aloiai made contact with Shaun Johnson attempting a two-point field goal with the Warriors earning a gimme penalty from right in front to…
Fox League's Corey Parker was adamant the Warriors were dudded on a couple of occasions against Manly with the ref missing clear knock-ons.
