Opinion
After 25+ years the Warriors are at the familiar crossroads they always get to. Having had 13 coaches in their existence, the change in a head coach is about the only consistent aspect of the club.
Whether Nathan Brown really was surprised to find out the Auckland was the historical home base of the team, or it was a convenient excuse, the reality is the Warriors need a new coach.
It’s very cliched but this appointment is crucial for the long term of the Warriors. They appointed Nathan Brown after Todd Payten turned them down, and it always had the feeling of a short term stop gap option.
With the season at the halfway point and players such as Matthew Lodge gone, the hopes of the top eight are essentially evaporated.
With that in mind the Warriors shouldn’t rush the appointment of a new coach. The remaining games should be focussed on developing player who will be the core of the team in 2023 and beyond.
New signing Ronald Volkman is one who should be given a taste of first grade this season in preparation for 2023.
Fortunately the recruitment for 2023 has been very good, and if they could find a strike centre would complement a good recruitment drive.
The Warriors only really successful periods have come with coaches in their first first grade appointment – Daniel Anderson and Ivan Clearly.
Anderson came in when the team was in even worse shape, the previous owners had bailed and they barely had a roster.
Ironically one of those players was Ivan Cleary, who got the Warriors playing finals football regularly. What both had in common was an ability to develop local juniors, and add good complementary players – such as John Carlaw & Jacob Lillyman.
Anderson in particular plucked players like Vinnie Anderson from local Auckland rugby league, and showed that the pathway to the Warriors wasn’t a pipe dream.
With that all said turning to the options for the next Warriors coach should be down to three – Cameron Ciraldo, Shane Flanagan and Jason Ryles.
Ciraldo is linked with any future coaching job at the moment and would surely find the Warriors an interesting challenge. Having been responsible for developing the Panthers juniors and building their defensive intensity, the opportunity to do it at the Warriors as a head coach would be the ultimate challenge.
The similarities between the Warriors and Penrith are striking in that both the Warriors draw on the South Auckland catchment and culture, similar to the make up of Penrith, which I dear say put Ivan Cleary in good stead when he turned up at the foot of the mountains.
Shane Flanagan as a commentator this year on Fox Sports has often raised good points about the Warriors failures, and questions certain aspects of their defence and offence, and you wonder if the players should be listening to him rather than the current coach!
Considered a hard nosed coach who demands hard work, he could be just what the Warriors need. Coaching the Sharks he broke a 50-year record of failure in the Shire
Importantly he was good at recruiting players, and also getting good value from halves such as Chad Townsend.
The third option is Jason Ryles. Having been at both the Storm and the Roosters coaching staff, and spending time in rugby in England, Ryles is considered a head coach in waiting. Having been in the Storm system shows he’s happy in a place that league isn’t number one, whilst learning about developing talent and getting the recruiting right.
Ryles has just started a three-year contract at the Roosters but would be difficult to see the Roosters standing in his way for a first grade job if one was presented to him, and he was keen on it.
Having a large talent pool is another similarity and a new coach, returning to Auckland for the first time in three years will be able to put talent development programmes in place as they see fit.
The development aspect is something that the Warriors need to focus on, as at the moment they lose many potential recruits to schools in Australia.
Now is the time to be innovative, why not look at scholarships to go to school in Australia linking back to the Warriors. Another idea is to link high schools in New Zealand with Australian ones, to lean on the infrastructure that has been developed in Australia but is still in its infancy in NZ.
The key point is that the Warriors need to be seen as the place that parents want their kids to develop knowing it is best for their development, not going to a school in Australia linked to another club.
Whoever the Warriors appoint needs to be well thought out, and should be focussed on the mid-term in who they want to develop, as opposed to looking for instant results. Rugby league in Auckland and New Zealand will get a boost when the Warriors return home, but to really grow it, a coach with the vision to link the talented junior to a pathway to the Warriors first grade squad is imperative.
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