Loss of Matulino a blow for Warriors
Warriors prop James Gavet revealed there were emotional scenes in the team’s changing shed on Tuesday night when Ben Matulino told the players he was leaving.
The Warriors lost 20-14 to the Storm in Melbourne on Anzac Day, slipping down to 12th on the ladder and shortly after the game Matulino informed his team-mates that he’d signed for Wests Tigers from next season.
Matulino told Warriors management over the weekend that he would be turning down their contract offer.
He has signed with the Ivan Clearycoached side until the end of 2020 on a contract believed to be worth close to $700,000 a season.
The news would have hardly come as a surprise as there had been rumours going around for a week.
However, Gavet said the players were disappointed to hear he was going.
‘‘It’s obviously a deep cut for not only the boys and the playing staff, but for the fans that have followed the Warriors for years,’’ Gavet said.
‘‘He’s played a big part at the club and he’s one of our brothers. We wish him well and this should be good for him.’’
Gavet said it was an emotional moment for all the players when Matulino addressed them.
‘‘I think everyone was [emotional],’’ Gavet said. ‘‘It’s a big call and he’s been a part of the backbone of the club for years.
‘‘He was in the Warriors squad before I went to Australia for four years and now I’ve come back and he’s in a place where a lot of boys look up to him.
‘‘He’s always been there for a lot of us, it’s pretty funny for there to be someone the same age as you that you look up to.
‘‘We all wish him well and after watching him play in this game, I can see that he’s finding his form again.’’
Before Matulino’s announcement, the Warriors lost another close game against one of the better teams in the NRL.
A brace of tries from David Fusitu’a put the Warriors in a position for a rare win in Melbourne, but tries from Nelson Asofa-solomona, Cooper Cronk, Josh Addo-carr and Felise Kaufusi gave the Storm the two points they needed to move to the top of the ladder.
It’s no disgrace losing to the Storm and Gavet said he was pleased with how the team played.
‘‘It was good to see us come together as a team and finally get our structures and processes sorted and put it into play for the full 80 minutes,’’ he said.
‘‘A few things didn’t go our way, but it was good to see the response.
‘‘If you can hang with a quality team like Melbourne, then you’re on the right track.
‘‘There are plenty of positives we can take out of this game, there are obviously a few improvements we need to work on, but they’re a class team and we proved we can stick with them.’’
But as with the game against the Raiders the previous week, the Warriors may be playing well, but they still lost and are falling behind the pace in the race for a top eight spot.
They have another tough game on Sunday, against the third placed Roosters at Mt Smart Stadium.
It’s all well and good to put up commendable performances against the strongest teams in the NRL, but it’s time for the Warriors to get a win.
‘‘We’re not worried about anything that’s happening outside our circle, we’re making improvements week in, week out,’’ Gavet said.
‘‘They were both good teams that we came up against in the last couple of weeks and we’re looking to make another big improvement this week. It’s a short turnaround, but we’ll be prepared.’’