‘Eye off the ball’ on Warriors Juniors, says Kearney
Coach Stephen Kearney says the Warriors must get better at ‘‘developing our talent’’ to arrest their NRL slide.
The Warriors’ first grade team slumped to a record ninth straight loss on Sunday [28-16 defeat to Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval] to end a disappointing first season in charge for Kearney.
Despite boasting an all-kiwi test spine and going into the year as title fancies, they finished in 13th place to miss the top eight for a sixth straight year.
The presence of former New Zealand coach Kearney and superstars Roger Tuivasa-sheck, Kieran Foran, Shaun Johnson and Issac Luke failed to have the impact so many of the club’s supporters had hoped for.
The Junior Warriors - who have dominated the National Youth Competition since its inception with three titles and another grand final appearance - finished last in the National Youth Competition with just three wins.
‘‘We’ve got ourselves to blame,’’ Kearney said in Sydney after watching the Warriors lose 28-16 to Wests Tigers.
‘‘There’s no doubt about that. If you look at our NYC side, it’s been beaten pretty comprehensively over the last month or so.
‘‘We’ve missed the boat. We’ve taken our eye off the ball in developing that talent.
‘‘When you have five coaches in seven years, I’m pretty sure that breeds some inconsistency.’’
The Warriors have lost fiveeighth Kieran Foran, former skipper Ryan Hoffman and prop Ben Matulino for 2018 with Melbourne’s Tohu Harris their only major recruit.
Asked what the club was doing to dig itself out of its hole, Kearney identified holding onto their best local talent.
‘‘It’s pretty complex in the sense that I don’t think it’s just one thing,’’ Kearney said.
‘‘We need to be better at developing our own talent. The clubs from over here [in Australia] go over there and get the talent and we’ve got to make sure we’re better at that. That’s a start.
‘‘There are individuals in there that aren’t quite ready for NRL and we’ve got to get players there that are.’’
Departing Warriors forward Ryan Hoffman defended the club’s culture, denying a lazy work ethic had set in.
Hoffman hit back at rumours of lackadaisical attitudes to training and a lack of professionalism that have dogged the franchise in recent years.
‘‘Trust me, we train hard enough,’’ he said. ’’It’s just at the moment we don’t have blokes that are first-grade ready. That comes through the development and that sort of stuff. You can’t be training players to be first-graders in firstgrade.
‘‘I think Steve’s identified that, that there needs to be some improvement in the development of the juniors. They’ve won three 20s grand finals but we’ve got to make sure they’re turning into first-graders.’’
Hoffman said he did not regret any of his time at the Warriors, which included one season as captain.
‘‘It’s a season of unfulfilled potential, I could argue we’ve had three years of that,’’ he said.
Hoffman’s future is uncertain and said he expected to make an announcement next week.
He is being courted by his former club Melbourne and has offers from several NRL and Super League clubs on the table, with the 33-year-old saying he would definitely play on in 2018.
‘‘I’m pulling the boots on next year, don’t you worry,’’ he said.