Foran will be fine, says Kearney
Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has no problem throwing Kieran Foran straight into the furnace of the NRL as the club’s star signing prepares for his first game in almost a year.
Foran is poised to make his highlyanticipated Warriors debut against the Dragons in Sydney on Sunday, having been included on an extended bench.
The 26-year-old has not played a match since last May, when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury while playing for Parramatta before his personal life unravelled off the field.
Although Kearney rated Foran a ‘‘good chance’’ of taking the field, the Kiwis playmaker still needs to get through a significant amount of contact work over the next few days to prove he is ready.
The coach could have opted to ease Foran back through reserve grade but is confident his lack of match fitness will not be an issue.
‘‘I don’t think you can replicate a game exactly but he’s a pretty intelligent footballer,’’ Kearney said. ‘‘The smarter footballers know the efficient way to get round the park.
‘‘If he was a frontrower I’d be a little bit more worried in the sense that they do more physical work.
‘‘He’s looked really good over the last couple of weeks in terms of training and what we’ve put in front of him so I’m sure he’ll be fine.’’
Kearney is also waiting on the availability of captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who needs to pass a concussion test before he is given the green light to return.
Tuivasa-Sheck was a late withdrawal from last Friday’s defeat to the Bulldogs after failing to recover from the head knock he suffered the week before against Melbourne.
The fullback trained with the squad yesterday but is scheduled to visit the doctor today for a final clearance.
‘‘There’s a process I’m going through,’’ Tuivasa-Sheck said. ‘‘We’re taking it a lot more serious because it’s a big thing and we’ve really got to look into it.’’
Tuivasa-Sheck labelled it the worst head knock of his career and while happy with his progression, Kearney said he would not take any risks.
‘‘It’s a pretty serious issue in our game now,’’ Kearney said. ’’The primary focus last week was Roger’s welfare and wellbeing. He didn’t pass a couple of tests which is the protocol set by the NRL but he’s pulled up really good this week.’’
If cleared, the addition of Foran and Tuivasa-Sheck should add much-needed spark to an attack that was clearly lacking in direction in Dunedin last week.
Despite an avalanche of possession in the red zone, the Warriors struggled to threaten the Bulldogs’ line.
But Kearney insisted those two players alone cannot be expected to solve their issues with the ball.
‘‘It’s not about putting two players into fix it,’’ he added.
‘‘There were individuals within the structure we have that didn’t fulfil their roles [against the Bulldogs]. So I want them to fix that first and if Kieran does play and when Roger plays they add something to it.’’
Meanwhile, the Warriors are awaiting the results of a scan on Manu Vatuvei’s injured knee that will determine if the big winger needs to undergo minor surgery.
Vatuvei made his first appearance of the season last week only to leave the field in the 53rd minute after aggravating the same injury that kept him out of the first two games.