Nikorima calls crisis meeting at Warriors

‘‘For us it’s about nailing our jobs and not worrying so much about the two points.’’

Kodi Nikorima, above

Kodi Nikorima came to the Warriors from one of the most successful clubs in NRL history, and he has had to draw on what he learnt in Brisbane in a recent meeting with senior players.

The Warriors’ season hangs in the balance ahead of this weekend’s showdown with the highflying Newcastle Knights.

To return to the NRL finals, the Warriors must win at least eight of their remaining 10 matches – nine to be safe – and the playing group is beginning to feel the pressure.

Nikorima recognised as much, so earlier in the week he called a crisis meeting with the Warriors’ senior playing group to address any potential unrest.

During his time in Brisbane, Nikorima was surrounded by a host of established leaders and super coach Wayne Bennett.

‘‘Yeah, I addressed the leadership group privately, and just said there’s no point thinking too far ahead. It was a pretty simple message,’’ he said.

‘‘When you start thinking about competition points or all that external stuff now, that’s when errors occur in games. You start trying too hard and your execution can slip.

‘‘For us it’s about nailing our jobs and not worrying so much about the two points. If we do our roles well the rest will come naturally and that’s pretty much what I said.’’

Captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck believed it was a message well received.

‘‘Kodi is about just staying in the moment and we all heard what he had to say,’’ he said.

‘‘Whether it’s gym or training, just coming in with that focus. Perform wherever we are, let’s not worry about getting two points, just perform at training and nail our jobs, that’s been his message and it’s a good one.’’

Since his mid-season switch to the Warriors Nikorima hit the ground running with a string of good individual performances.

But he was kept relatively quiet in his side’s one-point loss to the Panthers on Sunday, one lamented post-match by coach Stephen Kearney.

His own harshest critic, Nikorima said he had reviewed the performance and was ready to bounce back in a big way against the Knights.

‘‘It was a tight game there against Penrith, but one we ultimately let slip,’’ he said.

‘‘They did their homework on me, plenty of pressure on me when I got the ball and shut down that timing. I will address that this week.’’

Nikorima’s biggest strength is his running game and Kearney said he wanted his halfback to get back to that.