Kearney unsure on skipper for Warriors
New coach won’t yet commit to filling core leadership role at NRL club, reports David Long.
NEW Warriors coach Stephen Kearney says he doesn’t yet know who’ll captain the team next season.
Ryan Hoffman was given the leadership of the Warriors this year, with Simon Mannering stepping down. It was generally assumed that the Australian would carry on, but Kearney says he wants time to think about it.
‘‘I haven’t made my mind up,’’ Kearney said.
‘‘This is only the start of our fourth week of pre-season, so for me I think it’s important that I get a feel for the whole group.
‘‘We’re fortunate in that we’ve got some guys who are very experienced in that type of position.
‘‘In terms of when I make my mind up, I couldn’t tell you when. I wanted to make sure I got my feet on the ground here and got a GETTY IMAGES feel for everything and I’ll make a decision from there.’’
In the last few years as Kiwis coach, Kearney appointed Mannering as his captain and if anyone asked him if he’d think of making a change, Kearney would flash a look at the journalist as if to say ‘how dare you ask such a ridiculous question?’
It could be that Kearney decides he’d like to have Mannering back in charge of the Warriors next year.
He holds Mannering in the highest regard and whatever happens with the captaincy he is sure to play an important role at the club in 2017.
But Kearney said he hadn’t spent much time yet talking to Mannering about the Warriors because he felt it was important for him to enjoy his break.
‘‘I caught up with Simon when I came over earlier in October,’’ Kearney said.
‘‘But the one thing I’m very respectful of is that he’s played a lot of games, done a lot of minutes and when it’s his time off, it’s his time off.
‘‘I don’t want to be ringing him up and talking footy when he’s trying to be enjoying time with his family.’’
When David Kidwell took over from Kearney as Kiwis coach for their end of season tour, one of his first jobs was to replace Mannering with Jesse Bromwich as New Zealand captain.
It was as if Kidwell wanted to immediately stamp his mark on the team and Kearney may feel he needs to do something similar.
But incumbent skipper Hoffman recently told Fairfax Media that he was keen on carrying on with the job for next season.
‘‘I don’t trust and respect anyone more in rugby league than Stephen Kearney so however he wants to approach it I’ll be completely happy,’’ Hoffman said last month.
‘‘But certainly, I love being the captain of the Warriors and look to do it again.’’
It could end up that Kearney wants to go with someone different altogether and Issac Luke, who was the Kiwis co-captain last year for the series against England, could get the nod.
Kearney is steadily coming to grips with his role at the Warriors and last week more senior players returned to training after their breaks.
In all, there are currently 110 players training with various Warriors squads and there are plenty of new faces training with the NRL side.
That squad has been put through its paces by Kearney and his assistants Andrew McFadden, Steve McNamara and Stacey Jones.
Never before has a Warriors head coach had such experience in his assistants and Kearney says he’s still working out if he’ll be hands on, or have more of an overseeing role with the coaching.
‘‘I don’t know if that’s my style,’’ he said.
‘‘It might be the process, but until I get into it I’m not 100 percent sure.
‘‘I like looking at the opposition and I’ve got my way of going about things. I’m not sure how it’s going to work, I am fortunate to have some good experience here, but I need to make sure we’re all on the same page and know what we’re doing.
‘‘We all have similar philosophies, so I don’t anticipate a problem or an issue there.’’
It’s often the case at NRL clubs that the training before Christmas is focused on fitness and technical play. But already the Warriors players are doing contact training and Kearney says that’s how he believes this time should be spent.
‘‘I’m not going on what happened in the past, but I think it’s important for us to train with intensity,’’ Kearney said.
‘‘It’s about having that intensity at every session and that builds a consistency and a habit.’’