Kearney focuses on igniting ailing attack
Coach Stephen Kearney says the Warriors have no choice but to quickly get to grips with their harsh new reality if they want to be competitive this season.
The Warriors ended one of the most challenging weeks in the club’s history with a secondstraight loss following a errorprone 20-6 defeat to Canberra at their temporary home on the Gold Coast.
As if anyone needed it, the result was a stark reminder of the enormity of the task facing the club after the coronavirus outbreak forced them to stay in Australia indefinitely to remain in the competition.
Asked how long they could sustain themselves in their current predicament, Kearney said: ‘‘How many weeks is the season?
‘‘If I’m honest, we’re in it until whatever happens, happens. We’re committed to that. This week we’ve got Manly and I know it’s a cliche´ but we’re taking it a week at a time.
‘‘I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in a month’s time or in a week’s time, everything’s changing that quickly. But we’re committed to the NRL and we’re committed to try and improve our performance on today.’’
He said they were being constantly monitored, with NRL well-being manager, former Kiwis forward David Solomona, checking in with the squad at their base in Kingscliff this week.
Compounding Kearney’s disappointment was the fact that his senior players were often guilty of taking their eye off the ball, Adam Blair the main culprit with three basic errors, while Tohu Harris and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck made one apiece.
‘‘It’s been a challenge, certainly at the start of the week, adjusting to the circumstances,’’ he said. ‘‘But we had a good captain’s run and the boys have been in pretty good spirits all week. If we look at the performance today, that’s no excuse for coming up with some of those errors inside good ball.’’
The Warriors didn’t score until the 74th-minute courtesy of a penalty try – their first points of the season.
After revamping their game model in the off-season, the attack is clearly their biggest issue and Kearney conceded changes to the structure were necessary.
‘‘We just couldn’t build any pressure or momentum. There’s a couple of things that aren’t working for us at the moment and we need to make some adjustments, particularly when we’ve got the footy, that I think will help our attack and defence.’’
Coming off an impressive debut, 20-year-old back-rower Eliesa Katoa was again one of the Warriors’ best, running for 150 metres from 17 carries, while regular half Adam Keighran held his own at centre.