Warriors need to win legal stoush
Surgery for Johnson
At about the same time the Warriors lawyered up in their fight with New Zealand Rugby over one of footy’s hottest prospects, rumours began to circulate that Roger TuivasaSheck had defected to rugby.
Privately, the Warriors believe the two events are related.
The youngster at the centre of the dispute, Etene Nanai-Seturo, is worth fighting for. He is described as a more robust version of Newcastle wunderkind Kalyn Ponga, a sure-fire hit in either code.
The Warriors recognised his talents early, signing him to a fiveyear deal when he was just 15. Inexplicably, Nanai-Seturo ran out for New Zealand in the Sydney leg of the rugby sevens last weekend.
Rugby officials claim the contract isn’t binding and the Warriors have been hit with a resignation letter from the player’s lawyers.
There have been suggestions that, given he put pen to paper at such a tender age, the Warriors contract is invalid.
However, it will be hard to argue the terms are onerous or the deal signed under duress – there was a five-month gap between the time it was tabled and subsequently signed.
Since then, Nanai-Seturo has enjoyed all the benefits of being in the Warriors system. The club has developed the 18-year-old and he has taken advantage of all the perks of the arrangement, such as the four airline tickets he is entitled to per year.
The Warriors attempted to upgrade the youngster on a deal worth the best part of $500,000 for three years – a huge investment on a teen yet to play first grade – to keep him happy and at the club. He knocked it back, leaving the Warriors to take up an option, in their favour, for season 2020.
Despite all this, New Zealand sevens rugby coach Clark Laidlaw has again named the fullback in his squad for the Hamilton leg of the competition this weekend. Lawyers are likely to decide whether he makes it onto the pitch.
This is a battle the Warriors cannot afford to lose. They are Warriors star Shaun Johnson has had an operation to remove a benign growth on his right eye.
Johnson underwent surgery on Thursday to remove a pterygium but the issue is not expected to prevent the halfback from starting the upcoming NRL season.
A Warriors spokesman described the procedure as a ‘‘minor operation’’.
Pterygium is a growth on the white of the eye - also known as surfer’s eye - and can affect anyone who spends a lot of time in the sun.
Black Caps batsman Ross Taylor underwent a similar procedure in 2016 which forced him to miss the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series against Australia.
already in danger of losing their captain, Tuivasa-Sheck, to rugby when his contract expires at the end of the season.
It was revealed late last year that the lure of playing for the All Blacks at the next World Cup holds great appeal, and there were fresh rumours of a cross-code switch – denied by his management – on Thursday. The Warriors believe rugby officials fuelled the scuttlebutt after they dug their heels legally over Nanai-Seturo’s contract.
Belatedly, the Warriors are bringing the matter to a head as the club approaches a crossroads. The club remains on the market, Stephen Kearney is under more pressure than any other coach to see out the season, and the pressure is on everyone at the organisation after years of underperformance.
The whispers are getting louder that premiership-winning former Souths mentor Michael Maguire is being lined up as a potential replacement for Kearney if the team doesn’t start the season strongly.
Should Nanai-Seturo play this weekend, get injured and return to the Warriors as damaged goods, the stoush will really get ugly.