Kearney: Halves will continue to improve

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney feels his new halves combination will only continue to improve after they hit the ground running in the final trial match.

Pairing up for the first time, Blake Green and Shaun Johnson orchestrated the Warriors’ 20-14 win over the Titans on Saturday – exactly what fans were hoping to see two weeks out from the NRL season-opener against South Sydney in Perth.

Green calling the shots freed up Johnson, who showed no signs of recent minor eye surgery.

Twice the pair combined in sweeping moves to the right to set up a double for winger David Fusitu’a, whose acrobatic finishes are beginning to look routine.

Johnson also produced a sublime tap-on pass in the lead-up to Solomone Kata’s try just before halftime.

Kearney was not getting carried away – it was, of course, only a trial – but was pleasantly surprised by how their smooth combination, given Johnson’s disrupted preseason.

‘‘They actually haven’t spent a great deal of time together on the training field,’’ Kearney told Stuff.

‘‘Shaun’s been hampered by a couple of niggling injuries, he had the eye issues and when he came back after the World Cup he had a glute issue – they’re a couple of little things that have kept him off the paddock.

‘‘They’re only going to get better and I thought their time together was really positive so that’s a good sign.’’

Along with Green, new signings Tohu Harris and Adam Blair made their club debuts on the Sunshine Coast and both had their moments.

Harris was a handful at times on the right edge while Blair contributed heavily to a solid allround defensive display.

Issac Luke could also be happy with his first hitout of the year, with the veteran hooker showing good acceleration before being brought down inches short of the line.

‘‘I thought Issac Luke had a good performance so the challenge for him is to make sure he backs that up,’’ Kearney said.

‘‘We’ve just got to make sure we keep looking at areas where we can make ourselves even better.’’

But Kearney also stressed there was lots of room for improvement.