Mannering’s back so
Brownie points in short supply but Kearney is still reluctant to make wholesale changes
Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has resisted making sweeping changes but his underperforming players are running low on brownie points going into Saturday’s NRL clash against Brisbane.
A number of players are lucky to have retained their spots after the Warriors conceded at least 30 points in two awful defeats to Penrith and St George Illawarra over the past fortnight.
With just four wins from 11 games they have fallen to 14th spot on the premiership ladder and desperately need to get their campaign back on track before two away games against Parramatta and the Gold Coast.
Kearney is conscious of the fragile state of his side and has held off on swinging the axe in the hope they will repay his loyalty and turn things around against the second-placed Broncos at Mt Smart Stadium.
He hopes they can reproduce the resilience and determination that saw their form climb over a five-week period before the representative round, earning wins over the Eels, Titans and Roosters.
“I take myself back to two performances ago and the five weeks previous to that, the guys had done a pretty good job,” Kearney said.
“We’ve made a couple of subtle adjustments. We get Simon [Mannering] back this week and made a couple of changes but the last thing I want to do is send panic through the organisation.”
From front-row to fullback, almost the entire side has been below par, but major concerns hang over the forwards’ ability to assert themselves physically and their edge defence on both sides of the ruck.
Halves Shaun Johnson and Kieran Foran are under pressure to improve the side’s struggling attack and last tackle kicking options and more is needed from centres Blake Ayshford and David Fusitu’a.
With patience wearing thin, Kearney admitted a third straight loss would leave him with little alternative but to consider other options in the weeks ahead. “I’ll look at that certainly after this weekend,” he said.
“Am I happy with some of them – no, I’m not. But I’ve got to trust in them and the same players were doing a good job three games ago, so you can’t lose that, their ability, in the space of two weeks. But it’s More is needed from Warriors centre David Fusitu’a.