Warriors concerns over Kiwis players

The Warriors are seeking a “please explain” from New Zealand Rugby League over a lack of communication from the Kiwis camp in the wake of last week’s Denver test.

The Warriors remain frustrated they received no direct feedback or updates from Kiwis coach Michael Maguire or the team’s high performance staff about how their three test players — Issac Luke, Peta Hiku and Ken Maumalo — pulled up after last Sunday’s defeat to England at Mile High Stadium.

After all the talk about extensive planning around player welfare in the lead-up to the controversial midseason fixture, the club is unhappy it didn’t receive at least a courtesy call to inform it of the trio’s health status after the match.

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney was less than impressed after he was forced to ask Luke and Hiku to play in Friday’s 18-15 NRL defeat to Cronulla, while he felt Maumalo needed to rest after his Kiwis debut.

Kiwis team manager Nadene Conlon was prompt in notifying Warriors football operations manager Dan Floyd about the flight problems that delayed the players’ return to Auckland until Wednesday morning, but the club felt it was left hanging over the condition of the players.

The situation only added to the club’s frustrations after the Kiwis opted to stay the night in Denver after the game, while arrangements were made for England’s players to depart the United States in the hours following the match.

England playmaker Gareth Widdop and St George Illawarra teammate James Graham were back in Sydney on Monday morning but Dragons teammate and Kiwis debutant Leeson Ah Mau returned 48 hours later.

Along with Maumalo, both Ah Mau and Kiwis and Roosters front rower Jared Waerea-Hargreaves were also held back from playing for their club sides after their late return to Australia, while Widdop and Graham were able to help the Dragons edge Parramatta 20-18 on Thursday night.

“I was pretty worried,” Maumalo said. “The cancellations and delays were pretty terrible and I just wanted to come home and get back to training.”

Maguire said the Kiwis medical team believed they were doing the right thing giving the players a chance to sleep and go through their recovery protocols before travelling home. However, the Warriors are upset they weren’t given the option to expedite their players’ return, with the travel delays only compounding matters.

The Warriors are expecting to voice their concerns with the NZRL this week.