Warriors boss sees light at end of tunnel
Sound familiar . . . ?
Those watching the Warriors’ dreadful display in the 48-10 loss to the Rabbitohs last weekend could have been forgiven for thinking the sky had fallen in at the club.
It was a hideous performance and one the players will be looking to make amends for when they take on the Bulldogs at Mt Smart Stadium tonight.
Warriors chief executive Cameron George doesn’t pull any punches about what happened at Sunshine Coast Stadium, but remains optimistic about what lies ahead and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
‘‘The reality is the performance last weekend was not acceptable with our standards and expectations,’’ George said.
‘‘We had a lot of personnel out and inexperienced players on the field at the same time.
‘‘When you’re playing any team in the NRL, let alone the top teams, you’ve got to have everything right.
‘‘But last week we let the game get away from us after a very poor start and the players acknowledge that.
‘‘Defensively we were challenged, we weren’t slowing the ruck down and Souths were running through at will.
‘‘So it’s not acceptable, Stacey [Jones, Warriors coach] spoke at length about that after the game and was extremely disappointed, as I was.
‘‘But if you look back since Stacey took over, we have become a better footy team,’’ he added.
‘‘We are heading in the right direction, but last weekend was a big step back. They’ll have the
‘‘We are heading in the right direction, but last weekend was a big step back.’’
Cameron George
Warriors chief executive
attitude of finishing off the year as best we can, particularly at home.’’
It has been suggested that Jones was thrown a hospital pass when in June he was asked to replace Nathan Brown as head coach for the rest of the season.
With Jones’ loyalty to the Warriors, he was never going to say no, but having won just one game since taking over, there is the worry that it could tarnish his coaching reputation. That’s something George feels would be unfair.
‘‘No way in the world should Stacey be measured on what’s going on. Stacey stepped in at a time of need for the club. It’s his character, his passion and commitment to the club.
‘‘Anyone who’s got an understanding of the sport would have seen an improvement in the team from Stacey’s influence.
‘‘I think he should be commended and he’s a high performance coach. My recommendation is he should be the next coach of the Kiwis, after Michael Maguire’s tenure.
‘‘Everything he’s done here has shown how much the footy team has improved under him, barring last weekend’s game.’’
While the club has made some impressive signings for next year, including Te Maire Martin, Mitch
Barnett and Marata Niukore, the core of the Warriors squad will remain for next year.
So can they transform from a club that may just avoid the wooden spoon this year, to one that’s challenging for a place in the top eight? George is optimistic they can.
People will think he’s going to say that, but he outlines a number of crucial reasons why things will be different in 2023.
‘‘There is going to be a number of contributing factors to the football unit next year which will be beneficial, none greater than being home permanently.
‘‘There will be the separation of the team and the footy staff outside of work hours.
‘‘Then you bring in the personnel we’ve got coming in next year, be it the players or staff.
‘‘I’m extremely optimistic about every one of those contributing positively to the whole environment. Strategically, in terms of the players coming in, every one of them has a competitiveness that we really want to see in our footy team,’’ George said.
‘‘They have a class about them, they have speed, skill and a toughness. All the things you build a team around.
‘‘Then you marry that up with an extremely good, up and coming coach [Andrew Webster] that’s going to get a chance to stamp his style on a team, it will benefit the type of players we’ve got.
‘‘Then we’ll introduce our NSW Cup team and our under-19 team next year. So all of a sudden we’ve got a footy club back in its entirety.
‘‘Next year, everyone in our club will be connected within our system. We can play 22 in reserve grade next year, not six,
‘‘So I’m really optimistic about next year, for all of those reasons.’’