Nikorima again urged to run more

Warriors five-eighth Kodi Nikorima has been instructed to get his hands on the ball more in Sunday’s NRL game against the Dragons, but it’s not the first time this has been suggested.

Nikorima was on the receiving end of plenty of criticism after the 13-12 loss to the Sea Eagles last weekend, with fingers being pointed his way as the team’s attack continues to struggle inside opposition red zones.

When asked this week how the season had gone personally, Nikorima indicated that he’s looking for more from himself.

‘‘It’s been all right. A lot of room for improvement,’’ he said. ‘‘Obviously when you base it off results, it’s usually the spine or the halves that tend to cop it the most.

‘‘We’re not getting those results, or there have been a couple of games where things could have gone our way, and that’s disappointing.’’

Nikorima said he’d been asked and was keen to get more involved in games. It’s clear how good he is when he’s running with the ball, but acknowledges he does need to get his hands on the ball more.

Nikorima’s best performance this season was in the 34-31 win over the Raiders in round three when the 27-year-old was a constant threat on attack and took command during a dramatic second half comeback.

This is just what coach Nathan Brown is looking for from Nikorima and he wants him to continue to have a roving role.

‘‘It’s something we’ve been working on,’’ Brown said. ‘‘You probably saw it in the Canberra game, it was something we worked on earlier in the year, but losing Chanel [Harris-tavita], Kodi playing with a new half [Sean O’sullivan] and Roger [Tuivasa-sheck] is looking to do things a bit different with his game. These combinations sometimes take a little while longer than you like, but it’s just the reality of where we’re at.

‘‘Kodi is an elite type of player at his best and to do that, he needs to get his hands on the ball more and put himself into more positions to get the ball.’’