I’M NOT DONE: WARRIORS STAR’S SHOCK AT CLUB’S MOVE TO AXE HIM
Unwanted halfback focuses on helping Warriors win as he looks to extend his career elsewhere beyond 2020
Blake Green knew the Warriors had decided he wouldn’t be re-signed when his contract expires at the end of the season.
What he didn’t know was that it was going to be made public so soon afterwards.
The 33-year-old halfback was told of his future with the club early last week by recruitment manager Peter O’Sullivan, before club owner Mark Robinson announced it in an interview with TVNZ a few days later.
Green is one of 12 Warriors off contract at the end of the season, with both he and centre Gerard Beale identified by Robinson as surplus to requirements.
Addressing the situation with media yesterday, Green said he did his best to block out the noise in the days leading in to the side’s win over Brisbane on Saturday night.
“It was a big few days for me,” Green said. “I tried to stay off my phone — I wasn’t trying to be rude or ignore anyone, but I just tried to put that to the side. I did the best I could to focus on the game and put in a performance for the team.
“Initially I had mixed emotions on it but it’s out of my control. All I could control was how well I was going to play on Saturday night against the Broncos, so I just dived into that.”
The 10-year NRL veteran was clinical for the Warriors last weekend, making the right plays and taking over down the home stretch to lead the team to a much-needed win.
Since news broke that he wasn’t in the Warriors’ plans, Green has been open and honest when facing questions about the decision, which has been a talking point across the NRL scene the past week.
“I’ve got nothing to hide,” Green said of his approach to the situation. “The worst thing for me to do was say no to answering questions and look like I’m kicking stones and hiding from things. If something’s going to get said, I want it to come from me and be the truth.
“That’s the game. People get moved on, people change sides and footy rolls on. I get judged on how I perform on the weekend, so my job was to perform the best I could on Saturday against the Broncos, and I’ll do the same against the Titans on Friday.”
The decision to move on from Green is an interesting one made by the club’s management group, who are yet to sign a head coach for 2021 and beyond.
Green is yet to discuss the decision with Robinson, who joined the Warriors in Terrigal last week, but said he has every intention of playing on after the 2020 season.
“I dived into this footy club and gave everything I had. We made some good progress early on and I’ve really enjoyed my time. For the moment, the most important thing for our team is to just continue to play well. We haven’t won back-to-back games for a long time, so I’ve put it to the side at the moment.
“I’ve still got a desire to play footy. I’m not sure anyone knows the right answer but everyone I’ve spoken to says you know when it’s the right time [to retire]. I still love playing, turning up to training and doing it, so as long as I can be a contributor to the footy team and have an impact on games, I will continue to play.”