Warriors must prepare to shift to Australia next year
Todd Payten may not be long for the crazy world of the Warriors. But whatever happens to the interim coach, he will be remembered for his refreshing honesty. And Payten didn’t hold back on why veteran forward Adam Blair, one of the highest-paid players at the club, had been shunted on to the interchange bench for Saturday’s encounter with the champion Sydney Roosters.
The Warriors are facing perhaps the most daunting contest in their 26-year history against the Roosters, and have been listed as massive $10 underdogs.
Yet Payten came very close to axing Blair all together after the Warriors’ disastrous display against the Cronulla Sharks.
The 34-year-old Kiwis forward had two spells in the game for a total of just 26 minutes, and Payten made it clear why when questioned by Newstalk ZB’s D’Arcy Waldegrave.
“He wasn’t great, missed a lot of tackles, didn’t work hard enough to get onside a lot of the time,” Payten said of Blair in the 46-10 loss at Gosford.
“That’s just not acceptable. Given his experience we keep him in the side. Anyone else I reckon they would have missed out.
“I think that sends a message to the rest of the team.”
There have already been suggestions the club wants Blair to quit at the end of the season, even though he has the option to play in 2021.
Given the Warriors’ precarious situation and fragile depth, it makes Blair’s exclusion even more dramatic. Rookie Jamayne Taunoa-Brown and loan forward Jack Hetherington are the starting props with Jazz Tevaga the other running middle forward.
The Roosters, who have won the last two NRL titles, will go into the game desperate to make amends after being beaten by an under-strength Canberra Raiders. They will also have had nine days of rest compared to the Warriors’ six.
Payten didn’t hold back when asked about his star wings Ken Maumalo and David Fusitu’a, who play their last game on Saturday night before returning to Auckland for family reasons.
Payten talked to them individually before the Sharks game, hoping the emotional factor would encourage big performances before they quit the camp in Australia.
Payten said: “I didn’t think either of them played particularly well last week . . . we’re looking for them to bounce back.”
Another of the departing quartet — Agnatius Paasi — won’t play against the Roosters due to a shoulder injury, while a hip injury to Wayde Egan sees Karl Lawton start at hooker.
Payten said he was extremely disappointed with the effort against the Sharks. “It was a huge step back for us from what we’d done the three weeks before that. Physically we weren’t in the game. At least in the other losses where I was in charge, we were in the contest.
“We just need to be more resilient mentally when things don’t go for us. A large part of it comes down to experience. The more battle-hardened your squad the better off you are. But that’s no excuse. What we built in that month prior, I think we were heading in the right direction.”
Warriors: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, David Fusitu’a, Adam Pompey, Peta Hiku, Ken Maumalo, Kodi Nikorima, Blake Green, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown, Wayde Egan, Jack Hetherington, Eliesa Katoa, Tohu Harris, Jazz Tevaga. Interchange (from): Chanel Harris-Tavita, Adam Blair, Isaiah Papali’i, Lachlan Burr, Jack Murchie, Josh Curran, Adam Keighran, Patrick Herbert.