Hingano aims to learn from Stuart
League Former Warriors playmaker Ata Hingano leaves Auckland with a heavy heart but is hoping for better opportunities after taking a pay cut to sign a two-year deal with the Canberra Raiders.
The 20-year-old Tongan international will arrive tomorrow in Canberra, where he will compete for a spot either in the halves or at hooker this season after being released by the Warriors on Monday.
There are no guarantees of a spot in coach Ricky Stuart’s side and Hingano expects he’ll start in reserve grade when the Raiders open their season at home to the Titans next Sunday.
He is prepared to battle it out with Raiders halves Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin and dummy-half contenders Siliva Havili and Craig Garvey, in the absence of England hooker Josh Hodgson.
“The Raiders are missing a hooker, but for me, it’s more being under a coach that has success behind him and hopefully I can develop as a player,” Hingano told the Weekend Herald.
“I know they’ve got established halves but if I can get that development under Ricky, I can really challenge and try and get in front of them, or else just play consistent footy.”
That scenario is not too different to what he faced at the Warriors where Hingano felt his first grade prospects were bleak, with new recruit Blake Green set to own the No 6 jersey and Issac Luke and Nathaniel Roache the preferred hooker options — although Roache was yesterday ruled out for the season with a back injury.
Hingano was reluctant to go into detail but the Weekend Herald understands he felt frustrated after knocking back approaches from several clubs including the Storm, Cowboys, Bulldogs and Titans to sign a three-year extension with the Warriors, believing he was in line to replace Bulldogs-bound Kieran Foran this season.
He was taken aback when the club signed Green and despite working hard throughout the pre-season, felt the writing was on the wall when he was used only in the dying stages of last week’s trial win over the Gold Coast.
Despite his disappointment, Hingano is mature enough to admit that Green has been a strong acquisition for the Warriors.
“He’s brought stability within the club and team, and just the way we were playing [in pre-season], it wasn’t messy or disorganised,” said Hingano. “It was always organised, we always had something ready, and he’s always been driving our training and video sessions. He has been really good.”