Warriors are back
Covid break gives NZ club chance to settle and regroup without the burden of travel
In life, as the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. It’s often the same in sport, as a poor beginning to a game, race, or season can’t be undone.
Until now. Thanks to the Covid-19 chaos, NRL teams get a chance to start afresh this weekend.
The circumstances aren’t what anyone could have wished for, and it’s been a stressful time for all, especially the Warriors, given their forced relocation to New South Wales.
But there are always opportunities that come out of crises, and in a few months, we might look back on Covid19 as a turning point for the Kiwi club.
There are some silver linings for the squad, if not the club, and the Warriors will “start” their season today against the Dragons in better shape than they were in mid-March.
Sure, they’ve lost a couple of players to injury, but they’ve got more back and have a stronger list, recently bolstered by props Jack Murchie and loan player Poasa Faamausili.
But most importantly, they’ve had a chance to re-engineer their game, with almost six extra weeks on the training field. That’s vital, because for whatever reason, they weren’t ready to go in March, but now they have a second chance.
There wasn’t much to like about the round one performance in Newcastle, aside from some gritty defence, and the game was done with 25 minutes to play.
After all the positive talk about a new game model, and a sharper, more intense pre-season, there was little to show for it.
Round two against the Raiders wasn’t much better, although there were mitigating circumstances after they were unable to return home.
But the portents weren’t great, with nothing to suggest they were going to storm the competition, and
confound the prophets of doom from across the Tasman.
The Warriors are still underdogs, with a modest roster compared with most clubs but they have got more prospects now than they had in March.
The spine, including new hooker Wayde Egan, have had invaluable time together, while attacking patterns and defensive shape across the team have been reworked. And youngsters like Eli Katoa and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown would have relished the bonus pre-season. Combinations have been tuned, not usually possible in the grind of a normal season.
And, as coach Stephen Kearney has mentioned, their rookies have had the chance to absorb constant lessons from the likes of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Tohu Harris, as they live in camp together.
The travel factor is another potential game-changer. Instead of an all-day trip across the Tasman every second weekend, they will have a bus ride down the coast for most of their away games, which could bring positive performance benefits.
Their initial draw is kind. None of their first three opponents (Dragons, Panthers, Cowboys) were playoff teams last year, and Nathan Cleary (Penrith) and Michael Morgan (North Queensland) will be key absentees.
Training in the Central Coast climate will also be welcomed, compared with rainy Auckland.
Of course none of the above factors can minimise the ongoing struggle of being away from family, friends and their lives in this country.
It can’t be underestimated. The strain must be enormous at times, and being in such a football bubble could be claustrophobic. But if families can join them at some stage, which could happen as soon as next month, that will be crucial.
And there is another positive. For most of their history, the Warriors have been criticised for their lack of mental toughness. But across the past month they have proved incredibly resilient, with all their sacrifices while also focusing on a return to professional sport in a time of massive uncertainty.
Could any other NRL team have done what they are doing? It’s unlikely. If they can transfer that newfound psychological strength on to the field, there could yet be some surprises from the Mt Smart team in 2020.