Along with solving their stadium issues and learning to win more in Australia, getting the best out of Konrad Hurrell needs to be a major item on the Warriors to-do list next year. They certainly haven't solved that riddle in 2015.
Although this season is not yet over, it feelsalmost as if the campaign has passed him by. He has missed more games than he's played and last night was the 11th time this year the Warriors took the field without Hurrell.
It's been a difficult year for the popular centre. There have been untimely injuries, two suspensions — one fairly harsh — and form slumps, which have seen him play just nine games and no more than three in a row. He's never really wound up to his best form and could struggle to play a significant part in the rest of this season.
It wasn't meant to be this way. After indiscretions in previous years, including returning from holiday 10kg overweight and a social media sex tape scandal in 2014, this year was supposed to be the fruiting of the vine.
Hurrell enjoyed a full pre-season and new trainer Balin Cupples had him in great shape. No longer regarded as an NRL rookie, he started the year with 56 first grade games and was recognised as the Warriors' most dangerous attacking weapon, averaging two tries every three NRL games.
But far from being the No1 centre, Andrew McFadden now can't find a place for Hurrell in his 17-man squad. There's always been a recognition that Hurrell is different — and a certain tolerance — but the coach felt he couldn't justify selecting him.
"We are building a new culture here with certain standards and we have to stick to those," said McFadden. "Some things aren't negotiable. We have to become a better defensive side — all the good teams have that — and we have to learn to grind things out."
It's a quandary for McFadden. Hurrell is a match winner in a team lacking flair but he can struggle out of possession, in terms of positioning and 'one percenters' on defence.
His offensive output has also dipped this year. He's averaging 2.77 tackle busts and 0.66 linebreaks per game, compared with 4.52 and 1.10 respectively last season. And the 24-year-old is making fewer than eight tackles per game, down on any of his previous seasons.
"Big Konnie just needs to find some consistency and the way you do that, from what I have learned, is through professionalism, on and off the field," said Jacob Lillyman. "It's not just the 5-6 hours you spend at training. It's what you do at home, your sleep, how you recover. There is so much that goes into it.
"Konnie has been great for us and will continue to be great for us [but] he has those games where he falls off a bit and that happened last weekend. We want him playing because we know how dangerous he is but there are other areas that are probably not acceptable with what Cappy (McFadden) has identified."
Simon Mannering has observed Hurrell closely since 2012.
"He's got all the attributes to be a really good player — and he is a really good player," said Mannering. "[But] this competition is so tough that if you have a slight lapse in a game you get found out."
