Coach Nathan Brown in action during Warriors training at Moreton Daily Stadium, Redcliffe. Photo / Photosport
Of all the people associated with the Warriors in 2022, no one has more to prove than Nathan Brown. Michael Burgess catches up with the Australian coach.
Nathan Brown doesn't like to talk about pressure.
It's undoubtedly there, swirling around, for the Warriors coach ahead of the 2022 NRL season, with an expectation of a significant leap forward from last year's disappointing campaign.
While they endured some close defeats, a record of eight victories and sixteen defeats in 2021 was nowhere near good enough.
Only three teams won fewer matches, including the Broncos and Bulldogs, who were in disarray for most of the season.
There were mitigating factors, with a fractured pre-season (split squads in Auckland and New South Wales), the constant Covid disruptions, a heavy injury toll and the premature exit of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
That meant Brown, who was also reshaping the roster to align with his vision, was given leeway, by both fans and stakeholders.
But there won't be the same level of tolerance this year if things go south. Improvement is expected ahead of the 2023 season, when the club relocate back to New Zealand, with most of the squad set to live in Auckland for the first time.
Brown has an impressive forward pack at his disposal while the return of Shaun Johnson adds experience and gold dust to a green backline.
Now the affable Australian needs to deliver, to get the best out of his squad and reach the playoffs for only the second time in 11 seasons.
"It's not so much pressure - it's what we all want to do," Brown tells the Weekend Herald.
"All the sides that missed the [top] eight, we all want to be there this year. Some [teams] have recruited quite heavily, we are trying to get our biggest growth out of our younger players.
"That is the great challenge for the staff and our younger blokes, to get that growth and move into the eight.
"I don't look at it as pressure; I see it as something that we want to do and the expectation that is where we want to get to. As time evolves we want to be a club that is a regular in the top eight. That has got to be the goal and then you can talk about winning competitions - that is what we are all here for."
He is living alone in Brisbane, with his wife Tanya and children back in Sydney, mainly because of a reluctance to transplant his second daughter from high school.
"We did that once before – changing schools in year 12 is difficult."
It's not ideal, but Brown stays busy. His day starts between 5:30 and 6am, working out in the Warriors' gym with other members of staff.
"I like to start the day training then kick off with work," says Brown, who has always been an "early riser".
He is a career coach, after getting a chance with St George Illawarra as a 29-year-old, which was a blessing and a curse.
"I've probably been lucky that I have survived – a lot of people don't when they start young," admits Brown. "You want to make your mistakes at a lower level so not something I would advise but I can't say I regret it."
On Saturday Brown will begin his 18th campaign as a head coach, after 11 years in the NRL and six Super League seasons.
After more than 450 games with the clipboard, experience has taught him how to deal with certain situations and handle different players, though one truism has become universal.
"Personalities are different but you work out that ranting and raving doesn't really do much for anyone," says Brown.
Coaching is the "next best thing to playing" for the Sydneysider, who enjoys the camaraderie, the culture and the challenge.
"You are still in that competitive environment," says Brown. "Our drug is the winning and losing, the highs and lows."
Being around the playing group "keeps you young", as he tries to provide guidance on and off the field.
"Helping them with footy and with their lives as well – you want to help them grow as people," says Brown.
Brown guided the Dragons to two preliminary finals – and four top-eight finishes – in six seasons between 2003 and 2008, though faced criticism for not wringing the most out of a talented roster.
He then enjoyed success and trophies with Huddersfield and St Helens in England, before taking charge of the Newcastle Knights in 2016. Brown took on a major renovation job there, built around young players and local juniors.
After successive wooden spoon seasons, there was signs of an upsurge, after they finished 11th in 2018 then enjoyed a five-match winning streak early the following year.
But the expected climax never came and instead of overseeing a return to the playoffs, Brown was gone before the end of the season.
So there is plenty resting on this third chapter of Brown's NRL coaching career.
If he can transform the Warriors into consistent contenders he will be lauded; if not, there may not be too many more opportunities.
"We feel we are a far way ahead of where we were this time last year, not only because of being together, the stability and not moving but also because our younger players have all developed quite well off the field."
He agrees that 2022 is a big year for everyone associated with the club, but feels development is key to long-term growth.
"Being successful helps, especially with recruitment," says Brown. "[But] when we get our own junior backyard right, that will help the club be successful more than anything else and the recruits will come along on the back of that."
There are signs of hope. Johnson adds experience and class and there is more depth in the spine. The pack looks solid, with power and ball players, though Tohu Harris will be missed. Reece Walsh should benefit from his first full pre-season, though there is a lack of experience and strike in the outside backs.
A major pre-season focus has been building a stouter defensive framework, after they conceded an average of 26 points per game in 2021 (only four teams leaked more).
Aligned with that has been an emphasis on conditioning, to manage the ever-increasing speed of the game.
"They have leaned up a bit, changed their body composition in a decent way," says Brown. "They are all moving well and the younger ones have grown a lot but we have all heard it before in the pre-season.
"Every club tells you they are in a much better spot than they were this time last year and then you have to start playing and you work out pretty quickly where you are at. The proof is going to be in the playing but we feel we got some good growth in the pre-season."
The Warriors have made three changes to the starting side to face the Broncos in Brisbane.