By George: How Warriors came good

Playmaker Shaun Johnson has helped fire the Warriors into form so far in the 2018 NRL season. Photo / AAP

In the days before the Warriors first game of the season in Perth, chief executive Cameron George was in a supermarket each morning buying dozens of bananas.

Later in the day he was putting the cones out at training, filling up the team's water drums. He was there at the end, packing up gear.

The unusual scenario sums up George's pragmatic approach.

He wanted to spend time with the team, to get under the skin, and offered to be the "water boy" for the week.

"It's about getting your hands dirty," George told the Weekend Herald. "I went to Perth, and I was a water boy for a week. I wanted to learn everything about this organisation and get amongst it."

Warriors logistics manager Laurie Hale was surprised by George's request.

"He said 'I want to come and be your sidekick'," said Hale. "He was just like one of the boys, another staff member, you would never know he was the CEO. He wanted to see how every part of the machine works and didn't mind rolling his shelves up."

For George, it's a simple approach. "No job is too small or big for me and I have the same expectations of everyone else," says the 42-year-old. "I think that brings everyone together."

The Warriors' turnaround this year has been astonishing. After a dire end to last season, where they lost nine consecutive games, expectations were bleak. But they've won their first five matches and are playing with a verve, flair and passion that hasn't been seen at Mt Smart since 2011. There are a number of reasons for the revival, but the bespectacled Australian at the helm has to take a lot of the credit. He has managed — thus far — something that seemed near impossible, turning the club into contenders.

GEORGE, WHO hails from the country town of Casino in northern New South Wales, has been in New Zealand since 2006 but retains elements of a knockabout Aussie.

Quick with a quip, he's a diehard league fan and is rarely seen in a suit. He eschews much of the corporate speak favoured by executives.

"It was about scaling it back to the basics," says George. "Not over-analysing where we were — we are just a footy club. Sure, we are a proactive organisation in the commercial space but if we get our core business right, which is winning games, then everything feeds off that. We're a footy team. It's about signing quality players in the right positions, getting them fit, winning more than you lose and making sure every fan goes home proud."

George took over from Jim Doyle, who became executive chairman, last September.

His first job was to oversee the season-ending reviews and took action on what he learned.

"Certain people weren't realistic about where they were at, and that worried me," recalls George. "I heard 'We are going okay'. Really mate? We have just lost the last nine'. So I had to be brutally honest with a few people, give them a bit of reality. Some liked it, some didn't."

George made some personnel changes but focused on getting the best out of his employees.

"I wanted to put clear expectations on [coach] Stephen [Kearney], the playing group, everyone," says George. " A clear direction on what we are going to do and how we are going to achieve it. Everybody had the option. Either work their arse off to achieve it, or, if they chose not to put in their best and fell short, then there was accountability measures put in place."

There was also to be — internally or externally — no more wistful talk about the future, which had often led the Warriors to be cynically labelled "the next year club".

"I wasn't a fan of saying we are on a journey, we are rebuilding," said George. "That's all bullshit. We are in it now, we are in it to win it. That's my mindset and that is what I said to Stephen. We have to develop young kids, and we will continue to do so but I didn't want anyone in this organisation to think that we are rebuilding, on a journey. We are in it every weekend. That was crucial and we had to move on from there."

George also knew a quick fix was required. After entering the 2017 season with such hope, the fallout was prolonged after another miserable campaign. Many of the Warriors' famously loyal fans had given up on the team — anger had replaced angst — and the club was in danger of becoming almost irrelevant in the New Zealand sporting landscape.

"It was about executing a plan very quickly, to rectify some issues," says George. "I only get one chance at this, and my time is now. We had fans leaving us in the hundreds ... we had to stop that. We had to turn the Titanic as quickly as we could."

SO WHAT has changed? It has been a mix of subtle and obvious, slow burners and swift repairs.

A key appointment was former Eels and Dragons coach Brian Smith as football manager, filling a vacuum painfully obvious for years.

"I needed people with more expertise than myself to run the football department," said George. "I'm a massive fan, I've played the game, coached it but nowhere near the level that is required."

And between them George, Smith and Kearney got their recruitment spot on. Instead of a scattergun approach, there was a clear, concise plan. The club identified Adam Blair, Tohu Harris, Blake Green and Peta Hiku as key targets, and went about getting them on board, while Leivaha Pulu and Agnatius Paasi were locked up last season.

It's worked wonders. Green is the club's best No6 since James Maloney and Blair has found a natural home. Pulu and Paasi have added grunt to the pack, Hiku has been a revelation at centre and Harris is the all-round edge backrower the club has been crying out for for years.

Fitness trainer Alex Corvo, head-hunted by Kearney, has provided a conditioning base which is the talk of the NRL. And the club brought in leadership consultant Jamie Pennell to work on the mental side of the game, with startling results.

"He knows nothing about rugby league but what he does know is how to make good people better leaders and make them accountable by their own actions," says George. "He is helping to create a player-led environment. They own their environment and make it what it is for the future."

Pennell has helped to break down dressing room cliques, which were obvious last year, as the team rarely looked like a united bunch.

"Everyone is willing to work for each other," says young prop Bunty Afoa. "For me, it all comes down to attitude. It starts from the top and it works it way down. Last year, it just wasn't clear enough for a young player wanting to step up. For us young guys now, there are no limits. Now everyone is the same ... we are all equal."

Other personnel changes have seen Tony Iro moved from recruitment manager to NRL assistant coach, a different club nutritionist in place and new appointments in the commercial area.

For his part, Kearney admits he has changed some of his methods — although he is reluctant to go into details — and there has also been a mind set shift among the coaching staff.

Privately, they will tell you they got it wrong last year, with too much of a focus on completions and safety-first football. They've adjusted that, allowing players more freedom this year, which has brought enjoyment and results back to Mt Smart.

It all hints at a solid, sustainable foundation. It may have been a (relatively) quick fix, but should have a lasting impact.

"We could only ever do this if we got together and built it from within," says George. "No one could fix this, except us. It doesn't matter who you have got coming in from the outside, if the desire wasn't there within the inner sanctum. We had to be in it together."