Graham Lowe: Safety-first Warriors lacking flair

Until the Warriors are able to develop any form of second-phase play they will continue to struggle.

Since Ali Lauitiiti was sacked early last year they have not had a ball-playing second-rower to create any opportunities in the attacking zone, and this was once more very evident against Manly last week.

The sad thing is that the big former Warriors second-rower could have been doing the same sort of damage that Sonny Bill Williams does for the Bulldogs.

A big problem facing the forward pack is that it is lacking a player with any flair, and it is flair that creates the biggest problems for the defence during second-phase play.

The Warriors forwards are certainly tough enough, but to get through equally tough defences something extra is needed.

There is far too much emphasis on safety-first, no-mistake football, and that is killing them.

In fact, the skill level of the team as a whole has dropped considerably.

It is okay to reduce the risks, but the biggest risk of all can be not to take one.

When this is happening the players become tentative and unsure of what to do next, which is how they looked against Manly.

It goes without saying you can't afford to lose the ball as much as the Warriors do, but footballers playing with confidence never lose the ball.

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Stacey Jones is getting towards the veteran stage, but he is still a terrific player with plenty to offer.

However, it is crystal clear to me that no one in the management at the club has the key to turn him on.

I agree that all players need a certain amount of self-motivation and I'm sure Stacey has plenty of that, but it is still the job of the coach or management to get the best out of him, and this is just not happening.

He is the heart and soul of this club and it is about time someone took him aside and got to the bottom of why his form is not up to his own very high standard.

I actually feel sorry for the bloke because I know he is better than what he is showing and, in fact, if he was playing at a club such as the Broncos or Bulldogs he would still be playing like a superstar.

I'm also concerned that if his form does not improve he will receive the same treatment that Lauitiiti and Vinnie Anderson copped.

You can't learn about motivating players from books or by trying to copy other people. You can either do it, or you can't do it; in fact, you are born with the skill.

All the very best coaches and managers are not only good leaders of men, they are master motivators or, in other words, they can extract the very best out of their teams, and when you look at the history of the Warriors you have to question if that has ever been achieved.

Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes and the Broncos' Wayne Bennett are two totally different personalities and have very different styles as coaches, but they achieve great success because they are born leaders and motivate their players.

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Manley centre Terry Hill highlighted last Sunday a very important ingredient that has been missing at the club since Matthew Ridge retired, and that is an uncompromising winning attitude.

Hill is not everyone's cup of tea and neither is Ridgey, but you cannot deny the fantastic competitive winning attitude he takes into a game.

Ridgey had a terrific winning attitude, similar to Hill's, and unless the Warriors can unearth someone similar they are in for another cruel season.

The first time I saw Ridge play he displayed this special talent and he went on to produce it in every game he played in. It is a fine balance, getting the mix of ego, ability, arrogance, and will-power in tune, but Hill was close to getting it all right last Sunday.

He is not the sort of player the marketing people at the NRL would prefer to use in their advertising aimed at getting young mothers to let their kids play league.

But he is exactly the sort of player coaches can rely on to get on top of the player they are marking and also to inspire their team-mates.

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Unfortunately, the Warriors' first game of the season failed miserably to live up to the pre-season hype.

In a tough error-filled match they were found to be lacking in the same areas as they were last year, and looked very unsure of what was happening next.

But the most worrying thing was the balance of the team. I would like to see Louis Anderson, Jerome Ropati and Tevita Latu in the starting line-up.

These three will add another dimension to the attack, which was very ordinary on Sunday.

Lance Hohia was the only player who looked likely to make a break but too often he and Jones were left like shags on a rock with no-one running off them with any purpose.

The club is better off at this early stage of the season making a few changes to the mix to try to get the balance right rather than waiting until it is unfixable halfway through the year.

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The Sonny Bill Williams-inspired Bulldogs showed last Friday night against St George/Illawarra they are the team to beat this year.

While most other clubs are playing like it is the start of the season, the Dogs have not missed a beat from last year, and look truly great. The value of Williams is immeasurable and you really have to wonder just how good a player he will end up being.