NRL: Mannering in the toughest job

Simon Mannering says the Warriors are determined to move on and not put new players through a constant autopsy of what went wrong last year. Photo / Dean Purcell

There are some jobs that wouldn't take much thinking about if the offer ever came up - Miss Universe judge or test driver for Ferrari, for instance.

Others, such as, say, bagging up elephant dung at the zoo, or building a superfast mobile network for Telecom, probably deserve a bit more consideration before a leap is taken into the deep end.

Given their performances last year - and some fairly gloomy predictions from the likes of super-pundit Phil Gould for this season - it's not easy to say where captaining the Warriors fits on that scale.

Sure, being the bloke out the front accepting the back slaps and deflecting praise on to your worthy teammates when life is beautiful seems like a cool enough gig.

There's nothing like singing when you're winning. But the same can't be said when your duties typically include explaining why the opposition consistently seems to score more points than your mob.

Certainly the doughty Micheal Luck didn't appear to be having much fun last year when, as a regular stand-in for Steve Price, it frequently fell on him to front up and offer his thoughts on the latest Warriors meltdown.

Despite that history, Simon Mannering never had a second thought about accepting his promotion.

"There was nothing to think about," he said when his elevation was announced late last year.

Now, on the eve of the season, he is a bit bemused about a line of questioning that suggests that the job might have a hint of the poisoned chalice about it.

"I can't say I've been thinking about losing too much." Mannering said. "But I guess that is part of the job. It's like everyone in their work, they have some good days and they have bad days. Let's hope there are more good days than bad days this year."

Not thinking about last season, when the Warriors began as third favourites but won just seven of 24 games to finish third-last, has been a bit of a theme throughout the pre-season.

"We have mentioned last year once and then we have just pretty much got on with it," Mannering said. "We have put it behind us. We have got new guys in the team, they weren't there so we don't want to put them through what went on then.

"It is more about a fresh start in 2010. Obviously it was disappointing how we performed in '09 and I guess individually people probably thought about what they can do better this year, but as a whole we haven't mentioned it.

"The people who were there, we all saw it happen. We don't need to go over it again."

Given his quiet demeanour and apparent contentment with life in the shadows, Mannering's selection as replacement for the polished, media savvy Price was greeted with widespread surprise.

It's hard to see Mannering attaining Price's figurehead status, and that's not something he aspires to.

"[Price] is a tough gig to follow," Mannering said. "I am never going to be as good as Steven Price and I am not going to try to be. I am just going to be myself. That's all I can give you. But it is all part of the job. It is nothing to shy away from."

One of the key rationales for replacing Price was his frequent absence due to either representative commitments or injury. Given that Mannering's durability has been one of his great strengths, it's a touch ironic that he has spent a large chunk of the pre-season recovering from a nasty hamstring tear and will miss Sunday's opening match.

The injury, picked up during sprint training in mid-January, kept Mannering on the sidelines for all three trial matches and he has hardly trained with the team he is to lead.

Ever the optimist, Mannering doesn't struggle to find a positive in his disrupted preparation.

"It has been a little bit tedious sitting on the sideline, a bit frustrating but, in saying that, I guess it makes me more keen to get out there for the first game and play alongside the guys."

SIMON MANNERING

Age: 23
Born: Napier
Height: 193cm
Weight: 102kg
Position: Secondrow, centre
Club: Warriors 2005-present, 100 matches, 25 tries
Kiwi caps: 18, two tries