NRL: Pressure on Inu to increase work-rate

Krisnan Inu. Photo / Brett Phibbs

It's a new NRL season with a new coach in charge of the Warriors, but not a lot appears to have changed for Krisnan Inu.

He may have starred for the club in last year's finals series - including scoring a match-winning try in the dying seconds against the Tigers in Sydney - but Inu also spent plenty of time feeling the chill of former coach Ivan Cleary's cold shoulder.

When Cleary named his side for the opening match of the season against Parramatta at Eden Park, Inu's name was conspicuous by its absence. That omission was to set a trend that would last throughout Cleary's final season at the club.

Now, with a return to Eden Park for a grand final rematch against Manly just over two weeks away, history may be about to repeat itself.

After an underwhelming first-up effort against the Titans, Inu was left out of last week's trial against the Rabbitohs in Coffs Harbour. That move appears to have been a calculated boot up the backside.

He has been granted a reprieve for today's final trial against Manly feeder club Sunshine Coast, and will need to produce a strong display to avoid repeating last year's fate.

Anything other than a full-blooded effort could well see Inu dumped in favour of boom under-20s graduate Konrad Hurrell.

Inu's inability to carve out a niche at both club and international level is one of the game's mysteries. Extravagantly talented and capable of producing moments of pure, match-winning genius, he was marked out for big things when then Kiwis coach Brian McClennan selected him at fullback for the 2007 Anzac test after just one first-grade appearance for Parramatta.

At 24, he's reached grand finals with two different clubs, and he can slot into a side at wing, centre or fullback. Any other player with those credentials would be a lock for a starting spot at any NRL club.

For Inu, though, proving his worth appears to be a daily battle. Part of that can be attributed to his laidback personality and even more relaxed body language. That unconcerned air flows into his football. He makes things look so easy that at times he hardly appears to be trying. In professional team sports there are few greater sins than not giving it your all.

It hardly matters whether Inu's issues are down to perception or reality. In his case, perception is reality. Not only does he need to try hard, he needs to be seen to be trying hard.

"They know what I can do, they just want to see it," Inu said when asked what McClennan had demanded of him this season. "Everyone knows that just performing is the big thing for me - letting people know that I am here for the right reasons and I want to be here."

The main area under the microscope is his workrate. The Warriors rely heavily on their backs carrying the ball out of dummy half from deep in their own half. Inu's reluctance to perform that job was a big factor in him losing his wing berth to the hard-grafting Bill Tupou last season.

"We want to see him be nice and busy," McClennan said.

"Once the ball's in his hands he is a very athletic kid, very talented. He knows we just want more work off the ball and helping with our yardage sets. Once he's got the ball in hand he's an absolute handful."

The question, then, is whether McClennan can succeed where the likes of Daniel Anderson, Stephen Kearney and Cleary have failed.

"Last year is last year. That's gone now," McClennan said, "but you can learn from experience. It's a new slate. Be busy off the ball and do your best when you are on the ball. That message goes to everybody."

Inu's main goal - to "just get as many first-grade games as I can" - reflects the reality of his situation.

Representative players with 94 first-grade games under their belts tend to have moved on from simply wanting to be in the team.

Inu, though, isn't your average kind of player.

"I'm not fussed," he says when asked what position he'd prefer to play this season.

"As long as I'm on the field I'll enjoy it."