A rocky month at the Warriors has prompted many to question the club's culture behind closed doors. Photo / Photosport
A rocky month at the Warriors has prompted many to question the club's culture behind closed doors. Photo / Photosport
Warriors chief executive Cameron George has defended criticism around the culture of the club, following a string of poor results and the departure of their head coach.
Currently riding a five-game losing streak, the Warriors parted ways with head coach Nathan Brown earlier this week after the 48-year-old informed theclub his situation had changed and he would no longer be able to commit to moving to New Zealand to see out the final year of his deal in 2023.
The club moved quickly, releasing Brown and appointing Stacey Jones to take his place in an interim capacity. The move comes just a couple of weeks after form prop Matt Lodge was released from his contract, receiving a payout reportedly around $700,000 due to a number of factors including relocation and frayed relationships with front office staff.
The club's news cycle over the past month and the lack of effort in their performances has prompted many to question the culture behind closed doors, and George has been quick to defend it, noting that members of the club who are leaving are doing so on personal grounds, not professional.
"We have a really good culture. If anyone wants to challenge that, they can," George said.
"Unless you live in it, unless you understand it, unless you've been a part of it, you'll never get it.
"Are things going our way? Absolutely not. We're not proud of it, we're not pleased with it. Are we looking forward to getting home? Absolutely we are. You take anyone out of their home environment for three years and you'll see some cracks certainly appear.
"The situation we're in, things change rapidly. And they're personal changes, not necessarily professional changes. There's not one person or player leaving here or has decided to leave here on a professional basis. It's all been personal situations.
"It's not like they're just leaving us and running to other clubs on a professional basis; it's all to do with their personal side of things and as a footy club that cares for family and a footy club that understands what family means – particularly after the last three years – that's something we take very seriously when someone comes and sits down with us and puts that discussion on the table."
Speaking on NRL 360 on Tuesday night, Brown explained his departure from the club. He said his daughters did not want to relocate to Auckland from their home in Sydney and he wasn't willing to choose his job over his family.
While his family live in Australia, Brown's contact with them has been limited over the past couple of years – as has been the case with every member of the team at their Australian base – as they have been based mostly in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.
He did not immediately walk out on the team, however. After informing the Warriors of his position for 2023, the club made the decision to move on immediately rather than have Brown see out the current campaign.
"I've heard that Browny quit. That's not the case," George explained. "He did say to us that he can't be there in the long term and that's his reason; we respect that. What we then had to do, I had to recommend to Mark how best we manage our way forward, and that is to look after the club in the short and long term, hence why we agreed on the decision we undertook."
With Jones now at the helm in the interim for the remainder of the season, the club have the luxury of time in their search for Brown's long-term replacement - although they hope to find a replacement within the next couple of months.
While many names have already come out of the woodwork as possible candidates, George has a clear idea of the type of coach the club needs need.
"To be honest, I want to see someone be a bit of a hard arse. We need to steel up our defence, we need to steel up our attitude, and that is right across the board," he said.
"Someone who can bring a bit of a hard edge I think would be really good. Everyone carries it in a different way and I just like the simple approach to footy.
"If someone comes to us and presents well and has a very simple philosophy and has the effort areas really strong, I think they are the key attributes that can help our club with the playing rosters that we have got over here."
