COMMENT:
After all that will-they-go, won't-they-go drama and the emotion of abandoning families, the Warriors will be back on the field soon – but may soon wish they weren't.
Life was a lot easier when they weren't playing; they didn't have to look at the fact they were lying 15th out of 16 teams and had narrowly missed being the first in 100 years to go scoreless in the first two matches of an NRL season.
As it stands, they haven't scored a regulation try this season. Their penalty try late in the game against the Raiders came after Kodi Nikorima was impeded chasing a kick though, to be fair, he would almost certainly have scored.
But it was late in a game where Canberra always looked winners after a dull opening 20 minutes; the Warriors tried hard but showed little penetration in the 20-6 loss. That followed a 24-0 opening day loss to the Knights where the Warriors presented an even blunter attack.
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That scoreless opening evoked memories of new owner Mark Robinson's words when he took over: "We could make it the best footy club in the NRL, and turn it into a juggernaut." On the evidence of the first game, he got the "nought" bit right…jugger-nought.
His was the latest glowing assessment of the Warriors' hopes by new owners – the worst being Eric Watson and Owen Glenn after their ludicrous statement back in 2012 that they were going to make the club the most successful in the NRL and the most successful sporting franchise in Australasia.
"Marquee" coach, Matt Elliott, was dumped during a poor season and the club tried to kid us Elliott had resigned. Watson and Glenn then descended into a nasty spat about shareholding; the club looked rudderless and about as likely to be "the most successful franchise in Australasia" as Donald Trump's preferred brand of bleach is to solve the Covid-19 crisis.
You wonder why new owners have to blow such big trumpets. He was around comparatively briefly thanks to rugby league politics but Cameron McGregor – former chairman of previous owners, the Carlaw Heritage Trust – made these rather more sensible comments when they took over: "Our goal…is to provide the team with a long-term, stable future and to grow and strengthen the game of rugby league.
"On the financial front we know some teams in the NRL have cash reserves of up to $20m, and we want to achieve this for the Warriors as soon as possible – rather than resourcing being subject to the ups and downs of on-field success."
Wonder what happened to that? My guess is the Warriors are about $20m short and face a whole heap of financial issues, courtesy of the virus and apparently some less than stellar financial performances in recent years. CEO Cameron George has already said the virus has left a big hole in their annual $30m income.
George has also told us that the club will emerge "bigger, stronger, better". So that's all right, then.
Unless the new owners tip in truckloads of money, you get the feeling the Warriors will be back to basing resources on on-the-field success. Which is why you also get the feeling this season – virus, disruption and all – is perfect for a real stinker; there are lots of built-in excuses.
Robinson has already put the heat on coach Stephen Kearney (odd, seeing Autex were on board when the Warriors, with George leading the way, renewed Kearney's contract for three years last year). However, maybe all the rhetoric coming from Mt Smart will add up to something; the siege mentality, the split from families and the bonding may actually work to good effect. Here's hoping.
But it's hard to believe. There's little incoming talent; older hands like Adam Blair and Blake Green seem suspiciously past their best and, while emotion and resolve can carry a team a long way, they generally don't carry you as far as talent.
There's much been said about the Warriors' forwards and relative lack of muscle, Tohu Harris aside; the first two games also made many wonder whether the shift of winger David Fusitu'a to centre is worthwhile. Early days, sure, but the move seemed a strange one. Fusitu'a, at his best, is a real asset on the wing – one of the best finishers in a tight spot in the whole NRL.
He reads the game well there and the shift to centre seemed provoked by the Warriors' tendency to shift the ball to the other side of the field in the 2019 season after the departure of playmaker Shaun Johnson. Fusitu'a scored only five tries, compared to large hauls previously.
But it seems odd logic to get rid of the most creative player and then shift a tryscorer who benefitted from that creativity to a position where he is less likely to score/influence. It might be defensible if the Warriors had a crack wing to come in for Fusitu'a but they have just transplanted last season's centre, Patrick Herbert, to wing instead (though he will probably be back at centre with Fusitua's delayed departure from New Zealand).
The Warriors used to be known for "razzle-dazzle" but the evidence of the first two matches has seen precious little dazzle, leaving us with razzle. Whatever that is.
Let's hope this is not a season like the last, containing a game that prompted a listener to the now-sadly-defunct Radio Sport to call in and say of the Warriors: "We were right in that game, right in it.
"And then they kicked off."
The Panthers have beaten the Warriors in their first trip to Auckland in six years.