Rugby league: New Zealand Warriors hold lengthy meetings after Melbourne Storm NRL disaster

The Warriors had some long meetings after their record defeat to Melbourne. Photo / Photosport

The Warriors held prolonged meetings after the club-record defeat in Melbourne as they try to revive their NRL season against the Canberra Raiders today.

The Weekend Herald understands there were substantial meetings with players and staff on Tuesday, with the result still raw. Out of that came a resolution to learn lessons from the match but also quickly move on.

The 70-10 thrashing on Anzac Day cut deep for the squad and wider club after a sense of gradual progress the previous four weeks.

Halfback Shaun Johnson admitted Monday's second-half capitulation, with 10 tries conceded in fewer than 35 minutes, had been a massive shock to all involved.

"None of us saw a performance like that coming," said Johnson. "In particular, a 30-minute period of football where we just fell right away."

Since then, though, Johnson said it had been a week of "actions, not words", as they looked to bounce back as soon as possible, hoping to "right the wrongs" from AAMI Park in their quick turnaround against Canberra at 5pm.

Johnson speaks from experience. He endured the 62-6 mauling against Penrith in 2013, then helped the team win five successive matches after that. He has also suffered in Melbourne — with a 42-0 Anzac Day defeat in 2016 — before a memorable rebound a week later against the Dragons.

"As a player, the best thing that can happen is you get a short turnaround," said Johnson. "You get a chance to go out there and try and show who we really are. Our attention has been on 'Okay, what does bouncing back look like?'"

It had been chastening to hear coach Nathan Brown imply that some players had given up, but there was "not much you could say against that" after such a performance.

Injured club captain Tohu Harris, who is expected to be back in action in the next few weeks, has been offering support as well as some home truths.

He said the second-half collapse was the product of a string of mental lapses, especially on defence, and Melbourne capitalised on "every single one of them".

In his subsequent messages to the group, Harris had emphasised individual responsibility.

"You can't look to the person next to you to come up for an answer for you," said Harris. "You've got to do your role, do your job as well as you can and create that trust with your teammates. If everyone is doing that, then we know as a team we'll perform as well as we can."

Harris said senior players such as Matt Lodge and Marcelo Montoya had been providing support for winger Ed Kosi, who endured a nightmare performance with several crucial errors. Harris said "there was no way that result is on one person".

Harris, who ruptured his ACL last July, is back to full contact training. He is desperate to return to action but knows he needs to be diligent.

"I just want to be out there working hard for the boys, but at the same time, I can't afford to put myself at more risk and come back too early," said Harris.

New signing Daejarn Asi could make his debut alongside Johnson today, with Chanel Harris-Tavita sidelined for several weeks and Kodi Nikorima still in Covid isolation.

The 21-year-old, who was signed on Tuesday, has played 10 matches for the North Queensland Cowboys since his 2020 NRL debut.

"I've been really impressed," said Harris. "He's a calm kid but there's a quiet confidence about him."