The New Zealand Warriors have rubbished reports that they've made a bold choice in signing new head coaches to replace Stephen Kearney.
ABC's chief league caller Andrew Moore reported tonight that the Warriors have signed brothers Ben and Shane Walker as their head coaches on a one-year deal for the2021 NRL season.
Ben and Shane Walker will be announced as Warriors coaches on a one year deal for 2021 @abcgrandstand
The Courier-Mail also reported that Shane Walker said he had "heard nothing" about the Warriors job.
The Walker brothers have developed a philosophy of their own, and are openly sceptical about how the game is coached.
Their on-field tactics include short kickoffs, and trying to create tries with ball movement on any tackle.
Coaching at the Ipswich Jets, there were no runs longer than 100 metres in pre-season training, to keep players fresh. They even draw methods from horse racing — players do a short sprint three hours before kickoff. These ideas are backed by input from sports scientist Tim Gabbett.
Chris Walker, Ben Walker, Shane Walker of the Ipswich Jets. Photo / Getty
Ben notes their two-year study of completion rates showed that teams who were good at completing were often bad at scoring tries.
"Most stats in the game really are pointless," he says.
"Post-contact metres, three in the tackle and wrestle time and all this garbage. It's justifying someone's job."
The Gold Coast Titans have turned the Walkers down, twice, despite a stirring recommendation from Broncos legend Steve Renouf.
"Listen to players who have been coached by the Walkers and they speak in awe of how they transformed their football careers and their lives in a lot of ways," Renouf said. "It is the same reverence you hear from players Wayne [Bennett] has coached."
The Walkers are said to be among the coaches on the shortlist for the Warriors job, but any decision on Kearney's replacement is still some time away.
