Warriors playmaker Blake Green has left the club to join the Newcastle Knights after he was told he was unwanted by the Warriors owners. Video / Warriors
Next year will welcome in a new era for the Warriors, but its driving factors are yet to be made clear.
The signal for a new direction was made when the club moved on from head coach Stephen Kearney in late June, six games into the NRL season. It wasthen amplified by club owner Mark Robinson, revealing veterans Blake Green and Gerard Beale were not part of their plans moving forward.
Since Kearney's departure, Todd Payten has worked as the club's interim head coach while the search for a permanent option takes place.
It appeared Payten was what the club was looking for in their search, but he had to turn down the role when it was offered to him due to family reasons.
Speaking to media on Tuesday, Warriors chief executive Cameron George confirmed Payten had been offered, and subsequently turned down, the role; but said he was uncertain of how the timeline of Payten's family matters matched up with that of their coaching search.
"We spoke to Todd a number of weeks ago. Obviously, he's been undergoing the interim coaching role and he's very familiar with us. We put a plan to Todd for the future and due to personal circumstances - as he's mentioned, and respectfully so, I understand them very much - he withdrew from considerations," George said.
"Todd's a terrific person, terrific coach. He's certainly going through some challenges - as he has touched on - and we as a club respect that very much.
"I'm not sure of the timelines of the personal circumstances that have unfolded for Todd, but from our perspective, we're just pointing support around him and his family as best we can and moving forward."
Warriors acting head coach Todd Payten. Photo / Photosport
Payten has confirmed his interest in the vacant role as North Queensland Cowboys head coach, but for now remains contracted to the Warriors as an assistant coach through next season, with he and the club set to work through what that might look like now under new circumstances.
Payten revealed he had turned down the role in an interview with NRL 360 on Monday night, noting his father-in-law was starting chemotherapy and the family wanted to be closer to him.
The club will now return to the process of trying to find the right person to coach the Warriors from 2021 onwards and try to plan for a season that still has plenty of question marks surrounding it.
"People are asking me why it's taking so long, but the reality of the situation is that we can't even get people into this country," George said. "We're even struggling to get all of our players back due to restrictions. So, under those circumstances, there shouldn't be any rush.
"First and foremost, we want to get the right outcome. But secondly, I don't know what the next six months is going to look like. I don't know if this club is going to be based out of Australia next year, or based back in New Zealand.
"There's no point appointing a coach who can't come here and coach.
"There's no use appointing a coach who brings his family over and all of a sudden we're in Australia again next year."
While the coaching situation is yet to play itself out, it appears Chanel Harris-Tavita will be handed the keys to the attack after halfback Green secured an early release from his contract to join the Newcastle Knights.
Green joins the Knights with immediate effect, and could front for the club against the Warriors when the sides meet in round 16 at the end of the month.
Harris-Tavita, 21, has long been tipped as a player to eventually step into the first-grade role with the club and now gets his opportunity to seal his position for the next few years.
"When you look back on this year there will be a number of players who have probably played above where their careers should be at," George said.
"The circumstances, if there's any good to come out of this, it may well be that in time we'll look back and say the experience everyone received during this tough time has made them a better player and a better person.
"As a club, it can take years to generate that. Maybe this year it's been accelerated. There's a number of players playing more minutes and more games than they would have under normal circumstances, so I'm sure it's going to be beneficial for our club next year and beyond."
