The New Zealand Warriors are a club with a lot of talent. That they sit in 15th place on the NRL ladder with just 2 wins in their 10 games this season is a disgrace. Last night it all culminated in an embarrassing 62-6 loss to the Ivan Cleary coached Penrith Panthers and with former Warriors player Issac John winning man of the match honours.
When you watch the Warriors you see something Raiders and Panthers fans find very familiar….
Why do they look like they are not quite as fit as every other team? Why does it seem like they are at a physical disadvantage to every other team?
Why is every other club running complex attacking plays in attack but the Warriors don’t? Why does it seem like the Warriors are just passing it from one side of the field to the other? Poorly timed and directed passes at that? Why are there no decoy runners? Why does the attack not put any onus on any defender to have to make a tough decision?
How did the Warriors get to a point where losing a close game was something to celebrate? Where big losses are nothing to worry about?
Why is the coach talking about how well the club is training during the week when the results on the field are so terrible?
And there we have it…..the problem with the New Zealand Warriors in 2013 in the fact they have a coach with over 10 years of NRL coaching experience and at three different clubs he has amassed a losing record.
Number do not lie. The sample size is way too large to ignore. Matthew Elliott is who he is. He has a way that he goes about preparing and coaching teams and it is simply unsuccessful.
I have watched Matthew Elliott coached sides for years. He coached my Penrith Panthers for many long, terrible years. I know exactly what New Zealand Warriors fans are going through. The sad thing is, it won’t get any better. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Until such time as Matthew Elliott get sacked by the New Zealand Warriors, the club simply can not expect any decent results!
The management at the New Zealand Warriors have a lot to answer for. Allowing Ivan Cleary to leave the club without putting up a fight is looking like the worst decision in the clubs history.
After building the Warriors up to be a potential contender, Cleary was made a decent offer to leave the Warriors and head to Penrith to help with the long term re-build the Panthers required after Matthew Elliott left them in such a mess. The Warriors refused to make a long term commitment to Cleary, something Penrith were willing to do. It was enough to get Cleary to leave and the problems started almost immediately.
Signing Brian McClennan as coach for the 2012 season was a mistake. Anyone that knew about Rugby League knew he was not a capable first grade coach. He was found out so badly in the NRL that he became the first coach in history to not see out his full debut season in the NRL. That management didn’t realize how out of his depth he was says a lot…
To replace McClennan with Matthew Elliott is about the worst thing the club could possibly have done. That he beat out Stephen Kearney, who also looked terrible coaching at the Parramatta Eels, makes you wonder what standards the Warriors management want to set for the club!
I’m a fan of the New Zealand Warriors. I like seeing them do well. Shaun Johnson is one of my favorite players. I believe that it is good for Rugby League overall when the New Zealand Warriors are going well.
What I am seeing right now is a disgrace. It is so sad to see a good team with loyal supporters being destroyed by poor decisions and poor coaching.
None of that will change untill Matthew Elliott and all of his mates are gone. The club can not move forward until they get a decent coach with a decent coaching staff.
