http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/10473598/No-quick-fix-for-lacklustre-Warriors
No quick fix for lacklustre Warriors
CHRIS BARCLAY
Last updated 05:00 09/09/2014
REBUILDING PROCESS: Warriors coach Andrew McFadden has things to work on.
No quick fix for lacklustre Warriors Warriors
The players' hangovers will subside today, but the headaches remain for the New Zealand Warriors' management team as the post-mortem into another unsuccessful NRL campaign gets under way.
An internal review process for players and staff takes place this week and is sure to be another frustrating exercise after the club's flagship team failed to figure in the finals series for a third successive year.
A 22-6 defeat to fourth-placed Penrith on Sunday night capped a disappointing end to a campaign where the Warriors had arguably one of the most favourable draws heading into the post-season.
Following a 10-point loss to Manly in late July, four of the Warriors last six opponents were out of title contention, but by claiming only six of a possible 12 points they finished ninth on points differential behind Brisbane.
Perennially talked up as a top-eight contender, instead the Warriors' roster assembles at Mt Smart today - following the traditional end-of-season bonding session - with their unwanted reputation as under achievers enhanced.
Coach Andrew McFadden, promoted from the assistant role when Matt Elliott departed five rounds into the season, struggled to mask his disappointment as he contemplated the Warriors' 12-win, 12-loss record.
"The last month of our season has been most disappointing," he said. "We've got a decent roster but the reality is we've got some things to work on.
"We finished ninth and that's probably a fair indication of where we are at."
Winning outside of Auckland remains a debilitating flaw - four wins from 12 away games was only a one game improvement on 2013 - though McFadden thought the 46-12 loss to reigning premiers, the Sydney Roosters, at Mt Smart in round 24 caused irreparable damage.
"That probably dented our confidence a fair bit. We were well and truly outclassed that day. They're the benchmark of the competition really and that probably hurt us.
"We missed a few opportunities too. We got to sixth position at one stage and we missed a couple of opportunities."
Losing at an admittedly resurgent Newcastle before the Roosters ran amok was another significant setback while consistency was unattainable - a three-game winning sequence during the State of Origin period represented their best run of results.
McFadden, who is contracted to the end of 2017, described the first 19 games of his tenure as "a bit of a roller coaster ride" but he was confident a largely settled playing group was capable of qualifying for finals football in 12 months time.
"We're just not quite good enough at the moment but I've got a really optimistic approach to it. It was never going to be a quick fix, it was always going to take some time."
McFadden acknowledged the top job "certainly had its challenges" but he had still enjoyed the experience before outlining his goal for 2015.
"It's just as simple as raising our standards. We've got lots of talent but we have to improve all facets of our game. We have to develop our game, develop our awareness of how to play."
Melbourne Storm and New South Wales second-rower
Ryan Hoffman and fringe Canberra centre Matt Allwood are the only new arrivals confirmed so far with McFadden saying there were no other recruiting targets.
"There's nothing in the short-term, though long-term we'll always be looking at improving all areas of our squad."
Meanwhile, playmaker Shaun Johnson sympathised with long-suffering supporters.
"Regardless of what happened [Elliott's demise] we felt as a group we should have really kicked on and we weren't able to do it."
- Stuff