Warriors players feeling bad about role in Nathan Brown’s departure

The Warriors players feel responsibility for coach Nathan Brown’s abrupt exit from the NRL club.

Photo: Photosport Ltd 2021

Brown finished up with immediate effect on Tuesday after telling management he was no longer able to relocate to New Zealand long-term due to family reasons.

The decision added to the Warriors woes, with the team on a five-match losing streak and languishing 14th on the ladder.

Despite Brown saying family was the reason for his departure, captain Tohu Harris said the squad still feel plenty of responsibility.

“The players are disappointed because we feel like we’ve had a hand in what’s gone on.

“We feel as though if our performances were a bit better or we had some better results then maybe what happened wouldn’t have happened.

“We really need to look ourselves in the mirror and get our performances right.”

That would start with Sunday’s match against the Cronulla Sharks.

The game would be the first at the helm for interim coach and club legend Stacey Jones.

Jones had so far been noncommittal on whether he was interested in the role long-term but several options had been touted.

Tonga coach Kristian Woolf’s name had come to the fore, while Kiwis coach Michael Maguire, who also lost his job with the Wests Tigers on Tuesday, and former Sharks coach Shane Flanagan had been mentioned.

But Harris said the players were more worried about getting their season back on track than who the team’s next fulltime coach would be.

“That’s above my pay grade. I’ve got to focus on getting my performances right.

“At the moment Stace has stepped in as head coach and as players we really want to put our best foot forward for him.

“We really need to start performing before the season gets away from us. We need to focus on this week and what we can control.

“The management will handle all the coach decisions.”

Harris said, given everything that had transpired, Jones had emphasised a simple approach with not too many changes leading into their match against the Sharks.