Sione Faumuina bluntly condemns New Zealand Warriors following Stephen Kearney’s sacking
New Zealand Warriors great Sione Faumuina has savaged his former club after Stephen Kearney was giving his marching orders.
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New Zealand Warriors great Sione Faumuina has slammed his former club after head coach Stephen Kearney was stood down on Saturday.
Kearney had served as Warriors coach since 2017, but was brutally axed after the New Zealand-based club suffered its second loss in three weeks.
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Due to coronavirus travel restrictions, the Warriors were forced to relocate to a hub on Australia’s east coast away from family, potentially for several months.
But despite less than ideal preparation for the NRL premiership’s recommencement, the club secured spirited victories over the St. George Illawarra Dragons and North Queensland Cowboys since the lockdown.
It therefore came as a shock when Kearney faced the axe on the weekend following the Warriors’ loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Bankwest Stadium.
Warriors CEO Cameron George explained the reasoning behind the savage decision on Saturday.
“Stephen is extremely professional and has put in a huge amount of effort in the role but, along with the owners, we feel we need to make a change now in the best interests of the club,” George said.
“We’re so grateful to Stephen for the dedication he has shown to us in what have been difficult circumstances. His commitment, work ethic and concern for the wellbeing of the club, players and their families through this challenging year is testament to his character and we wish him and his family all the best for the future.”
But Faumuina was less than impressed with the staggering decision. In a brutal tirade, the former New Zealand representative labelled the call to sack Kearney “ridiculous” and “selfish”.
“It’s the stupidest, most ridiculous decision than any Warriors management in their history has made,” Faumuina said on Facebook.
“That was the dumbest decision to do considering what’s going on right now. It’s selfish, it lacks empathy … the worst decision I’ve ever seen made in the NRL.
“I’m calling out the owner — if it was you, it was the worst thing you could have done. If I was playing and this happened, I’d want to come home now. I’d be like, ‘F this, send me home’.
“I don’t know how anyone could pull the trigger on this decision during this time.
“I’m guessing before they left for Australia they made a pact that they were going to ride this out to the end, and to have this happen right now after this loss. It baffles me.
“Do you not understand what’s going on? What these people have sacrificed to play a game. They won’t see their families until the end of the season, so whoever decided to sack Stephen right now made the dumbest move ever.
“Surely common sense would’ve said, ‘Let’s give him till the end of the season, let’s back them regardless because they’ve sacrificed so much’, but no.
“To add this onto everything else, I hope you all come together. I know it’ll be tough. I feel for all the players and the staff.”
Faumuina played 88 NRL games for the Warriors between 2002 and 2006 before signing with the Cowboys.
Cronulla Sharks great Paul Gallen echoed Faumuina’s comments on Sunday, condemning the “heartless” decision.
“Steven Kearney in his time there has only made the semi-finals once, so he hasn’t had a great tenure there, so I can understand the need to look for someone else,” Gallen said on Wide World of Sports’ The Final Whistle.
“But I think it’s a really heartless decision by the club and the owners to make this decision this time of year.
“Four weeks into the restart of the season, they’re 2-2, won 50 per cent of their games since they’ve been back.
“They’ve left the country, they’ve left their families, they’ve come to a place they’re not familiar with and living here.”
Queensland legend Mal Meninga believed it was “a bit premature” to sack Kearney four weeks into the revamped season.
“The coaches have got their necks in the noose, and they’re the fall guys for no success,” Meninga said on Fox League.
“To me, I just feel that it was a bit premature considering all the situations the Warriors have confronted this year alone. COVID-19, being away from families and I feel it was probably a bit harsh unless there was something a bit deeper.”
Stephen Kearney asked post-game how he's doing for squad numbers - "we are bare minimum. We're lucky to get 13 on 13 for our opposed sessions" - looked distraught
— Simon Brunsdon (@SimonBrunsdon) June 21, 2020
Next morning they sacked the bloke. Cruel
Awful that @NZWarriors have sacked #Kearney. Forget that their modest form doesn’t merit the axe. The guy’s a class act & has been throughout the #coronavirus crisis. Won’t be a popular move either as they’re everyone’s second favourite team. Poor decision. Shame. @FOXNRL @NRL
— Chris Mitchell (@chrismbbcsport) June 20, 2020
Stephen Kearney? It's a tough game. It's never nice when someone loses their job. Especially a genuinely nice guy like Stephen. Warriors obviously feel this change will help their current situation. It's a much longer-term issue though. The NRL needs the Warriors to be strong.
— PhilGould15 (@PhilGould15) June 20, 2020
Todd Payton will serve as interim coach until a permanent replacement is announced. On Sunday, he revealed the club’s reaction to the “gut-wrenching” decision, which included a “powerful” haka.
“It was a shock yesterday, and emotionally-charged day for the travelling party, staff included,” Payton told Fox Sports’ Big League Wrap.
“Very upset for what’s happened to Steve, tremendous man. He’s done well for the club. The staff admire and adore him.
“It was gut-wrenching … (the players) performed a powerful haka, which brought a lot of people undone.”
The Warriors are currently 13th on the NRL ladder, and will face the Melbourne Storm on Friday for their round seven clash.
Warriors forward Tohu Harris has admitted the players felt responsible for Kearney’s firing.
“When you look at the final score, I know it looks bad on the scoreboard, but we felt as players that we let the coaches down,” Harris said.
“The plan was there we just didn’t execute it. We had a number of opportunities, a number of moments where we left points out on the field. To have that, the call they made on the back of that performance, the players we were the ones that let them down. It’s pretty disappointing.”
Originally published as Sione Faumuina bluntly condemns New Zealand Warriors following Stephen Kearney’s sacking