Nathan Brown accused of ‘ignorance’ as Warriors’ Maori trio pulled from All Stars camp

Warriors coach Nathan Brown has been accused of “ignorance” after making three of the club’s leading stars unavailable for the All Stars contest.

Warriors head coach Nathan Brown has withdrawn some of his players from the All Stars

New Warriors coach Nathan Brown has been accused of “ignorance” after making three of the club’s leading Maori stars unavailable from the All Stars contest.

The Maori meet the Indigenous side later this month in Townsville, but a trio of Warriors won’t be there.

1 NEWSreports that Tohu Harris, Kodi Nikorima and Chanel Harris-Tavita were all called up by Maori coach David Kidwell.

However, Brown is said to have blocked the three Maori players attending the All Stars week despite their desire to represent their culture.

New Warriors head coach Nathan Brown has come under fire for his decision to block a trio of Warriors from representing the Maori. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

Warriors forwards Jamayne Taunoa-Brown and Josh Curran have, however, been allowed to join the Indigenous side.

“It is a selfish decision,” said Brown. “It’s a decision I made, I spoke to [CEO] Cameron George about why we needed to do it.

“Sometimes it’s hard and I understand why people get disappointed, I get that.

“But head coaching is not a popularity contest and sometimes you’ve got to make decisions which you know are the best interests of your club, but they affect other people.

“And that’s just the way it is sometimes, and I understand that I’ve got to cop the heat that comes with that.

“I think we have six weeks [to prepare] before we play our first and only trial match.

Warriors Tohu Harris during the Cronulla Sharks v Warriors NRL match at Jubilee Oval, Kogarah. Picture: Brett Costello

“And if we let players go and play representative football, well there’s a week they’re gone in the lead-up and then there’s a few days recovery.

“You lose a week-and-a-half and if they do get a bump it can lead to two weeks.

“I’m a big fan of representative football … and the cultural side of it is quite big but it’s just a decision we needed to make in the short term.”

Brown’s stance led to criticism from NZ Maori Rugby League boss Hemana Waaka who said he was disappointed by the coach’s stance.

“I think that is an ignorance in terms of releasing the desires of Maori people to represent their race,” Waaka said.

“The players acknowledge this is the only time they can get together as a whanau (family), as a ropu (group), as Maori.

“And recognise who they are in terms of the different tribes and the different history that goes behind them.”

Originally published as Nathan Brown accused of ‘ignorance’ as Warriors’ Maori trio pulled from All Stars camp