New Zealand Warriors 2021 NRL season preview: Nathan Brown leads club emboldened by 2020 showing
He’s earning some rave reviews for his natural athletic ability, the way he can sneak through the line and skip his way around defenders. And the Warriors could unleash him in 2021.
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They didn’t make the finals in 2020, but the Warriors still enjoyed a strong season on the back of the typically-excellent Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and breakout star Tohu Harris.
Learning from the demands of the COVID-ravaged season just finished will be crucial as new coach Nathan Brown steps into the hot seat after Todd Payten’s end-of-season departure.
Fatima Khouh takes a look at the key questions facing the Warriors next season.
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2020 ladder position: 10th
Ins: Ben Murdoch-Masila (Warrington), Kane Evans (Eels), Euan Aitken (Dragons), Addin Fonua-Blake (Manly), Iliesa Ratuva (rugby union), Sean O’Sullivan (Broncos), Marcelo Montoya (Bulldogs), Bayley Sironen (Rabbitohs)
Outs: Adam Blair (retired), Gerard Beale (retired), Lachlan Burr (Cowboys), Isaiah Papali’i (Eels), Taane Milne (Rabbitohs), Patrick Herbert (Titans), Nathaniel Roache (Eels), Agnatius Paasi (St Helens), Adam Keighran (Roosters)
Not re-signed: Leivaha Pulu, King Vuniyayawa
Players in the 2020 Rich 100: 6 — 3. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck ($1.1 million), 47. Tohu Harris ($700,000), 54. Blake Green ($675,000), 68. Adam Blair ($625,000), 75. Addin Fonua-Blake ($600,000), 87. David Fusitu’a ($540,000), 96. Kodi Nikorima ($500,000)
Coach status: If the job of an incoming NRL coach wasn’t hard enough, Nathan Brown now has to also contend with the decision to relocate his side back to Australia from January for at least three months, where they will be based in Tamworth and on the Central Coast of NSW.
Former interim coach Todd Payten did a commendable job galvanising a depleted outfit to finish 10th on the ladder, Brown will have to find a way to keep perpetuating that new found resilience into the 2021 season.
Former Penrith supremo Phil Gould has also joined the club in the capacity of a commercial and pathways development consultant.
What is their game plan, and how do they need to tweak: The Warriors will be looking to emulate more of the simple yet very effective game plan that delivered a respectable 10th placed finish, considering the rollercoaster of season COVID forced them to endure.
The Warriors found the meaning of playing for each other and found solidarity in their performances. Ravaged by injury and homesickness the defiant group never wavered in their commitment.
Brown will have the luxury of welcoming back the likes of Ken Maumalo and David Fusitu’a to sure up his back five, along with the addition of centre Euan Aitken. Forwards Bunty Afoa and Leeson Ah Mau, who suffered season ending injuries, will also return.
Playmaker Chanel Harris-Tavita and hard-running edge backrower Elise Katoa are showing promising signs as genuine NRL stars of the future.
It leaves Brown with the task of assembling his best possible 17, taking into consideration the additions of Addin-Fonua Blake and Kane Evans. There are questions over the dummy half position with Karl Lawton and Wayde Egan both tried at hooker during 2020.
How did they go in free agency: The Warriors have been relatively active in the player market and have made some astute signings. Former Manly firebrand Addin Fonua-Blake will no doubt add some mongrel alongside Kane Evan and Bayley Sironen.
Former Dragons centre Euan Aitken should be a walk-up start but will face stiff competition from the likes of Adam Pompey for a spot on the edge.
Will development contract upgraded kids make an impact: Paul Turner has been likened to Anthony Mundine thanks to natural athletic ability, the way he can sneak through the line and skip his way around defenders.
Turner is considered one of the best talents at the club but the 20-year old will have to bide his time behind Kodi Nikorima.
Son of All Black Marty Berry, Rocco, was in line for an NRL debut before being cruelled by a serious back injury. The outside back was a fullback through the junior ranks but is likely to get a crack on the edge when his time does come.
What players can they reinvent: Marcelo Montoya. The Canterbury junior made his NRL debut for the Bulldogs back in 2017 and showed plenty of promise. But a season-ending injury in 2019 compounded by a serious hamstring injury this year restricted Montoya to just 20 games in the final two seasons at Belmore.
With fierce competition in the backs from the likes of Fusitu’a, Maumalo and Pompey, Montoya will have to fight his way into Brown starting side.
Who takes the next step: Tohu Harris. Harris carried a number of niggling injuries in 2019, which saw him play only 13 games. Fully fit this season, Harris was the standout in the Warriors outfit alongside skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
He made more tackles than any other Warrior and was no slouch with the ball in hand either, making 2888 metres, second only to Tuivasa-Sheck.
With a contract extension to play for in season 2021, Harris could find the form that made him one of Melbourne’s best.
The best 17 for 2021:
1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
2 David Fusitu’a
3 Peta Hiku
4 Euan Aitken
5 Ken Maumalo
6 Chanel Harris-Tavita
7 Kodi Nikorima
8 Addin Fonua-Blake
9 Karl Lawton
10 Jamayne Taunoa-Brown
11 Tohu Harris
12 Eliesa Katoa
13 Jazz Tevaga
14 Wayde Egan
15 Ben Murdoch-Masila/Bayley Sironen
16 Leeson Ah Mau
17 Kane Evans
2021 squad: Bunty Afoa, Leeson Ah Mau, Josh Curran, Wayde Egan, David Fusitu’a, Tohu Harris, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Peta Hiku, Eliesa Katoa, Karl Lawton, Ken Maumalo, Jack Murchie, Marcelo Montoya, Kodi Nikorima, Sean O’Sullivan, Hayze Perham, Adam Pompey, Bayley Sironen, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown, Jazz Tevaga, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Kane Evans, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Euan Aitken, Addin Fonua-Blake
Fox Sports Lab’s Aaron Wallace says: Warriors missed the finals for the eighth time in the past nine seasons — they finished eighth in 2018. Given the extenuating circumstances around COVID-19 and being forced to spend the season in Australia, finishing 10th in 2020 may have been the Warriors’ best season in quite some time.
They finished just two wins outside of the eight, and had narrow losses against Penrith, Parramatta and the Sydney Roosters in the second half of the season, despite some key players returning home.
Finish the past five years: 10th, 13th, 8th, 13th, 10th
Odds are: TAB premiership: $26, Top-four finish: $7, Top-8 finish: $2.75, Most losses: $15
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