NRL 2022 Coach’s Clipboard sessions: Nathan Brown on Warriors’ tough questions

Nathan Brown rates his first season in charge of the Warriors and talks about the manic last match off 2021 in our Coach’s Clipboard series.

Nathan Brown tackles the tough questions with Michael Carayannis as the Warriors look to put a difficult couple of seasons behind them and give their long-suffering fans something to cheer about.

What are the biggest lessons you learnt about the Warriors last year?

We learnt a lot about individuals and where the younger players are at. We worked out where some people are best suited to play. Blokes played a lot of positions – some forced and some were coached driven as well. We worked out in tighter games we need to be better.

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How did you rate your first season in charge?

I would say it was mixed. We made a lot of different decisions at different stage and put players in different spots. Some decisions were good, some were 50/50 and some weren’t the right thing to do. If you look at our backline from round one compared to round 17/18 you would’ve seen a drastic change. We lost our back three in Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, David Fusitu‘a and Kenny Maumalo. Euan Aitken was shifted from the centres to the backrow and we had young centres. That was a big change. The whole dynamics of our backline changed during the year.

I would say my first season was mixed – we had some great learnings.

How are the Warriors different to any team you’ve coached before?

Clubs are different for different reasons. When I took over the Dragons, our challenge when I first started we was we had six players who took up a huge chunk of the salary cap. There were good players in among that group. We had to transition some young blokes like Dean Young, Mat Head, Ben Creagh, the Morris twins and Jason Nightingale to get them up to speed and to challenge for a competition. Huddersfield were fighting promotion and relegation for most of the time since they came back into Super League. St Helens was transitioning some good young players into a club that was used to winning.

At the Warriors they’ve had one semi final performance in the past 10 years. The challenge is you have to work out why and then play your part in helping fix it.

Who are you most excited about working with again this year?

The whole squad to be honest.

Nathan Brown is determined to lead his side into the finals.

How has Ash Taylor settled in and do you expect him to earn a top 30 stop?

Ash is doing well and the way he is going, I would be surprised if he wasn’t in the top 30. His training is going well. He seems happy and looks like he will enjoy his footy. That’s the key for Ash. Ash knows how to play rugby league. The big challenge his getting his body right and getting him to a stage where he enjoys his footy again.

Your roster changed a lot during the season last year. We saw the likes of Reece Walsh, Chad Townsend, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Matt Lodge come into the side. Roger left late. How did those movements impact the side?

I felt like Marcelo Montoya and Dallin had positive impacts with the way they trained, competed and talked. Dallin is an experienced player among some young backs. They train the way they play, they compete hard. They brought a lot of effort areas into the team.

We only got Lodgey late but Matt Lodge is a big, mature forward who understands rugby league. He is clever. If we can get him, Addin and Tohu playing together they are a formidable combination of middle forwards. Chad was brought in for some experience and to help offer Reece and our young hales some guidance. Unfortunately he was injured in the first tackle of his first game but he still had a good impact on our younger players in particular around preparation and the way to conduct yourself off the field.

We saw Reece Walsh emerge to the point he was picked in Origin. What does he need to improve to take his game to another level?

Reece has been given some skills that a lot of people don’t get gifted. You can’t coach some of the gifts Reece has. He has some things he needs to work hard at to get better at in order to be classed as a good, consistent NRL player. (He needs to work on) areas of fundamentals like most young kids do and he needs to work hard and train consistently well day in day out in the pre-season. He was picked at Origin at 18 so he is doing some things well but the pre-season is very important for him to learn how to train hard consistently which is a great challenge for all young kids.

Nathan Brown has challenged Reece Walsh to take the next step in 2022. Picture: NRL Photos

You guys have been nomads for the past few years. This season you have some stability in terms of staying at Redcliffe. How important will that stability be?

It’s going to be great that we can some consistency at all times. Little things like having a coaches office with all the staff there is good for us and been a big help. There is a great set-up with the amount of fields we can work on and players are not living with each other for the first time in two years. That’s great because getting away from footy when they leave training and doing whatever they want to do – fishing, spending time with family - they need that time away. That will be great for the mental side of things.

This pre-season we are actually training together instead of being in two different countries. All those things help. Last but not least we had a number of players whose kids went to four different schools in 12 months. That’s hard on the partners. The partners handled it extremely well but that’s not conducive to anything good for anyone.

Shaun Johnson is back in a Warriors jersey. What has he already added to the side?

The thing that stands out is he knows his game and is a far better team player than when he was younger and a little bit more brilliant. He is so good for the team because of the control in which he talks. We didn’t handle tight situations as well as we would’ve liked and didn’t play with the control we needed. Listening to Shaun talk at training and at meetings, we like to think he will have a great impact.

Ill-discipline proved problematic in the last game of the season. How have you addressed those concerns?

We were disappointed with that last performance and the way things unfolded. We had some good conversations with individuals and as a group. You have your end of season review and we addressed it and moved on. We haven’t spoken about it since the review. A day like that won’t happen again.

What do the Warriors need to do to play finals football in 2022?

Earning our way to victories and consistently defending better.

Nathan Brown was impressed by Marcelo Montoya (R) last season. Picture: Warriors

Who were the players who surprised you last year?

I’m not sure if this was a surprise but the consistency in how Tohu Harris plays. I always knew he was a good player but when you start coaching him and you watch him closely you notice the different between his best and bad games is so close. The real standout improver was Marcelo. David Klemmer put me on to him at the Knights in terms of what a good guy he was and his great work ethic. I followed him since and eventually got to sign him. He has worked hard on his game. It took a while but when he got there his consistency and the way he goes about things was impressive.

When do you expect to get Tohu back from his knee injury?

Around May.

You named him captain. Who will fill the void in his absence?

We have a few things in place and we’re happy with the way the group is going. Tohu has support and what we do while he is out we will work though. Addin did a fantastic job when Tohu was injured and Roger was gone last season.

The club has already been active in recruitment for 2023. You’ve added Marata Niukore and Luke Metcalf. It’s a long way away but what attracted you to those two players?

Marata showed at the back end of year when he was starting in the big games at Parramatta what type of player he is turning into. He is at a great age to buy someone. He has played in the centres but on the edge last season he was outstanding. He will be fantastic.

Luke has great speed and can beat people – they are gifts you can’t teach. The way the game is being played at the moment having someone who can do that is a real asset.

What roster positions will you look to further strengthen?

We have a few ideas but the big thing for us will be how our younger guys develop which will play a huge part in what we are trying to do. A lot of those have potential to be good first grade players. Injury plays a part but we have a core batch of young players who have plenty of growth.

Tohu Harris is one of the best forwards in the NRL. Picture: Ashley Feder/Getty

Euan Aitken switched between the centres and the backrow. Where do you think he is best placed in the squad?

Pre-Christmas he has done a bit of both and at some stage through the year he will have to do both. Even if Euan starts in the backrow, he may have to play centre during games. When he got moved he had a great impact on the side and played as good of footy as he has played for a long time.

Injuries and form may dictate where he plays each week.

Which spots in your roster are the most wide open?

We have a fair few to start the year. Tohu is injured, Reece and Lodge are suspended. Bunty Afoa and Jazz Tevaga become the experienced middles. The question will be who partners Shaun and who replaces Reece? If Euan ends up in the back row we have a lot of young centres such as Rocco Berry, Viliami Vailea and Adam Pompey competing for centre spots. We signed Jesse Arthars. There are plenty of spots up for grabs.

Which youngster do you think will have a big impact in the NRL next season?

All the ones that played last year or the year before. Last two years. Some played two to four games others 15-20. Among them some will develop quicker than others.

We are hopeful Wayde Egan will continue to improve. He was the only hooker in our squad last season and had to play a lot of footy. He should have some good growth.

Originally published as NRL 2022 Coach’s Clipboard sessions: Nathan Brown on Warriors’ tough questions