‘Gutless, cowardly, awful’: New Zealand Warriors torn to shreds

Two years of relocating to Australia for the NRL season has not shielded the New Zealand Warriors from some scathing barbs across the ditch.

With these scenes, the Warriors’ goodwill has run out. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

The New Zealand Warriors are copping heat from home after finishing the 2021 NRL season with a thud.

The Warriors have earned plenty of goodwill from the rugby league community over the past two seasons, having relocated to Australia in order to continue playing in the NRL because of overseas travel restrictions during the pandemic.

Watch every 2021 NRL Telstra Finals Series match before Grand Final. Live & Ad-Break Free on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free >

But they’ve endured a tumultuous time of late. The Warriors finished 10th in 2020 and 12th in 2021, having been led by three coaches across the past two seasons.

The club sacked Stephen Kearney, then was rejected by caretaker Todd Payten for North Queensland before signing Nathan Brown for the 2021 season. Phil Gould was brought in as a consultant but quickly moved on to the Bulldogs and the Warriors saw inspirational captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck go to rugby to chase an All Blacks jersey.

While the Warriors have made plenty of sacrifices, there was little sympathy for them after Sunday’s 44-0 loss to the Gold Coast Titans.

The Warriors were mauled by the Gold Coast. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Kane Evans took a combined five-week ban with two weeks for a crusher tackle and three weeks for his involvement in a fight during the match that saw multiple players sin binned, and Matt Lodge was fined $5000, was suspended for a match and slammed for his actions that included flipping the bird to Gold Coast fansin an ugly finish to the year.

Gould savaged the team for a performance he never saw coming.

“What I saw was a disappointment in coach Nathan Brown’s face after the game, who said it was disgraceful – and it was,” Gould said on 100% Footy.

“And I don’t get it, because in the time I spent at the Warriors there was never any sign of this, there was never any sign that they would be like this.

“But they got to the last game of the season, you get a couple of blokes (where) once their pulse gets above 150 (beats per minute) the brain switches off and then all of a sudden they get into the ‘I don’t care’ mode.

“And then afterwards, when their pulse comes down, (they say), ‘I’m sorry’. But that wasn’t helpful at all.”

Matt Lodge has been hammered. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Big names in New Zealand rugby league have continued to savage the Warriors after their season ended. Footy legend Sir Graham Lowe delivered an all-time bake over the side’s performance in the final game of the year.

Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Elliott Smith, Lowe said something needed to change.

“I think Nathan (Brown) is in the centre of a storm that he’s not created himself and I think he needs to clear those around him right out and start with a new group of support people including assistant (and) including recruitment … something needs to change or nothing will,” Lowe said.

“To finish the year where they ended up wasn’t good enough, and then to top it off with a gutless performance like that, I think it was quite cowardly.”

Quite a pickle Nathan Brown has found himself in. Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images

Lowe also slammed the signing of Lodge from Brisbane, calling it “one of the most idiotic signings” he’s seen from the club.

“That bloke is being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars and he hasn’t turned up,” Lowe said. “He’s a failure, he’s a bully, he’s a thug and he showed what a coward he was as well.”

Former Warriors coach Tony Kemp also slammed the signing of Lodge, with the deal to get him from the Broncos sealed by the prop’s father-in-law and Warriors recruitment manager Peter O’Sullivan.

Lodge has played six games for the Warriors, but has also been suspended twice and missed weeks of football.

“I thought a few of their players really got frustrated with their season that it all boiled over in the end,” Kemp told SENZ’s Baz and Izzy for Breakfast on Monday.

“The way they finished the season with Lodge walking down the sideline giving the finger to the supporters is not a good look for a team that has struggled all year.

“That’s the first thing they need to sort out is not Matt Lodge giving the finger to the crowd, but the nepotism in the club where they are giving out money to their relatives and sign some decent players.”

Matt Lodge flipped the bird at the fans. Photo: Fox League

Kemp slammed the club’s recruitment, calling it “awful” and saying the return of former halfback Shaun Johnson at 32 years of age won’t fix the problems.

“They’ve got no hooker, their hooker (Wayde Egan) can’t tackle,” Kemp said.

“They need a strategy to get into the eight, they let go three hookers. One is playing for Manly, the other for Sydney City (Roosters) and the one we’ve got, if we think he’s taking us to a finals series, you’ve got rocks in your head.

“It’s a waste of time signing Addin Fonua-Blake and Johnson if you don’t have a hooker who is the driver of your car around the field for 80 minutes. For the life of me, I don’t know what they are thinking.”