There were high hopes for the Warriors heading into the 2022 season, but they ultimately lost more good players than they gained to finish second last just two wins off the spoon.
The club lost their best forward Matt Lodge to the Roosters after a falling out with the club’s owner and let Kodi Nikorima leave to join the Dolphins via a short stint with the Rabbitohs.
After doing the hard yards in a mooted rebuild, coach Nathan Brown agreed to mutually part ways with the club before they returned to New Zealand due to family reasons.
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Club legend Stacey Jones was given the second most daunting interim coach gig in the NRL behind only Tigers counterpart Brett Kimmorley.
Like the Tigers, the Warriors didn’t improve under their interim coach with their season effectively a write-off even before Brown left his post.
After finishing 12th in 2021, the Warriors won two less games in 2022 to finish second last and a return to the finals looks even further away than when they started this season.
A return home to New Zealand can’t come soon enough for the players and coaches, but if they are hoping that will be the magic bullet to turn this club around they are sadly mistaken.
Incoming coach Andrew Webster faces a huge job to turn the struggling club around after an extremely disappointing 2022 campaign.
Read on for the Warriors’ 2022 season review.
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WARRIORS SEASON REVIEW
2022 Record: W6 L18 – 25.00% win rate
Grading: F
What went right: The short answer is not a lot. The Warriors had high hopes heading into the season after reuniting with club legend Shaun Johnson to guide the team at halfback. But apart from winning a few games with clutch field goals, that’s about as good as the reunion got. The problem for the Warriors is some of their most consistent performers in 2022 are on their way out of the club. Eaun Aitken was arguably their most consistent player, but he will join the Dolphins next season. Reece Walsh and Jesse Arthars were two of their biggest attacking threats, but will both return to the Broncos in 2023. Matt Lodge was their most consistent forward early in the season, but is now proving his worth at the Roosters after a mid-season switch. Eliesa Katoa is set to join the Storm in 2023 and while he didn’t have his best season, he has the physical attributes to shine in the Melbourne system. There wasn’t much that went right on the field for the Warriors save for the fact they returned home and gave their long-suffering fans something to cheer about with a couple of good wins at Mt Smart Stadium. Most of what went right for the Warriors in 2022 was in their recruitment, but they won’t see the results until next season. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad will join the club from the Raiders to replace Walsh. Te Maire Martin joins from the Broncos to help bolster the halves and provide much needed support to Johnson, while he can also play fullback as he did so well at the Broncos in his comeback season. Mitchell Barnett from the Knights and Marata Niukore from the Eels are two important signings to add some much needed grit to their forward pack. Meanwhile, Dylan Walker is the kind of utility player with high energy that they desperately need to add some spark off the bench. Time will tell if their recruitment drive reaps rewards next season, but it did little to help their horror 2022 campaign. Tohu Harris returned from injury to give the team some much needed leadership and was again their most consistent performer when he played, but he can’t do it all on his own and he needs a lot more support in the pack.
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What went wrong: Matt Lodge’s departure from the club sums up the Warriors season. Lodge was the club’s best player early in the year, but an off-field bust up with owner Mark Robinson saw the club mutually part ways with the prop mid-season. Not only that, the Warriors gave Lodge a full payout of his contract through until the end of the 2023 season and it still counts on their salary cap for next year. Lodge is now on the verge of a premiership push with the Roosters. The Warriors thoroughly missed Lodge’s impact up front, particularly because their other big money bookend Addin Fonua-Blake battled injury and form issues all season. Fonua-Blake is signed to the club until 2026 on a monster deal, but he has failed to reach the heights of his Manly career so far in his time at the Warriors and the club needs more from their captain up front. Shaun Johnson was brought back to the club to provide an old head and experience in the playmaking stocks, but the team looked rudderless for most of the season as their star halfback’s form fluctuated wildly. It got to the point where there were calls for Johnson to retire with a year remaining on his contract, which shows how poorly the veteran No.7 was playing. Promising playmaker Chanel Harris-Tavita battled injuries and was even switched to fullback at different stages, before announcing he would step away form the game after the season. Nathan Brown chose to mutually part ways with the club because he did not want to uproot his family to New New Zealand ahead of the club’s return home in 2023 after three seasons in Australia due to the pandemic. Arguably the Warriors’ best attacking threat in Reece Walsh failed to reach the heights of his 2021 season and struggled to fire in his combination with Johnson, after all the hype surrounding what the pair of livewires could do together. Walsh then decided he too did not want to relocate to New Zealand before signing with the Broncos in a homecoming in 2023. The club have struggled to find spark out of dummyhalf and let arguably their best option at No.9 in Kodi Nikorima leave to join the Rabbitohs mid-season. However, the Warriors’ biggest issue is their defence after they conceded a whopping 700 points in 2022, which gave them the worst defensive record in the NRL. Until the club shows improvements in defence, it won’t matter how much attacking spark they can find and they won’t be climbing the ladder in a hurry.
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What they need: The positive for the Warriors is a lot of the things they need are already on the way to the club this off-season. They have a new coach in Andrew Webster, who while untested as a first grade NRL coach has served an excellent apprenticeship under Ivan Cleary at the Panthers. Webster comes form the best defensive system in the NRL and that’s where the Warriors need to start to turn things around. The signings of Te Maire Martin and Luke Metcalf helps bolster their halves and add some much needed support to hopefully bring out the best in Johnson again. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad might not have Walsh’s flair, but he is the type of solid fullback they need to tighten up their horror defence. Marata Niukore and Mitch Barnett are the type of no-nonsense forwards the Warriors desperately need to add some starch to their pack, which can only be described as soft at times in 2022. In terms of what they need that isn’t on their books or on the way, the Warriors could do with a marquee player at the peak of his powers, which they haven’t had since Roger Tuivasa-Sheck left the club. Wayde Egan is a solid hooker, but given the importance of the position, that might be one area to improve if the right player becomes available. The club also need to replace Lodge up front and they need Fonua-Blake to get back to his best and most consistent footy. But the most important ingredient the Warriors need is a tougher defensive system and unit to deliver Webster’s vision without the ball because if they concede 700 points again next season it will just be more of the same.
Going: Euan Aitken (Dolphins), Reece Walsh (Broncos), Eliesa Katoa (Storm)
Coming: Marata Niukore (Eels), Luke Metcalf (Sharks), Dylan Walker (Sea Eagles), Mitchell Barnett (Knights), Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (Raiders), Te Maire Martin (Broncos).
