New Zealand’s NRL representatives, the Warriors, are seemingly in a state of disarray, unacceptable in a country where rugby is part of the national identity.
Their recent 26 – 12 loss to the St. George Illawarra Dragons on Sunday provides only the most optimistic that the Warriors’ fortunes can only improve.
In the last game, they could not hold the ball, let alone create any opportunities. It makes little sense to point accusatory fingers at the performances of Isaac Luke or Shaun Johnson when the front liners insist on dropping the ball to the tune of 21 errors against the Dragons.
If the Dragons, who are off to a good start in the 2017 Telstra NRL Premiership, were more proficient attackers than they are, the winning margin could have been even more egregious. The sad fact is that the Dragons did not need to do more.
The calculated, if dodgy, risk of adding Kieran Foran in the offseason was far from the panacea the Warriors sought. Ignoring the off-field issues, Foran is simply damaged goods from both an upper and a lower body perspective.
Given the drift toward the NFL-blame-the-head-coach philosophy, it would be reasonable to speculate that coach Steve Curry has seen the platter being shined and the axe sharpened in anticipation of soon having his head and shoulders in separate locations.