Kearney accuses Warriors of not trying in Knights loss
Steve Orme
New Zealand Warriors coach Stephen Kearney accused several of his players of not trying in Saturday's 26-10 loss to wooden-spoon favourites Newcastle.
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The Warriors were already no hope of making the NRL finals after a disappointing maiden campaign under Kearney but the coach couldn't cop what his players dished up against the Knights.
He didn't name names but the mild-mannered Kiwi couldn't contain his frustrations after his side's fifth-straight loss.
"I was disappointed today, I just thought some guys out there were trying really hard and some guys that weren't," Kearney said.
"… There was some effort from some individuals but then there was some effort from others that would be very questionable – and in this competition you just can't have that."
Asked if he could explain why some of his players weren't trying, Kearney conceded the issues at the Warriors run deep after several poor years.
"I wish I could," he said.
"… It's been a tough old few years for the footy club.
"We're trying to turn things around and sometimes when they've had some habits that are not real good ones, it's tough.
"… The idea is to probably get some players in there that know that but you can't click the fingers and that happens.
"If I thought that making wholesale changes was going to change some things out there then I would have made some changes a fair while ago.
"It's just a process we've got to keep working through. There's only one group of people that are going to get ourselves out of this and that's everyone that's in that dressing shed.
"But I know there's a few scars there that have been there for some time and we've just got to keep chipping away at it and if individuals aren't up to getting that done I'll have to get some new ones in there."
It was a disastrous day all round for the Warriors, with their once-powerful Holden Cup side copping a 70-4 hiding.
"There's a lot of things at the football club that need to change and obviously we're working through a process that is hopefully going to help to do that," Kearney said when reminded of the Holden Cup debacle.
"But again, there's things that have probably let slip in the last little while and that's what happens when you take your eye off the ball."