Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been ruled out of the Warriors' clash against Melbourne Storm. Photo / Photosport
COMMENT
Maybe this is what Shaun Johnson was talking about.
Warriors coach Stephen Kearney just scored a nought out of 10 in communication skills and building trust.
For now, he's dead in the water with the media (and probably some fans) over the bizarre Roger Tuivasa-Sheck injury mess.
It would take a truly wondrous explanation to turn that situation around. Anything that comes out of his mouth right now will be considered a joke.
Until now, Kearney has generally been viewed as a good bloke with his heart in the right place, even though sceptics rightly wondered if he really was up to the NRL coaching task.
The latest incident leaves you wondering how he relates to his team, where his head is at.
On Tuesday, a TVNZ reporter tweeted that Tuivasa-Sheck would be pulled out of tonight's match against the Storm in Melbourne because of a hamstring injury. Kearney vehemently denied this claim.
This was Kearney's response.
"Yesterday was a light run, when it was two-days post our match. He (Tuivasa-Sheck) completed training yesterday, and he's fine to go," he told Radio Sport.
"Not unless you know something I don't. Unfortunately, that's the distraction of social media where I'm pretty sure that's where it all comes from."
Kearney not only failed to acknowledge any Tuivasa-Sheck injury situation, he needlessly put the boot into social media to strengthen his claim that the captain would play.
As it turned out, social media was a lot more reliable than the coach in this instance. Yesterday, Tuivasa-Sheck was omitted from the team because of a hamstring injury.
What are the possibilities here?
1) Kearney didn't know Tuivasa-Sheck was that badly injured, which implies his captain or medical staff told others before the coach. This is the worst scenario, suggesting internal discord.
2) Kearney does not believe the fans and media have any right to know about serious injuries to leading players, that he can totally mislead the public in the face of well-sourced information.
3) The pressure is getting to Kearney, a contributing factor in a team which isn't progressing, and probably regressing.
As his team unravelled via injuries, maybe Kearney had second thoughts about risking his captain's injury, deciding basically to concede the game in Melbourne and save him for far more winnable games. This still doesn't explain the accuracy of the reporter's original tweet compared to Kearney's denial.
If Kearney did know about the injury, the obvious answer to genuine media enquiries was to at least use the old "there is a niggle" line and accept there was some doubt. This is everyday, basic information in the world of professional sport.
The strength of Kearney's denial about the brilliant fullback's injury situation is the big problem.
Stephen Kearney is starting to leave a trail of debris which can't be ignored.
The performances are erratic/disappointing, the shape of the team is messy, and only a handful of players are at or near their best.
Players recruited during Kearney's time — such as Gerard Beale, Adam Keighran and Leeson Ah Mau — have had little impact (Kearney appeared to quickly lose faith in both Beale and Keighran).
The club also gave a ridiculously large contract to veteran Adam Blair, whose form has been horrible this season.
There was also the Kieran Foran catastrophe.
And whatever the view of Johnson the player, a club legend of his ilk deserved a more respectful departure than the management managed. There didn't seem to be much of a succession plan either.
After Johnson headed to the Sharks, he declared he felt ostracised under Kearney, that the coach didn't like him. What seemed to be missing for Johnson was a clear understanding about where he stood. Yet Kearney was bemused, saying he didn't know what Johnson was on about.
The rest of us might be starting to understand what Johnson was on about.
Kearney has a dry wit, and can also talk in deliberate riddles as do many coaches who can't tell us absolutely everything.
But there are justifiable riddles, and then there is unacceptable BS.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist joins the renewed franchise.