Graham Lowe: Hard truths in my interim report

There are six rounds left for Warriors fans to endure. I'd like to see the team finish strongly, but they are lame ducks and I give them no hope.

While the top-eight clubs are fighting out the NRL finals series the Warriors need to understand where they went wrong.

The scorecard against the Dragons last week told me the story of the year, not just 80 minutes of football.

The problem s there is a chance this disaster could be repeated next year if drastic changes are not made.

My interim report card is as follows:

Report card thus far ...

1.) Front office and image of club

Chief executive Wayne Scurrah has done a good job building the brand of the club. A great crowd of more than 13,000 people against the Dragons was typical. But they need high standards when signing players. The chief executive should ask the football staff before every signing, "will he be good enough to be an international?" If the answer is no, don't sign.

Result - PASS

2.) Recruitment

A designated recruitment manager should be in place. With the Warriors, it is handled by the coaches. This is a mistake. A good recruitment person should have the confidence of the head coach and should be able to see what others can't see. He has to understand the philosophy of the coach and be able to second guess him. Any good coach I have ever known has had this calibre of person supporting him.

And there is no way that the Warriors do not need to sign another halfback.

Result - FAIL

3.) Retention

The release of Michael Witt and Nathan Fein caused major problems. In Witt, they lost a game-winning kicker and failed to improve the team. With Fein they lost a leader.

Result - FAIL

4.) Tactics

The tactics this season have been totally ineffective. Simple, uncomplicated structures have never been evident. There seemed to be a total lack of direction or ideas.

Result - FAIL

5.) Defence

This has been the only part of the Warriors game to remain positive. However, there does seem to be an element of panic at times.

Result - PASS

6.) Attack

The lack of attacking structure is alarming. Even more alarming is the predictability and lack of depth in formation. The better teams in the NRL have focused more on their attack and in some ways have adopted a "we just need to score more than you" mentality.

In other words, while no one is playing down the importance of defence, attacking plays are behind most winning performances.

Result - FAIL

7.) Selection

Poor selection has cost the Warriors a number of games this year.

In my view they are far too conservative and maybe are not going through the selection process correctly.

This season has been wasted and coaching staff have a lot to answer for. The buck does stop with Ivan Cleary but his assistant John Ackland must also be accountable.

Former All Black coach John Hart oversees the football department and I'm certain he must feel his position is in jeopardy. Hart knows more than most you must pick the right players at the right time. Now he needs to find someone who can do that.

Result - FAIL