League: Warriors make a clean break

Ivan Cleary

Ivan Cleary doesn't want to talk about last year. It's almost a refrain he uses when he bats away questions about what went wrong, what he's going to do to fix this problem or that, whether the players have been redirected away from repeating the mistakes of the past.

It's a new season and Cleary, who played 53 games for the club at fullback between 2000 and 2002, is confident the Warriors are in a position to push on from small gains that were made last year.

He reckons 2004 was so bad for the club with the mid-season change of coaches from Daniel Anderson to Tony Kemp that last year the team were still shell-shocked.

"Subconsciously we were happy to keep up rather than set the pace ourselves," he said this week.

Confidence was crucial, but "you have to earn confidence. Last year we were competitive. Now we have to set our sights higher and expect a bit more."

Cleary, 34, says he feels no nerves as he comes into his first season as a head coach after two as reserve-grade coach with the Roosters then one as assistant to Kemp.

He knows it will be a long, tough year. The salary cap has further levelled the playing field so that all teams are strong, and for that reason he sees no standout premiership contender.

Cleary doesn't want to engineer enormous change to the game plan.

"We have to play to our strengths and those strengths will become apparent and develop as the year goes on."

Some positional decisions have already been made. Nathan Fien will start at halfback and Lance Hohaia at hooker because Cleary believes Fien is the best seven and Hohaia the best nine.

Sione Faumuina will be five-eighth because he can break the line and get a pass away, and he is a strong defender. Never mind the lack of a kicking game - Fien and Hohaia will do the field kicking.

Faumuina beats Jerome Ropati to the six jersey simply because of his depth of NRL experience, Cleary says. "Five-eighth is a very important position. You have to make a lot of decisions in the game. You have to be NRL-hardened."

Tony Martin is fully recovered from the neck/shoulder problem that destroyed his 2005 season, and has put his hand up as goal-kicker.

Steve Price is over his knee troubles. Cleary is banking on another stellar year from Price and Ruben Wiki, plus a continuation of top form from the Kiwis players. The club has no post-surgery worries nor any major injury concerns going into this year, unlike last.

"There's not much talk about last year. There's a new feeling in the place, new coach, new CEO - last year's gone."

So has the team's playmaker for 11 years, Stacey Jones. Cleary agrees that there used to be something of a syndrome of waiting for Stacey to do something. Now the onus is on others to step up.

"I think that's good for us."

He looks at the talent that came through when he was at the club - Henry Fa'afili, Motu Tony, Clinton Toopi, Wairangi Koopu and others - and is sure there are more of similar ability out there.

Young players will get their chance, he vows.

"I want to bring a new culture in developing youth particularly in Auckland, so they don't go elsewhere. I think it's a positive that we have to give them a chance because of the personnel changes from last year. I believe in the young kids here."

Last year's debutantes, Simon Mannering and Manu Vatuvai, will get game-time but beyond that Cleary doesn't want to name those who may follow, not wanting to put too much pressure on them.

He already has a young squad, bar Price and Wiki. Experience is critical and in the past it has been inexperience in key moments in games that has let the Warriors down.

Last season, their preparation - just one game, against a second-grade Eels team - did not have them ready for the season start, Cleary believes. They received an early shock.

"I felt we lost early games because we didn't have our plan together."

This year they play Canberra here, then North Queensland in Cairns, and the Bulldogs on the Gold Coast before their season-opener against the Storm at Ericsson on Sunday, March 12.

The Warriors were never thrashed last season, never losing by more than 20 as every other NRL team did at some stage, but they lost too many close ones.

"A lot of teams prepared well for games here [at Ericsson Stadium]. A lot of them played their best football.

"We have to be successful here. I remember in 2002 [when they made the grand final] we won a few games before they'd started."

The opposition thought they were going to lose and so they did. Cleary wants to turn Ericsson into the fortress that is always talked about but happened just one year of 11 in the Aussie competition.

Also remembered from 2002 are the skills trainings.

"Skills are taken for granted. Here the guys are blessed with skills - in my time, when we were successful we practised that a lot."

Although problems with referees sometimes dented the Warriors' chances last season, Cleary has not talked to the NRL management or refs' boss.

"I don't see that as being a great use of time."

Fitness testing indicates the players are in good shape.

The successful Kiwis players are hungry for more.

There's competition for spots, "which creates hunger and that's a pretty powerful weapon", Cleary says. "Mentally, we're in a pretty good space."

He is the Warriors' sixth coach since 1995, Anderson the longest-serving with 3 years. Some stability will help them to further success.

With John Ackland in the development role, Cleary has a good judge of talent and a level-headed adviser.

Chief executive Wayne Scurrah promises a less volatile approach than that of his predecessor, Mick Watson.

There are reasons to be cheerful.


Ivan Cleary

* Born: March 1, 1971, Sydney
* Married with 3 children
* Played 189 games 1992-2002 for Manly (15), North Sydney (37), the Roosters (84) and the Warriors (53).
* Reserve grade coach at the Roosters 2003-04, won the championship 2004.