Ex-Warrior Peta Hiku in action for the Cowboys against his former club. Photo / Photosport
Ex-Warrior Peta Hiku in action for the Cowboys against his former club. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
The Warriors need to show more patience with their local products - otherwise they will continue to be left behind in the NRL.
The sight of Peta Hiku playing a starring role in the North Queensland Cowboys' remarkable season has been a sobering one for the Mt Smart faithful.
The former Warrior has played every game for the Townsville club in 2022 and scored a brilliant try in their 32-30 playoff win over the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday.
Hiku was a popular member of the Warriors squad, who offered leadership and experience.
He also brought creativity in the outside backs, something the Auckland club has been desperately short of this year.
But Nathan Brown and the Warriors hierarchy only came up with a one-year extension, allowing Cowboys coach Todd Payten to swoop with a two-season deal.
The Warriors used six different players in the centres across the past season, with eight different combinations. Both edges were a constant issue, especially defensively.
Viliami Vailea is a prospect but none of the other options had more upside than Hiku.
Brown hadn't seen much of Hiku – due to an injury early in the 2021 season – which probably coloured his judgement, while there was also concern about the severity of a shoulder injury (though Hiku was always confident he would recover).
Peta Hiku of the Cowboys scores a try against the Warriors. Photo / Photosport
The frustration around Hiku could be amplified next season, with the release of Eliesa Katoa, who has been snapped up by the Melbourne Storm.
Katoa had a quiet year, especially by the standards of his 2020 rookie season, when he was off the charts. But his potential is obvious.
Just check these soundbites from a Warriors press release in May 2020, trumpeting his two-year contract extension, after a handful of NRL games.
Then coach Stephen Kearney: "He's a wonderful boy. He displays those values every day whether it's at training or helping bring equipment in. You wish you had 30 of them. Eli's a really important part of our club's future."
Head of athletic performance Craig Twentyman raved about Katoa's exceptional physical ability: "His strength, power and size are obviously massive attributes for him. What further enhances his physical profile is his aerobic capacity and power and that gives him the ability to repeat high intensity efforts right throughout a game."
Just like the long lamented Isaiah Papali'i, Katoa ticks most boxes in terms of character and talent.
He is the kind of player that fans could not only get excited about, but also relate to.
But he's on his way, after being granted a release in August.
The Warriors hierarchy pointed to their depth in the forwards, with Marata Niukore and Mitch Barnett arriving next year.
Privately, they will also mention Katoa's struggles this season, with only seven starting appearances and another eight off the bench.
But maybe the environment wasn't quite right?
Eliesa Katoa will join the Storm. Photo / Photosport
Maybe Brown's style didn't suit Katoa, who only played 11 games for the Junior Warriors, before his jump into the NRL in 2020.
With all their issues on and off the field last season, it wasn't a great place to develop. The fact that the Storm were chasing Katoa should have also been a warning.
There aren't many others in the Warriors pack that Melbourne would be banging down the door to sign.
Katoa remains a league novice. The 22-year-old has things to work on in his game and that blazing 2020 introduction to the NRL probably set expectations too high, for both player and club.
But Katoa just needs to develop, with time invested in him because his ceiling could be anything.
It was the same with Papali'i, now one of the most in-demand back rowers in the NRL.
The Warriors were also ambivalent about Chanel Harris-Tavita for a long time, seemingly unwilling to commit to him, which no doubt contributed to his loss of enjoyment of the sport.
It's not easy to develop homegrown talent in the NRL, especially from New Zealand, with the different pathways.
It takes extra work and perseverance but the payoffs are immense, if you get it right, shown by the 2002, 2003, 2008, 2011 and 2018 Warriors teams, which were all built on the foundations of local graduates.
