NRL: Fun-loving Inu vows to work it out for Warriors

Krisnan Inu is maturing at the Warriors. Photo / Getty Images

The advice Michael Hagan received on Krisnan Inu before he made his NRL debut for the Eels in 2007 was that he could be "like rocks one day and diamonds the next".

Inu sparkled that year, making his Kiwis debut after just one NRL game and missing out on the NRL Rookie of the Year award only because another phenomenally gifted newcomer, Israel Folau, was judged even better. It was predicted he would become a superstar of the game but that star has faded.

While Inu has shown glimpses of that form since, particularly in 2009 when the Eels marched to the grand final on the back of a stunning run of results, he has also seen his career get stuck in the gravel.

How prophetic that advice to Hagan was.

A move to the Warriors was supposed to be a fresh start, a place where he could get his career back on track. But he was left out of the first team of the season against his old club last weekend, with 20-year-old novice Glen Fisiiahi preferred instead, and played against the Tigers last night after the knee injury to Manu Vatuvei.

At a reported $300,000 a season, Inu didn't come cheaply. It puts him in the upper echelon of earners at Mt Smart Stadium and there are certain expectations that come with that sort of money. Fisiiahi, who isn't in the Warriors' top 25, would be on a fraction of that.

The overriding thing people say about Inu is his sense of fun. He wasn't called the Smiling Assassin for nothing. But his work ethic is something that has let him down. Some have called him lazy; Hagan prefers to describe it as "casual".

"Given his reputation of what he's all capable of... I think he would be the first to admit he hasn't delivered on that," says Hagan, who was Eels coach for two seasons from 2007. "He's a really likeable young bloke and is good fun to be around but he just needs to understand when we are having fun and when we need to work hard. He probably hasn't made that distinction yet. Maybe that will come with a new start at the Warriors."

Inu insists it has and coach Ivan Cleary was impressed with his commitment in what he believed would have been the hardest pre-season training programme Inu would have been subjected to.

It's not easy for young players to cope with life as an overnight sensation. Expectations ratchet up significantly from the public, media, team-mates and coaches and the same people who build you up can cut you down just as quickly. Inu has been a regular on the rollercoaster and it hasn't always been comfortable as he's had to cope with injuries and non-selection. "[My career] has been a bit up and down and hasn't been as consistent as I would like," he says. "It was easier for me in my rookie year because no one really knew who I was and what I could do. Expectations weren't that high.

"I just seem to be the really relaxed sort of person. I tried to relax and not think too much about [what people were saying about me]. I know people expected a lot. I just wanted to go out there and have fun.

"[Not being picked] was tough. Growing up, I was always used to being in the team. I think it was a good learning curve for me to realise you're not always going to be picked. It made me realise there were younger, hungrier kids who wanted your position." Like Fisiiahi.

Inu sensed he wouldn't be picked for the first team of the year because of his form in the final trial game against Manly. He did some good things that day, like an effortless catch of a high bomb when under pressure, but also made errors you wouldn't expect an NRL player to make. He even let one kick sail over his head without trying to stop it.

For someone like team-mate Micheal Luck, who wasn't blessed with nearly as much talent as Inu but makes up for it with effort, it must have been hard to stomach.

"I love watching him play," Hagan says. "He can do things on a footy field some people can't do but he can also come up with those things you would rather not see, either. He just needs to learn when those situations arrive in the game. Unfortunately, in the game now you just can't have those loose errors if you play in the back three. Errors just kill you now."

The Warriors maintain a certain flair but they follow a largely homogenous game plan most other sides do, one element of which is getting to the kick.

"He's still growing up," Cleary says of the 24-year-old. "He's still maturing. Sometimes it's not always easy being consistent when you have those expectations surrounding you. The best way to be consistent is to live, train, work and play consistently.

"There are a lot of young guys in his position. It comes down to a bit of maturing to do. Part of this move should help him do that. He's lived all his life in the same area and been around family so coming over here is a change for him and I think that will help in the long run."

Inu knew he needed a change and didn't agonise long over the Warriors' offer. He insists he's loved everything about the move so far and insists he has changed.

"I think that's the old me," he says of Hagan's assessment of him. "I still like to have fun and get along with everyone. But the whole discipline thing has been the key of my training over here - knowing when to have fun and when to put your head down and work hard. It's a fresh attitude for a fresh start."