As the Warriors prepare for a third season away from home, chairman Rob Croot reveals just how perilious things were last year, the human cost of the Covid pandemic on the club and details his expectations for 2022.
In April last year, the Warriors hierarchy were preparing for the worst.
With the NRL shutdown – and no sign of when it was going to start again – the 'what if' conversations were beginning in the board room.
While they were determined to find a way through, the owners had to plan for every contingency, which included the possibility of being unable to keep the club afloat.
Warriors chairman Rob Croot was reflecting on those turbulent times recently, as October marked two years since Autex Industries gained sole ownership of the NRL club.
Little has gone to plan since, as the sporting world has been turned upside down by the Covid pandemic, with the Warriors one of the worst affected teams in Australasia.
"We had a board meeting a few days ago and actually had a look at that, purely from a financial perspective of how bad it could have been and how we've come through it, so it's certainly not what we imagined," Croot tells the Herald.
"When Covid first hit, I was getting prepared for a conversation to say if things go [really] bad we will have to walk away. [Under] the worst case scenario, right at the start, it just wouldn't have made financial sense to find a way through.
"The NRL's financial help - for all clubs - at that stage, provided a light and a pathway for us and we've been able to navigate it since then."
Warriors CEO Cameron George with the Warriors ownership group Mark Robinson, Rob Croot and Cameron McGregor. Photo / Photosport
Fiscally, the club has survived - but there has been an enormous toll.
Aside from all the intangible effects of being away from New Zealand – from marketplace visibility, connection with the supporter base to attracting new commercial support – there has been a significant human cost.
"We've had to let go a lot of staff that gave an enormous amount to our club, because we've had to adjust for survival," says Croot.
Before Covid, the accounts department at the Mt Smart headquarters was moved upstairs, with limited space in the busy main office area. From a bubbling, thriving environment, there are now only a handful of staff there on any given day.
"We are skint out at Mt Smart," says Croot. "The commercial side of it is seized up, game day is a couple of people and they are doing merchandising, ticketing the whole lot, just because there's not really been a lot going on.
"A lot of good people that were committed to the club aren't sitting in the chairs now. The human cost doesn't sit on a profit and loss or a balance sheet."
The Warriors will be offshore for a third consecutive season in 2022, based at Redcliffe in north-east Brisbane. Borders permitting, they hope to play several games in Auckland on a fly in, fly out basis, but whatever unfolds it will be another season of financial struggle.
"It's a big dent," says Croot. "Survivable, but another big dent. It's not good. You build everything for being here, all the sponsors are here and you can't deliver the value that you should in that relationship, so we've been incredibly lucky to have our sponsors stand behind us. But facing a third year away – it doesn't even feel real at the moment."
Croot is reluctant to put an exact figure on Covid's impact, but concedes it has cost the club "millions", which has curtailed all their investment plans.
"If the club was going okay, the money that we were prepared to put in, instead of keeping things running, would have gone into development and setting things up better for the future," says Croot.
"It has stunted the development; we have had to pull back. We didn't buy the club to make a profit; we were setting up the development and pathways, to really commit to it back here. What [Covid] has done is set our dreams back by millions."
Warriors coach Nathan Brown talks with Kodi Nikorima. Photo / Photosport
The 2021 season was a disappointment. There were caveats, particularly with the multiple relocations and an injury toll that meant 36 players were used, more than any other NRL team except the Broncos.
But the tally of eight wins was one of the lowest in club history, with only one top eight scalp, while few players improved significantly across the season. It has left some lingering questions around Nathan Brown and his coaching team, but Croot is supportive.
"Considering everything that we have been dealing with, I think they [were] terrific," says Croot. "Brownie inherited somebody else's plans and he's been working through and setting things up for the way that he wants it to be.
"We were really happy with Browny, where he is heading and where things sit within football. Obviously we made a commitment with Phil Gould, which we weren't able to realize and a lot of the investment that we were looking at had to go on hold."
There is a lot of hope pinned on Shaun Johnson's return next year, along with the first full pre-season for Brown with his entire squad. Improvement is expected, but Croot refrains from setting a specific target.
"[It's about] building on where we are," says Croot. "Everything that we do needs to be better. We were fairly proud of most performances [in 2021].
"[There were] four, five games last season that were very close; if they had swung our way it would have been a very different picture. While it looks like we're a long way away, we're actually not too far away from where we want to be.
"Give us some stability, some certainty and some things to build on and we are heading in a really nice direction."
