Warriors CEO Cameron George is in full support of his coach Nathan Brown's decision to not allow three players from competing in the upcoming NRL All Stars match.
Brown elected not to release Tohu Harris, Kodi Nikorima and Chanel Harris-Tavita who had been picked for the Māori to face the Indigenous side in Townsville on February 20.
But George told Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB's Sportstalk the decision comes purely down to footballing reasons looking ahead to the club's NRL campaign.
"It's very important from a new coach's perspective, a lot of new players and everyone involved in the squad that they gel together as much as possible," he says.
"Three key players that are critical to the functions of the team are absent. It doesn't create the best way forward for our team to gel and progress in the preseason to start the year off as best we can.
"We already had half of our preseason wiped out due to the unique circumstance. Everyone wants to see us win, everyone wants to see us do well and we need to make every minute count in our very very short preseason that only Covid-19 has driven.
"Previously we supported the concept [of an Indigenous-Māori match], in the future we'll support the concept."
Warriors players in preseason training. Photo / Photosport
Two Warriors players in Jamayne Taunoa-Brown and Josh Curran have been released to play for the Indigenous team, but George says that decision is due to the fact they are not consistent first-teamers.
"If any number of our players were selected in the All-Stars game, we certainly as we have with Josh and Jamayne [will] have high fived them and said that's great, good luck," he says.
"It's just the three players we're referring to in Chanel, Kodi who plays six and seven and also Tohu Harris, are just critical to the functions of our team, in a new team with a new coach."
George says the situation was explained to Māori coach David Kidwell, who was content with the decision.
"Nathan Brown had numerous discussions with David Kidwell and the players concerned, and everyone was comfortable with it. It's now creating a bit of a storm, but the reality is everyone was aware of it."
The Warriors have a lone preseason match on February 27 against the Gold Coast Titans, which will be their only trial as a full team due to the ongoing pandemic.
That will follow on from a trial against the Melbourne Storm in Redcliffe a week earlier on the same night as the All Stars contest. It will be restricted to players with 10 or less games under their belt in the last 12 months.
