Warriors’ hopes ‘hinge on home games in NZ’

Former NRL stars Brett Kimmorley and Robbie Farah say the Warriors need more consistent selections in their ‘‘spine’’ and must get games in Auckland to have a shot at the playoffs next year.

In a Warriors season review for NRL TV, the exAustralian internationals identified the Warriors’ long exile in Australia as a major stumbling block to their topeight chances in 2022.

Asked if the Warriors would finish higher or lower than 2021’s 12th placing, Kimmorely said: ‘‘They will go close to that, maybe a little bit higher’’.

‘‘I will say lower,’’ Farah said, ‘‘if they’re not going to go home. There’s talk of them being based out of Redcliffe [in Queensland] next season; that’s the third season in a row, living away from home.

‘‘If they go home, they will definitely go higher. You can’t under-estimate the importance playing in front of your home crowd, living out of your home and having some sort of normality.

‘‘I think it will be a massive boost to them if they can get home.’’

The Warriors are hoping to play six home games in Auckland and six home games in Redcliffe in 2022, but that will be dependent on border access between Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand’s only NRL club last played in Auckland more than two years ago. Only four players – Adam Pompey, Kodi Nikorima, Jazz Tevaga and Chanel Harris-Tavita – remain on the Warriors’ books from the match-day squad that lost 30-15 to the South Sydney Rabbitohs before 15,295 fans on August 30, 2019.

Farah said while it had been tough for Warriors players being based in Australia for two years, it was also hard on their fans, ‘‘ who haven’t been able to watch their side live at Mt Smart Stadium’’.

On a general note, Kimmorley felt the Warriors had shown promise through recruited a bigger forward pack and having a consistently high completion rate at the start of the season before injuries and captain Roger Tuivasa-Scheck’s early departure to rugby union took their toll.

Both he and Farah hailed the emergence of rookie fullback Reece Walsh, with Kimmorley claiming the teenager would be ‘‘better next year than he’s been this year’’ with Shaun Johnson’s return taking the pressure off him.

However, Walsh would be ‘‘more notice, which makes it harder to shine, that second season syndrome’’.

Both pundits said the Warriors needed to be more consistent with their selections in the spine of their backline – scrumhalf, standoff and fullback.