Warriors throw another match away

DUNCAN JOHNSTONE

Last updated 05:00 20/08/2012

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Embattled coach Brian McClennan was talking up the commitment of his players rather than his own questionable future after the blowtorch turned up further with the Warriors suffering their sixth consecutive NRL loss in Auckland yesterday.

It came in familiar circumstances - chased down at the finish with Panthers centre Travis Robinson scrambling over for a try three minutes from the finish and Lachlan Coote converting for an 18-16 win.

Yes, there was far better heart shown by the Warriors than in their two recent humiliations at the hands of the Sharks and Cowboys, especially as they battled another injury crisis that left hooker Nathan Friend with a dislocated shoulder and the side desperately short on substitutions as they battled a mountain of Penrith possession over the last quarter.

But the cold, hard facts remain that they were again guilty of surrendering a handy lead, being 10 points clear of the Panthers at Mt Smart before disaster struck again.

Whether character can save McClennan remains to be seen, with the club having had talks with Kiwis coach and former Eels boss Steve Kearney at the weekend. McClennan was privy to those discussions but wouldn't elaborate on their possible outcomes.

“We've had a catch-up, but our talks remain private,” McClennan said.

It's understood there is increasing pressure from the Warriors owners to turn things around at any cost. A win yesterday was crucial. For 77 minutes that looked possible. But in the end the spectre of an ugly win turned into another nightmare loss for McClennan.

“It's not the result I was hoping for, but looking at the performance in terms of effort everyone dug in,” McClennan said.

He said he has been given no indication of his future and was preparing for business as usual with the Warriors facing the Dragons in Sydney next Saturday and the Raiders at home the weekend after to wrap up a sorry campaign that sees them still battling to avoid the wooden spoon.

“As far as I'm concerned I just keep trying to do my best for the players ,and I'll control what I can control and that's how I prepare myself and work with the staff to prepare the team,” McClennan said.

“I'm pretty proud with what happened out there. I know the result wasn't the result that we all wanted . . . we tried really hard today but it ain't the result we wanted . . . especially given all the stakeholders.”

This was a mistake-riddled match from both sides operating at the wrong end of the table. The Warriors edged the Panthers 15-14 in the errors statistics.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary, the man McClennan replaced, was being diplomatic when he was asked about the current state of affairs and what should happen at the New Zealand franchise.

Cleary was delighted to get a desperate win that lifts them to 14th, just two points behind the Warriors on the table. But he seemed almost embarrassed by the manner of victory.

Asked about his old Warriors side which he guided to the grand final last year, Cleary said: “It's hard for me. I don't really know what the full story is. I guess the fact is it's been a disappointing year for them.

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“We've got enough problems in our own back yard. The (Warriors) club are obviously smart enough to work out how to go forward. The club should be in good shape . . . there's still plenty of talent in the playing roster, there are a lot of good kids that have had some experience this year. With that in mind, I'm sure they will work it out and go forward.”

With Micheal Luck playing good minutes, and Elijah Taylor back in the mix, there was certainly more defensive steel displayed by the Warriors than the last two routs.

Ben Henry, moved to the centres to replace the axed Konrad Hurrell, scored two tries, bookending a touchdown by Shaun Johnson. But it amounted to nothing in the end.