Where's the mongrel, Wendell asks Warriors

BY AARON LAWTON

EXCLUSIVE: THE Warriors have lost their aura.

That's the stunning verdict from one of rugby league's greats Wendell "Dell" Sailor who in today's Sunday News has admitted the once-feared club's forward pack is lacking mongrel.

Dragons cult hero Sailor has revealed his surprise at how flimsy the Warriors were in the middle of the park when St George came to town several weeks ago.

The Dragons ended up winning that match at Mt Smart Stadium 29-4 and Sailor says his body wasn't as bruised as usual after the contest.

"I'll be honest, I'm not going to say they've lost it totally because they nearly beat us down in Wollongong," Sailor in an exclusive interview with Sunday News said.

"But over there in New Zealand, it's usually a real hard game on your body and last time it wasn't as hard.

"I think they've lost their aggression through the middle. It wasn't as ruthless as the Warriors are usually through the middle.

"Now (coach) Ivan Cleary is a guy I've got a lot of time for and if I was him, I'd be looking to get guys like Monty Betham and Ruben Wiki involved.

"They're the guys you need involved to foster the culture at that football club.You need that toughness back in that Warriors pack and I'm talking about blokes who don't talk tough. I'm talking about blokes who play tough."

Sailor, who returned to the NRL midway through the 2008 season after a two-year ban for testing positive for cocaine, believes one way the Warriors could add some starch to their pack would be by luring former skipper Monty Betham, 31, out of retirement.

"`The Warriors have got Steven Price and guys like that who play well but Monty Betham, well I see him as a similar player to Jeremy Smith for us here at the Dragons.

"You want to play with those guys. Probably the worst mistake I made in my league career was in 2000, before I went to union, I pushed Monty Betham and gave him a bit of a sledge.

"The boys came up to me straight away and they were saying `Are you serious?' If he had thrown a couple of punches at me, I'm pretty sure I would have been sleeping."

Since Ruben Wiki's retirement last year, Sailor says the Warriors have lacked Polynesian leadership.

"Monty is one of those guys you would want to play beside and I'm not being racist here but he would be a great leader for the young Polynesian boys coming through."

If Betham does want to launch a comeback, he won't lack the support of his potential Warriors team-mates. Lance Hohaia, who played four seasons with him at the Warriors, welcomed the prospect.

"I definitely think Monty would still have the legs and the drive to play in the NRL," Hohaia told Sunday News. "I played alongside him earlier in my career and he's definitely the sort of player you want to be in the trenches with."

While Betham is a "defensive" back-rower and the Warriors don't lack in that position, his leadership and aggressive on-field persona would be just what the club needs to get back on track next year.

If the Warriors aren't interested in signing Betham to play, he says he would still love to get involved as a forwards coach.

"Look across the ditch at some of the other teams in the NRL and their forward packs have been getting help from former players," said Betham. "Souths have been using Gorden Tallis this year and I think I could help the Warriors' forwards quite immensely, really.

"First things first, I'd look to address their tackle technique and really emphasise the importance of the first shoulder contact. That was a crucial area of focus in the Warriors teams I was part of."

- © Fairfax NZ News