Former Warriors coach Tony Kemp wants a broom swept through the struggling NRL club, starting with management, after the worst start to a season in their 18-year history.
Kemp says a losing culture is becoming ingrained and that calls to change players or remove first-year coach Matthew Elliott don’t address the key problem.
“It needs to start at the top and you’ve got to look at everything that’s going on,” Kemp told AAP.
“Through your recruitment, your management style, the appointment of your coaches and the signing of players.
“They’ve had enough rope and it’s not working. The culture of the club is creeping right down through to the playing ranks and needs to be completely changed.”
Following an eight-match losing streak at the end of 2012, Elliott has overseen the worst start to any Warriors season since they were formed in 1995.
Their 2-8 record through 10 games is worse than a 3-7 start in four previous campaigns, including the first of Kemp’s two seasons in charge in 2004. They also won two, drew two and lost six to begin 2000.
A club record 62-6 loss to the Panthers on Saturday was the last straw for former Kiwis centre Kemp.
He noted Steven Humphreys had resigned as chief executive of the last-placed Wests Tigers over the weekend. The Tigers have also lost eight games and sit narrowly behind the Warriors only on points differential.
If Warriors management don’t follow suit, Kemp says it won’t be long until millionaire club owners Eric Watson and Owen Glenn start sharpening their knives.
“They want success and I’m pretty sure they’ll see there’s something not right at that club and they’ll need to change it,” he said.
“They want success. They don’t want a situation that we have now where the best young players in New Zealand are more attracted by offers to develop at an Australian club than they are to be at the Warriors.”
Kemp says New Zealand is providing a growing base of players in the NRL but accuses the Warriors of ignoring the riches on their own doorstep.
“It’s got a culture of `we’re the best team and we’re the only team in New Zealand, we don’t have to do this’ and they find themselves where they are today.”
