Kieran Foran a “winner” the Warriors need

Ryan Hoffman has endorsed Kieran Foran as the type of “winner” the Warriors desperately need to help the NRL’s most enigmatic line-up finally break their premiership duck.

Foran is yet to receive the green light from the NRL to resume playing following his well-documented struggles with mental illness, but is hopeful of resurrecting his career in his native New Zealand next season.

The former Kiwi international is undergoing shoulder rehab at the Warriors, with the club confident the league approves his registration – hopefully by Christmas.

With Cronulla landing their maiden title in 2016, after North Queensland broke through last year, the Warriors and Gold Coast are now the only two teams in the competition without a premiership.

Hoffman has personally won three with Melbourne, though two were later stripped for the Storm’s salary-cap breaches.

With a qualified opinion, the classy back-rower believes Foran – who guided Manly to the 2011 premiership – is exactly what the Warriors need to go to the next level in 2017.

“Just his status in the game. He’s a bloke that’s done everything – that’s a winner,” Hoffman told AAP at Wednesday’s Auckland Nines launch in Sydney.

“He’s a successful player, he knows what winning looks like and he knows what it takes to win so he’ll be a great example for a lot of our players.”

Hoffman also believes Foran would be the perfect foil for the Warriors’ go-to man and former Golden Boot winner Shaun Johnson.

“He’s a premiership-winning ball-player and we lost a very, very good five-eighth in Thomas Leuluai last year,” he said.

“To hopefully get another one like Kieran come along would put us in the right direction and take a little bit of pressure off Shaun as well.”

Despite their star-studded roster, the Warriors have failed to make the finals since losing to Manly in the 2011 decider and Hoffman says fans have every right to be frustrated at the side’s unpredictable nature.

“You’d love to know the magic formula (of success). You’d probably sell it for a million dollars,” he said.

“But it’s a mental thing with us. It’s about making sure our head space is in the right direction.

“Basically for the Warriors it’s going to be about us being comfortable about being uncomfortable. For every person in the club, we need to make sure we’re working hard for the greater good of the team.”

With Kiwi great Stephen Kearney replacing Andrew McFadden as head coach in 2017, Hoffman is confident the Warriors can deliver.

“Our focus in 2017 is playing to our potential,” he said.

“It’s going to be playing the way the Warriors should and need to play and it’s a bit of a fresh start but a fresh start with a bit of continuity with Andrew being involved but having Steve coming in.

“It’s been a good pre-season but the proof’s going to be in the pudding come the NRL season.”

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