Sir Peter Leitch Club AT MT SMART STADIUM, HOME OF THE MIGHTY VODAFONE WARRIORS 23rd November 2016 Newsletter #149 Four Nations Grand Final Kiwis v Kangaroos Photos courtesy of www.photosport.nz ELL IT was not the result we wanted, second-best against the Kangaroos, going down 34-8. WThe atmosphere at Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC, was amazing. More than 40,000 fans in attend- ance. The Green and Gold machine was on fire and down 24-0 at half-time, all you could hope was that the Kiwis would show some grit and pride. We at least did that but you have to admit Australia were fabulous. I wish it had not been so, but credit where it is due, they were magnificent. Every cloud has a silver lining, and mine is that it has been a great experience touring with a good bunch of men, and I am also going to say new coach David Kidwell worked as hard as any man could. He was profes- sional, committed and I watched him do everything that could be expected of him. The other good thing is that I get to come home. I will confess I am ready. It is a long time away and I defy anyone not to miss the comforts of home, and their loved ones. It’s a cliché sure, but it is just a football game. There are people coping with the loss of loved ones after the earthquakes and watching the situation unfold from the other side of the world has been awful. Let’s end on a positive. Congratulations to the All Blacks for their fine win against Ireland. The All Blacks are back in the winning circle, the Kangaroos are too good for the Kiwis. Normal service has been resumed. But next year is the World Cup, and I love this game, and the Kiwis. We live to fight an- other day, so go the Kiwis. See you at home! - Sir Peter Leitch Kiwis Artwork by Joyce Putohe Sir Peter Leitch Club Newsletter Page 2 By David Kemeys Former Sunday Star-Times Editor, Former Editor-in-Chief Suburban Newspapers, Long Suffering Warriors Fan ELL SOMETIMES you just have to put your team - the week after the Nines and one against the Whand on your heart and admit that the better Titans in Palmerston North the week after. side won. It seems logical that if you stick a good side out for Such was the Four Nations final, and the better side the Nines, top players are going to get rested for one not only won, they did it in a clinical and profession- of those trials, limiting the team preparation in terms al way that left us totally outplayed 34-8. of continuity and working combinations. We are well-used to keeping the faith, at Mt Smart We all know a lot of the clubs – regardless of the hype and where the Kiwis are concerned, but it was obvi- –don’t take the Nines too seriously, whereas, and it’s ous early that this was a ruthless and efficient Kanga- understandable given it’s played in our backyard, the roos outfit determined to grab the title. Warriors have tended to put out a decent smattering of quality players. Behind after just three minutes, then nearly over, then blown chances, then watching the green and I don’t claim to speak for the fans. But here’s where I gold click into gear and tear us to pieces. am at. I don’t give a fat rat’s arse about the Nines, I do care that we start our year like busted cats. They utterly savaged us, so much so, I am going to live to my dear old mum’s motto: If you can’t say an- We’ve made the semi, we’ve made the final, but we ything nice, say nothing at all. So I’ll change tack and have never won the thing – or sort of, since the Eels go to the Vodafone Warriors. got stripped of the title they won by beating us. Last week we heard all about how the club expects a Ryan Hoffman says we are keeping our eye on the major change in attitude from the players, and that it prize of the NRL premiership. “We know what our has a structured plan to make it happen. priority is and our priority, I'm not ashamed to say it, is the NRL season.” Now we hear they are working on correcting some- thing every Warriors fan hates – the fact that we are Hallelujah. terrible at the start of the year. 2017 Downer NRL Nines Pool Draw We are notorious slow-starters, and there is no good reason for it. Waiheke pool: Sharks, Titans, Panthers, Bulldogs. Rangitoto pool: Knights, Tigers, Broncos, Storm. Rubbish start – good through Origin – there or there Hunua pool:Cowboys, Roosters, Raiders, Rabbitohs. abouts - fall apart. Piha pool: Dragons, Eels, Sea Eagles, Warriors. Sound familiar...it has been our story for way too Tickets are still available from ticketek.co.nz/nines long but apparently club management have spent a lot of time examining why it happens. What A joke More importantly, they are also looking at why it The prize for bare-faced cheek ahead of the Four happens so often. Nations final undoubtedly went to Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga, who called on referee Ben Cummins According to head honcho Jim Doyle, you have to to keep an eye on the 10-metres, so concerned was he take the NRL Nines into consideration. by the shortness of the pitch. I have a problem with that. We were terrible at the The famous Anfield, home of Liverpool FC, was nine start of the year before the Nines came along. metres shorter than regulation, organisers opting to keep a three-metre gap between the in-goal and the “If you go back and look at the last 14-15 years, the fence. Warriors have always started poorly, so it's not just that, we have got to look at everything, the preseason, how we start, the intensity of our trials.” We have a trial game – as yet against an unnamed Continued on next page... Sir Peter Leitch Club Newsletter Page 3 Continued from previous page... Liverpool Face THe akaH Meninga said before the game that it was no prob- Pete gave me a call from England last week, as ex- lem, as long as the players were kept the 10-metres cited as a dog with two tails. He wanted to rub it in, back. What he really meant was the Kiwis were kept knowing I am pretty keen on my English football, back, because I have never seen an Aussie volunteer that he had been in the company of Liverpool man- to go back 10 in my life. ager Jurgen Klopp. Johnson Opens Up The German impressed Pete no end, being exactly Pete’s kind of man –down to earth and not someone Best league story of the week – because it wasn’t with his “head up his own arse”. people interviewing their keyboards about the Four Nations final, was the excellent Michael Burgess What Liverpool made of welcoming the Kiwis to piece with Shaun Johnson, pointing out that the play- their Melwood training base ahead of the Four maker, and the man so many seem to love to hate, Nations final is not recorded, but they were certainly will soon have to decide whether to sign on again at mightily impressed when the boys did the haka for Penrose or go elsewhere. them. You’d have to wonder why he would want to stay, The boys presented Klopp with a Kiwis shirt and when he is constantly blamed for every defeat, derid- Reds goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who is 1.93m tall, ed as too slow, too selfish, lacking vision, you name admitted he felt “very small” next to some of our it, by the detractors - most of whom, I assume, have boys. He must have been blown away because he lat- never thrown a pass in their lives. er uploaded a video of the haka to his Facebook page, saying it was an honour but “frightening”. Johnson is off contract at the end of next season, and most often clubs lock up their big names early, and Kiwis back-rower Joseph Tapine admitted to being the club is in discussions with Johnson’s manage- a bit star struck.”You only really hear about them or ment. see them on TV so to be there in real life, we were buzzing.” “I’d like to stay,” Johnson told the Herald on Sunday’s Burgess. THe offH Wants Another Go “But one thing I have learned since being in the NRL Ryan Hoffman wants to be captain again – must be a is that it’s a business. I’ve seen players who have sat sucker for punishment. next to me in the locker room one day and they are gone the next. Things can change very fast.” You’ll recall Hoffman took over when Simon Man- nering wanted to step down, and now the Aussie Johnson turns 27 next year – hardly ancient. But a veteran says he wants to keep the captain’s stripes. player is only ever a horror injury away from being discarded, and this is, at the end of the day, a busi- “I got better throughout the year, but it took me a bit ness. So I don’t get too exercised when players look to to get used to,” Hoffman said.