By Michael Burgess
Analysis - Not so long ago the Warriors were in chaos.
The Warriors have turned their 2020 season into an unlikely success story from where they were a few months ago. Photo: Photosport Ltd 2020
The shock exit of Stephen Kearney in late June was followed by a 50 point drubbing at the hands of Melbourne, in Todd Payten's first game.
At that stage, given all their other issues, including a group of players wanting to go home, it looked like the Warriors were staring into the abyss.
They were two points off the bottom of the NRL table and seemed to have few prospects.
But now the Warriors are the only club that can break into the existing top eight, while seven teams below them are gone for the season.
Over the past five weeks only two teams (the Panthers and the Rabbitohs) have won more matches than the Auckland club, who have engineered a remarkable recovery.
How has this happened?
Aside from the inspirational example of captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, which has been well publicised, here are six other reasons for the Warriors' 2020 'miracle'.
Becoming immune to adversity
An important catalyst for the Warriors' recent revivial was an acceptance of their situation and an ability to embrace whatever chaos came their way.
According to one source, the squad have become "almost immune to adversity".
At one stage every week there seemed to be new drama; Kearney's abrupt sacking, the prolonged coaching search, loan players coming and going, a substantial injury rate, Payten's 'no thanks' to the full time coaching role and five players returning to New Zealand for personal reasons.
And above all, there the constant uncertainty about their situation. When the squad first left for Australia in early May not many felt they would be away for six months. There was an unspoken expectation that they would be able to come home.
But around six or seven weeks ago it became obvious that a trans-Tasman bubble was not going to happen, which fixed their fate.
The team accepted the reality and turned their focus on maximising the rest of their campaign.
The toughness of Tohu
Tohu Harris has had arguably the best season of his career.
Warriors forward Tohu Harris. Photo: Photosport Ltd 2018 www.photosport.nz
He might not have the same profile that he enjoyed during his prosperous Melbourne Storm years, but few players across the NRL are more important to their team's cause than Harris right now.
He is one of only three ever-present Warriors in 2020, and the other two are both interchange forwards, rather than 80 minute men.
At times he has carried the Warriors pack on his shoulders, particularly coming to the fore over the last six weeks.
During that period Harris has been doing a double shift. He starts in his usual backrow position on the edge, then moves into the middle. Harris has also been given some playmaking responsibility.
Despite these demands, he has maintained the quantity and quality of his work.
The 28-year-old averages 164 running metres over the last five weeks and 41 tackles a game. During that time he's also barely missed a tackle (seven in the last six games).
Coaching tweaks
In his first two weeks as interim head coach, Todd Payten made some subtle but important changes.
He switched the responsibilities of the coaching staff, with Tony Iro and Stacey Jones taking control of the attack and Payten and Justin Morgan focussing on the defence.
According to one insider it "freshened things up for everyone" and has been a "positive move".
Jones and Iro have made tweaks to the offensive side of the game, which has seen the outside backs getting the ball with more room to move and improved second phase play.
Warriors assistant coach Stacey Jones and Tony Iro are now leading the team's attack strategy while Payten and Justin Morgan focus on defence. Photo: Photosport
Adjustments by Payten and Morgan have helped to solidify the team's work without the ball, with the Warriors' defensive attitude a stand-out feature of the past six weeks.
The team has also coped well without Blake Green, who had been a strong voice and their lead playmaker since 2018.
When he suddenly left to join the Knights at the start of August Payten admitted the team had lost their "security blanket" but the attack has thrived since.
Kodi Nikorima has embraced the extra responsibility, Chanel Harris-Tavita is revelling as a regular starter and Tuivasa-Sheck has taken on yet more responsibility.
Green was a good organiser but lacked pace, and the Warriors attack has looked swifter and sharper in recent weeks.
Mastering the grind
Over the past six weeks the Warriors have learnt how to compete in close contests.
Before that big margins were commonplace; there were a few memorable wins, but also plenty of one-sided defeats.
In the first 10 rounds only one Warriors match had a margin of less than 10 points.
Since then they have learnt to hang tough, with five consecutive single figure margins, before last week's thumping of the Knights.
They pushed Penrith closer than any other team during the Panthers' current 12 game winning streak (six points) and forced the Roosters to overcome a second half deficit.
The Warriors also withstood late comebacks by the Tigers and Sea Eagles, then overhauled a significant Bulldogs lead to win by six points.
The contribution of the 'dirt trackers'
The Warriors' effort in 2020 has come from the entire squad, even if some have been in almost endless training mode.
With no reserve grade, there an unrelenting sense of Groundhog Day if you miss the 17-man match day squad.
The Warriors have used plenty of players this season, but others have been remarkably patient.
Hayze Perham had to wait almost three months between games, while Josh Curran has only had a total of 27 minutes.
Paul Turner and Adam Keighran have played a solitary game and juniors Tom Ale and Rocco Berry have yet to feature.
Twelve season veteran Gerard Beale will make his seventh appearance on Sunday, after nine weeks of missing out.
Playmaker Adam Keighran has only featured once this season for the Warriors. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
But the 'dirt trackers' have kept turning up and training hard, setting a wonderful example to inspire their team mates.
"It's hard training…they have been getting flogged," said an insider. "But no one is kicking stones."
Cashing in on loans
A silver lining of the bizarre 2020 season has been the Warriors' ability to deploy players from other clubs on short term deals.
The loan men have been significant contributors on and off the field, adding a different flavour to the environment.
Jack Hethrington was a standout before his suspension and Jack Murchie (Raiders) has offered energy and intent.
The Parramatta duo of George Jennings and Daniel Alvaro have been the icing on the cake, both featuring in the past five games.
*Michael Burgess has reported on Rugby League in New Zealand since 2006, and has covered each of the last eleven Warriors seasons in the NRL.
