NRL: Rabbitohs v Warriors
Where: Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast. When: Saturday, August 6, 5pm (NZT)
Live coverage: Sky Sport 4, live updates on Stuff.
It’s not a problem for the Warriors to get up for games at Mt Smart Stadium, but with nothing left to play for this season, there’s a risk of the players switching off when playing away.
Saturday’s game at Sunshine Coast Stadium is a huge one for the Rabbitohs as they look to keep their place in the top eight. For the Warriors, it’s meaningless.
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They can’t make the finals, are unlikely to pick up the wooden spoon and they’re not playing in front of their home fans.
Warriors interim coach Stacey Jones says they’re looking at the players to see how motivated they are, whether they’re up for the challenge, or thinking of Mad Monday and then the beach.
Brett Phibbs/Photosport
Warriors Edward Kosi had the biggest game of his career last weekend against the Storm.
“We’re week to week here. We’re monitoring the energy levels of the players and very mindful of that,” Jones said.
“The key for us is to make sure when we turn up on game day, that the players are full of energy.
“There’s not a lot of coaching that goes into it at this time of the year, it’s more making sure we’re ticking boxes and the players are ready to go.
“It’s making sure that when the players go out on the field they’re energised and we’re mindful of all the travel that’s happening.”
Warriors outside back Marcelo Montoya says it’s crucial the players are up for games away from Mt Smart Stadium and they should never forget what a fortunate position they’re in.
“We’ve got to be motivated, if you’re not you shouldn’t be playing in the NRL,” Montoya said.
“It’s our job and we get paid to do it, but we’re lucky to wake up every day and live our dream.
“So the motivation is there and we’re building for a big year next year, we’ve got that in the back of our minds and making sure every day we come in, those processes are getting ticked and we’re training really well, because that’s important for us as a club.
“Yes, we haven’t been going well this year, but we’re a great club and a good team. So we’ve got to focus on what we can do going into next year. Don’t worry, we’re motivated for sure.”
As someone in the leadership group Montoya feels it’s his responsibility to keep players up and without Jazz Tevaga for the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury, more of that responsibility falls on the shoulders of other experienced players in the team.
“It’s important for me to stay positive,” he said.
“It’s always hard when you’re losing games, but in saying that, we’ve been losing them by short margins and there have only been moments in games where we’ve been letting ourselves down.
“We’ve got a young group here, so it’s important we enjoy training and have fun, but also that when it’s time to work, we put our heads down and work hard.”
For the second game in a row Montoya will start a game at centre, with Edward Kosi again playing on the wing.
Kosi has had a turbulent start to his NRL career, he had a nightmare on Anzac Day in the 70-10 loss to the Storm in Melbourne, but he bounced back last weekend, scoring a hat-trick against the same team.
Kosi is a popular member of the Warriors team and all the squad were delighted to see him do well.
“Ed deserved that performance and he did an awesome job,” Montoya said.
“From that last game against Melbourne, obviously we know what happened in that, everyone looks back to that.
“But he worked really hard at training and was playing good footy at Redcliffe as well.
“For that kind of performance, to come back and score three tries, I was stoked for him.
“It’s only going to be good for his confidence and for us as a team, because if he’s playing like that, it’s going to be better for us.”
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