The New Zealand Warriors are finally slated to return home in the second half of the season, but they will need a full year effort if they are going to make the finals in 2022.
The Warriors were disappointing in 2021, but that comes with plenty of “but’s” attached to it.
The biggest of those is that they were forced to play the entirety of 2021 - and for that matter almost all of 2020 - on the road.
While they are now accustomed to life in Australia, the itch for many of their squad to get home and play in front of a pharocal home crowd must be a burning desire.
It could work one of two ways, with the Warriors either fighting tooth and nail despite being overpowered by other teams during the first half of the season before a hopeful return to Auckland, or it becomes crushing, particularly with COVID worsening and the New Zealand border showing no signs of coming down anytime soon.
But despite the off-field distractions which are going to follow this squad around all year, there are genuine reasons to be excited around the Warriors in 2022.
The return of favourite son Shaun Johnson is certainly one, but so is the continued emergence of Reece Walsh who will be the first-choice number one for the entire season.
Improvement out of the remainder of their spine, and hopeful fitness of players like Matt Lodge and Addin Fonua-Blake gives them a serious engine rope in the middle third.
Add that to young talent in the outside backs, and there is no reason the Warriors shouldn’t find themselves in the hunt for the top eight at the end of the season.
Here are the burning questions which will shape their 2022 season.
How much pressure is Nathan Brown under?
The short answer to this should be “absolutely zero.”
He walked into a horrid situation ahead of the 2021 season with a squad under the pump and with no sure date to return home.
It made preparations impossible and the fact they were in competition for a finals spot at all - especially considering the enormous toll injuries took on their season - was something of a miracle.
But the Warriors have a way of sharpening the knives on underperforming coaches.
Only Ivan Cleary has lasted five years in the top job since they were admitted to the competition in 1995. They have been through 11 permanent head coaches in 26 years, and while Brown should be at least given the 2021 season, it’s hard to say it’s a sure thing if the Warriors can’t fight their way to the finals for only the second time in the last decade.
This time around, Brown has a team who can prepare to be in Australia for the long haul, and he has also started to build a squad which should be very competitive, so while the pressure shouldn’t be on, it will be if the Warriors stumble.
Can Reece Walsh avoid second-year syndrome?
Reece Walsh was the boom rookie of 2021. In a stacked field, only a post-season off-field misdemeanour could bring any sort of downturn to the sensation’s first season.
A fullback, he regularly took the spot off Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and did it impressively following his early move from the Brisbane Broncos, where fans must be seething at the lack of foresight on recruitment.
Still, the off-field problem at the end of the 2021 season, combined with opposition teams working him out could see a downturn on field in 2022, and it’s something Walsh can’t afford if the Warriors are going to compete for that spot in the top eight.
Second-year syndrome wouldn’t be rearing its head for the first time if Walsh falls into the trap, but Warriors fans will be sweating on him reproducing the form which had him in the Queensland squad.
Will Shaun Johnson find his best form back in Warriors colours?
This could be really the question which ultimately shapes the Warriors season.
Johnson has been brought back to his first NRL club and will need to go back up the gears in the halves.
Who he plays alongside is almost irrelevant, although it’s destined to be Chanel Harris-Tavita this year, before Luke Metcalf arrives at the club for 2023 on a long-term deal.
Johnson has the freakish ability to turn games on their head in a single play, but it’s not what the Warriors need from him.
They need consistency, quality ball-playing and an experienced head to make the right decisions at the right time.
Can Johnson do that week in and week out? It remains to be seen, but it’s critical for the Warriors that he does.
Will Tohu Harris find support in defence once he returns?
Tohu Harris is one of the best middle forwards in the game. He is also one of, if not the best defender in the competition.
When it comes to chewing up massive amounts of tackles and blunting opposition attacking might, few are able to do it better than Harris, who only failed to make 40 tackles twice last year - but never when he played more than 25 minutes.
His willingness to turn up for his team and continually do the hard yards was unmatched, but with the star lock set to miss up to the first ten rounds of the competition, the Warriors need to players to stand up without him, and then once he returns, or it could be an exceptionally ugly season.
The Warriors were still in the fight to play finals footy during the final rounds of 2021, and a lot of that can be put down to their lock forward.
The likes of Wayde Egan, Jazz Tevaga and Josh Curran will need to stand up at lock and hooker, but it’s the work of Addin Fonua-Blake and Matt Lodge which could come under the most scrutiny.
They are known for their barnstorming runs, ability to break the line and offloads, but if the Warriors can’t keep their defence tight then they will be little chance of having a season which is alive and kicking when they are slated to return to Auckland for the final stanza.
Is Wayde Egan the man at hooker?
The Warriors were looking as if they were set to have all sorts of problems at hooker, but the emergence of Taniela Utokolo will mean there is considerable back up to Wayde Egan, who has been used with varying levels of success up until now.
He improved out of sight in the 2021 season, but there is still room for growth.
Otukolo is seen as the next big thing and was recently upgraded and promoted onto a contract which will see him remain with the Warriors until the end of 2024.
He will heap pressure on Egan for the starting spot this year which could only improve the play of the incumbent number nine, but the Warriors - building new combinations - can’t afford to chop and change.
They need to get it right from the get-go.