Nathan Brown axed as Warriors coach after personal bombshell

Nathan Brown has been sacked by the Warriors after informing the NRL club that he does not wish to relocate to New Zealand due to family reasons.

Brown met with Warriors officials on Tuesday morning, before they agreed to end his one-and-a-half-year stint as coach early after five straight losses.

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New Zealand great Stacey Jones has been appointed on an interim basis, as the Auckland-based club start their search for a full-time replacement.

Brown had been contracted at the Warriors until the end of next year, but had already told officials he did not want to move back to New Zealand long-term and could not commit beyond that.

Ultimately though, the club's poor start to 2022 and Saturday night's horror outing against Manly meant officials decided to move the coach on far quicker.

"Nathan told us he had made a personal decision that for family reasons he wouldn't be able to relocate to New Zealand as originally planned for the long term," CEO Cameron George said.

"We fully appreciate his position and the call he has made.

"Given those circumstances we agreed we needed to make an immediate change.

"It's tough for everyone involved but, in the best interests of the club, we felt we had to go in a different direction now.

“Nathan has worked so hard for our club and we are extremely disappointed it has come to this. We’re truly grateful for what he has done and wish him and his family all the very best for the future.”

Brown's position was already under threat after a disappointing 44-12 thumping loss on Saturday night against a Manly Sea Eagles side missing their best two players.

The humiliation left the Warriors in 14th spot on the NRL ladder, and with the real chance their season may be over before their first home game in Auckland in almost three years in July.

Nathan Brown did not want to relocate to NZ permanently

The Warriors are set to play their first game at home in Auckland in two years, having relocated to Australia because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, it's emerged that Brown's family was the reason he did not want to relocate to New Zealand on a permanent basis.

NRL 360 panelists Paul Kent and Phil Rothfield said on Monday night it ultimately left the Warriors with little choice but to part ways with the coach.

“I think we can all read between the lines what that says,” Kent said.

“Buzz (Phil Rothfield) you’ve been saying for weeks now that he’s frustrated, you think he’s struggling in the job a little bit and clearly this is, without him resigning, his way of saying ‘I don’t want to continue in the job’.”

Rothfield admits he was "not shocked" to hear about Brown's stance on relocating to New Zealand after hearing that the coach was “struggling emotionally to even grasp the thought of leaving his family.”

However, the veteran league reporter says it's better for all parties that the Brown situation was made clear early in the season, rather than at the end of it.

“It gives the Warriors some clarity, they’re not going to get shocked in September by it,” he added.

with AAP

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