Warriors CEO Cameron George says club owner Mark Robinson enquired about St Helens coach Kristian Woolf’s availability before being knocked back.
The two-time Super League winner was said to be at the top of the Warriors’ wish list but according to George indicated a desire to relocate to Australia if he opts for an NRL move.
With New Zealand “out of the equation” for Woolf, George says the Warriors now have a “few names” at the top of their list as they embark on finding a Nathan Brown replacement.
“At the end of the day our owner was in the UK for business anyway,” George said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“On that basis, we spoke to Kristian Woolf about what his plans were for next year and to the credit of him and understanding, he wants to move back to Australia if they come back this way. New Zealand was out of the equation.
“That’s okay and we’re still going through a process.
“We’re catching up later this week with our owner who just arrived back in New Zealand yesterday.
“We’ll go few a few names on the list, we’re not scared of going young and youthful or alternatively looking at an experienced person.
“We’ve just got to get the right person for our football club to excite our team to play the best footy and lead us through the next few years.
“They’ll have a good roster to work with, we know that, it’s just getting the right person for our team and getting that roster to play the best footy they can.”
While the club is looking for a new coach, George hopes they won’t need to be on the lookout for a new fullback with Reece Walsh ideally the club’s long-term number one.
Although rumours have floated about Walsh’s potential desire to return home to Queensland, George hopes the youngster loves the New Zealand experience with the Warriors set to play their first game at home since 2019 this weekend.
“At this point, Reece is contracted to the club,” George said.
“We’re focusing on this weekend, but Reece has come out recently and said he’s committed to living in New Zealand and I don’t know if anything’s changed since that point.
“The future is the future, but what I do know is that Reece is looking forward to playing for this footy club starting this weekend in New Zealand. Hopefully, he’s going to love the experience.
“All of the good players are hard to keep but we’ll do the best we can to keep every good player we have on our roster.”
The Warriors’ homecoming against the Wests Tigers is set for Sunday afternoon at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium.