New Zealand Warriors coach Nathan Brown and captain Addin Fonua-Blake looked demoralised after the teams' historic loss to the Melbourne Storm in their Anzac Day clash.
While Brown gave credit to his middle forwards, he was saddened by the choices some players made.
Down only 16-10 at halftime, the Warriors were in the game to their eyeballs. It was a try to Ryan Papenhuyzen in the 47th minute that marked the beginning of the (embarrassing) end.
In the second half, the Warriors would ultimately concede an astounding ten tries.
While Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Josh Curran left the game with injuries, Brown didn't let his players off the hook.
โWe picked up a couple of injuries and under adversity, I think we had some players that truth be told, some werenโt at the races after that,โ Brown said in the post-match press conference.
โWe had some players who are good players just playing under fatigue, not having the ball made the game extremely difficult against a good side.
โThe way we performed in the last 30 minutes, the injuries are not an excuse... when we picked up a couple of injuries we certainly didnโt respond very well.
โWe had some players that were a little below their best and at that stage when it got harder and harder, thought the easiest option was to look for the easiest option.
As is usually the case, the Warriors' forwards weren't to blame. Led by Addin Fonua-Blake and Matt Lodge, they held their own against a great Melbourne team.
โUnfortunately for a lot of our middle forwards who worked really really hard, and did a great job for us, not having the ball under fatigue made it extremely difficult," Brown added.
When asked if some of his players gave up, Brown didn't hesitate.
โSome people did, I have no doubt at all," Brown admitted.
"I have been in this game a long time and it is disappointing to sit here and say that but some people looked for the easiest way out they could and that is sad."
Luckily for the Warriors, they have a quick turnaround, playing the Canberra Raiders on Saturday, with the Warriors needing replacements for both Curran and Watene-Zelezniak.
