Stephen Kearney concedes he may not be a popular man in Parramatta but has no trepidation about returning there for the first time as an NRL head coach since his two-season nightmare with the Eels.
Warriors mentor Kearney is instead embracing Saturday’s match at Bankwest Stadium, wanting to see first hand a venue he says appears to be a treasure for the sport.
Kearney endured a torturous maiden head coaching gig, winning 10 of 42 games with the Eels in 2011-12 before a merciful mid-season sacking.
Since taking charge of the Warriors, the 47-year-old’s only away matches against Parramatta have been at ANZ Stadium.
Kearney smiled when asked if he was looking forward to a return to the heartland of western Sydney rugby league.
“I don’t know if the fan base was that kind to me, to be fair. But that’s ok,” he said.
“It’s all part of the fabric of who I am and was an experience that I took a lot of learning from.”
Despite the Eels’ excellent record at Bankwest Stadium, Kearney had no fear of putting his team’s strong road record on the line.
He said the atmosphere at the freshly-minted 30,000-seat ground appears comparable to the ground he holds up as the best in Australasia, Suncorp Stadium.
“If we talk about the mecca of rugby league as Suncorp, then I reckon Bankwest Stadium – the games that I’ve seen there – looks pretty similar. Looking forward to it.”
Kearney is confident half Kodi Nikorima will play despite missing two training sessions this week after damaging ankle ligaments in last week’s 19-18 win over Cronulla.
A final call will be made on Friday, with rookie Chanel Harris-Tavita on standby.
Harris-Tavita’s early-season introduction was a testing one, forced to be a chief playmaker without injured conductor Blake Green for several weeks.
Kearney said the 20-year-old would be better for that experience.
“He did a pretty good job to be honest and not a great deal fazes Chanel.
“He’s got the luxury now where he doesn’t have to worry about pushing the team around.”
Lock Jazz Tevaga (ankle) and winger Ken Maumalo (concussion) were both under an injury cloud when named on Tuesday but Kearney is confident both key performers will start.
The ninth-placed Warriors are unbeaten in their last three games to sit three points behind the sixth-placed Eels.
