Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has leapt to the defence of standoff Kieran Foran after allegations the marquee signing hasn't been putting forth his best efforts in recent weeks as he eyes his move to the Bulldogs next season.
Foran signed a three-year deal for the Sydney-based Bulldogs in May, and hasn't been as prominent in recent weeks as the Warriors have begun their now trademark limp towards the end of the season.
Former head coach Frank Endacott told Newshub on Tuesday that he believes the 27-year-old's commitment has been waning as the Warriors' campaign has approached its conclusion, preferring instead to turn his attention to his future with Canterbury.
"If you look at recent weeks Foran hasn't played that great, and I think he's already thinking about Bulldogs," Endacott said.
However, Kearney refuted such suggestions at Warriors training on Wednesday, instead citing a distinct lack of quality from his players across the board.
"I think with everyone, there's been stages where we haven't been at our best. To single out Kieran [Foran] is pretty ordinary," Kearney told media.
"Has he been at his best? Absolutely not, but that's not by himself.
"I don’t think he's clocked out early."
When quizzed about Foran's lacklustre performance in the side's 34-22 loss to the Panthers on Friday, Kearney again deflected any criticism.
"I thought he did some okay things early in the contest.
"I'm not going to be really critical of Kieran [Foran] because I think, as I keep saying and have said a number of times before, it's a team performance.
"My expectation is that you'll see a better performance from Kieran this week."
Currently placed 11th and four points off the top eight, the Auckland-based franchise only stands an outside chance of making the finals as they're forced to rely on other results to go their way.
They'll also need to win without their mercurial playmaker Shaun Johnson, who's likely to miss the remainder of the regular season with a PCL rupture.
The side now travels to Townsville to take on the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday night.
Newshub.