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Tony Iro says he will let the Warriors know about his future at the club "early this week" but is giving little away on his intentions.
Iro has two years to run on his contract as an assistant coach at New Zealand's NRL franchise but that has been thrown open with the appointment of Matthew Elliott as head coach following the premature sacking of Brian McClennan.
Asked if he could give an indication of which way he was leaning in terms of staying or going, Iro told Sunday News: "No, not really. It's a tough one, I've got to think a lot about my family."
Iro said he'd had "a couple of discussions" with Elliott who he described as "a good bloke".
"We didn't talk too much about details. They were general discussions about my role and where I'd be accountable."
Elliott will run two fulltime assistants which will mean a likely change for Iro who was McClennan's only full-time assistant.
That change will be adding to Iro's consideration. He said he had got over missing out on the head coaching role and now it was a matter of considering what was best for him. Iro, who is also the Kiwis assistant coach, wouldn't reveal any offshore options.
The Warriors start pre-season training tomorrow week and Dean Bell, the general manager of football operations, said he was "very confident" that Elliott's assistants would be in place by then.
"We are progressing fairly rapidly. We should be in a position to make a couple of announcements this week. With Matt's appointment it's been a busy period and things have had to move pretty quickly. But we are certainly pleased with the way the coaching structure is falling into place."
The Warriors have purposely given Iro space to make his decision, a mark of the respect the club holds for a man who has spent six years at Mt Smart, grooming the under-20s before stepping up to be an assistant at first grade to Ivan Cleary and then McClennan.
But the club now needs an answer and it seems Iro is ready to deliver that in the next day or so. The Warriors want to keep him.
"It's in Tony's hands really. We are hoping to hear his final decision about what his intentions are," Bell said.
"He knows that we want him to stay. Matt has said that and we all want him to stay. But he has to make a decision about what he thinks is best for his future and we'll respect that and take it from there."
John Ackland will remain in charge of the under-20s.
The search continues to bolster the first-grade squad. There are 28 players on contract at present and Bell indicated they'd like to run with up to 32.
"Hopefully we can make some announcements soon. Whether things happen before pre-season starts, I can't predict . . . We are looking to add to the squad as soon as we can, but these things take time."
Their search for experience has turned up 34-year-old former Wigan and Newcastle Knights centre George Carmont as a possibility.
A name that has been doing the rounds during the past week or so is that of Penrith's State of Origin centre Michael Jennings.
There are suggestions the Panthers might need to offload Jennings because of salary-cap issues - he is reportedly on a A$650,000 deal with a year left to run. He started at the Panthers in 2007, the same season Elliott took over there, so has an obvious connection.
Iro has two years to run on his contract as an assistant coach at New Zealand's NRL franchise but that has been thrown open with the appointment of Matthew Elliott as head coach following the premature sacking of Brian McClennan.
Asked if he could give an indication of which way he was leaning in terms of staying or going, Iro told Sunday News: "No, not really. It's a tough one, I've got to think a lot about my family."
Iro said he'd had "a couple of discussions" with Elliott who he described as "a good bloke".
"We didn't talk too much about details. They were general discussions about my role and where I'd be accountable."
Elliott will run two fulltime assistants which will mean a likely change for Iro who was McClennan's only full-time assistant.
That change will be adding to Iro's consideration. He said he had got over missing out on the head coaching role and now it was a matter of considering what was best for him. Iro, who is also the Kiwis assistant coach, wouldn't reveal any offshore options.
The Warriors start pre-season training tomorrow week and Dean Bell, the general manager of football operations, said he was "very confident" that Elliott's assistants would be in place by then.
"We are progressing fairly rapidly. We should be in a position to make a couple of announcements this week. With Matt's appointment it's been a busy period and things have had to move pretty quickly. But we are certainly pleased with the way the coaching structure is falling into place."
The Warriors have purposely given Iro space to make his decision, a mark of the respect the club holds for a man who has spent six years at Mt Smart, grooming the under-20s before stepping up to be an assistant at first grade to Ivan Cleary and then McClennan.
But the club now needs an answer and it seems Iro is ready to deliver that in the next day or so. The Warriors want to keep him.
"It's in Tony's hands really. We are hoping to hear his final decision about what his intentions are," Bell said.
"He knows that we want him to stay. Matt has said that and we all want him to stay. But he has to make a decision about what he thinks is best for his future and we'll respect that and take it from there."
John Ackland will remain in charge of the under-20s.
The search continues to bolster the first-grade squad. There are 28 players on contract at present and Bell indicated they'd like to run with up to 32.
"Hopefully we can make some announcements soon. Whether things happen before pre-season starts, I can't predict . . . We are looking to add to the squad as soon as we can, but these things take time."
Their search for experience has turned up 34-year-old former Wigan and Newcastle Knights centre George Carmont as a possibility.
A name that has been doing the rounds during the past week or so is that of Penrith's State of Origin centre Michael Jennings.
There are suggestions the Panthers might need to offload Jennings because of salary-cap issues - he is reportedly on a A$650,000 deal with a year left to run. He started at the Panthers in 2007, the same season Elliott took over there, so has an obvious connection.
