Stephen Kearney has made some strong signings but has he addressed the right areas?

For the first preseason in some time, the Warriors are flying under the radar.

Given the year Kiwi rugby league fans have just been through, enthusiasm for the 2018 campaign in the summer months was always going to be in short supply.

Anticipation was raised in recent years by a few flashy signings, but not this time. Not when they will start the new season on a nine-game losing streak, in Perth no less, where they have never won.

ANDREW CORNAGA/PHOTOSPORT Blake Green is the latest halves partner for Shaun Johnson.

The Warriors have made some handy additions and we should all expect some improvement. Although, after six years out of the playoffs, and burned by the last two seasons in particular, even the most optimistic Warriors supporter would be wary of expecting too much.

READ MORE:

* Harris eyes leading role

* Warriors double up on Tuivasa-Sheck

* Warriors open to women's comp

* Foran's 'last throw' in NRL

The bookmakers have struggled to find much to get excited about as well, with the club well down the odds list in both at home and in Australia.

The lack of hype could be a good thing. At least the players can focus on getting on with preseason, reaching their own internal targets without having to answer if 'this will be their year' before a ball has been kicked.

The last two years were an eye-opener as to just how much work they have in front of them. The arrival of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Issac Luke and the now-departed Kieran Foran brought plenty of star power but the results remained the same - problems were too deeply ingrained at the club.

Coach Stephen Kearney, entering his second year in charge, has recognised that with some of his recruitment decisions.

Adam Blair may have rubbed many up the wrong way with his ill-judged comments following the Kiwis loss to Fiji at the World Cup, but few in the NRL would question his worth ethic and professionalism.

Tohu Harris comes with the same hard-working mentality, although the classy back-rower offers much more than that on the field.

Even new five-eighth Blake Green, who while he may be a journeyman, has proven his value since returning from England in 2015. You don't survive this long in the NRL without having a hard edge.

All three have been brought to the club for what they can do off the field as much as what they can do on it.

The big concern, though, is that the Warriors have not addressed the main issue that held them back in 2017 - namely, a lack of go-forward up front.

That is not Blair's strength, and with Ben Matulino gone they look to be a couple of big bodies short in the middle to share the load with James Gavet.

Gavet's emergence as a genuine enforcer was one of the few pleasant surprises of 2017 and they will need something similar from Sam Lisone and Albert Vete or new recruits Agnatius Paasi and Leivaha Pulu.

That is by no means the only area that needs to be improved and somewhere near the top of the list has to be the attack.

Completion rates were up last season but they struggled to convert that into points. Their work in the red zone was far too predictable, which should not be the case with players such as Tuivasa-Sheck, Luke and, of course, Shaun Johnson.

It cannot be all left to Johnson but as the club's marquee player and in the No 7 jersey, he has to lead the way.

Once again he has a new halves partner in Green and they will have limited time to gel before round one, with Johnson not back at training until the new year due to the World Cup.

Green, who has spent the last two years playing alongside champion halves Cooper Cronk and Daly Cherry-Evans, is a solid operator and should relieve some of the playmaking pressure off Johnson. That should be the bare minimum on the contract he is on.

The hope is that with Green by his side Johnson, who turns 28 next year, will finally find the consistency to elevate him to a truly elite playmaker.

It's a line of thinking we've heard before with Chad Townsend, Thomas Leuluai and then Foran.

The chances of that finally coming to fruition in 2018? It's much like the Warriors' overall fortunes - best not to get your hopes up.

Warriors 2018 signings: Adam Blair, Tohu Harris, Blake Green, Leivaha Pulu, Gerard Beale, Peta Hiku, Matiu Love-Henry, Agnatius Paasi