Over the last three seasons the warriors had seemed to put to rest the old fears about the club being a bunch of overpaid underachievers. But this was all to change.

Three consecutive semi-final appearances (one of which was a grand final) under the stalwart coaching of NRL darling Daniel Anderson seemed to herald the beginnings of a new era for the Warriors, one which could possibly elevate them to super club status alongside the Knights, Bulldogs and Bronco's.

It seemed that all the old woes were behind them, a faded but lingering ache that had dulled to the point of acceptable tolerance. Then the 2004 season reared its ugly head, and in its wake a torrid and troubled time was had. A Record strings of loses, persistent rumours of players unhappy with Daniel Andersons coaching methods,  impatient management wanting winning assurances from a beleaguered coach. Things looked dire.

But worst was to come. Former Dally M winner and star player Ali Lauitiiti was told the club did not see him in its future and with reluctance the player packed his bags for the northern hemisphere and the Super- League competition.

Coach Daniel Anderson soon quit after serious questions were put to his coaching performance as the Warriors languish in their worst season EVER. In the interim assistant Coach Tony Kemp is given the unenviable task coaching the Warriors till a full time coach can be found.

Placing faith in the former assistant coach, Warriors management give Tony the full time coaching position. But alas, even the best efforts from Tony are little more than a  band-aid on a gaping wound. The warriors are already in a mire of self doubt and poor form that it cannot be so easily turned around, in so short a time. The season is ultimately unsalvageable. And with a lose to the Bulldogs the Warriors season ends in second to last position.

Where did it all go wrong? What has caused this mass form drop? Who is to blame, and what can be done?. These are a few of the many questions that have been asked in the wake of such a dismal year.

I believe that the warriors have fallen prone to a sense of complacency. Every team this year has shown an increase in urgency and adopted aggressive play balanced with smothering defence. It was not so much that the warriors got that much worse, the competition just got that much tougher.

The game continually evolves, and a good former season is not enough to ensure success in the new year, Players and coaches need to strive for more, play harder, tackle better and above all else realise that there are a bunch of hungry teams who pay little respect for reputations. hungry teams who want nothing more than to face a complacent team and usurp there position at the top of the pile. Unfortunately this year the warriors were found wanting and a unsympathetic competition chewed them up, and spat them out.

All of this doom mongering could be seen as a bad sign for the warriors next year, but as an optimist I see a few silver linings already forming. Next year the team will have the advantage of starting out under one coach who will have an entire year to shape them into the team he wants.

An area I have felt that the warriors have always been lacking in is in good old fashioned go forward power. Only when we had the Likes of Kevin Campion have we shown true go forward dominance. The rest of the team seemed to draw from his strong work ethic, He was not the biggest guy on the field but he had a battle hardened toughness built of many a campaign. Every time he had the ball he played like it was his last game and his last chance for glory.

 Such grit and determination was infectious, as team mates fired up their own game not content to see such an old hand showing them up. This intensity also overwhelmed many opposition teams. Knowing they were up against such a relentless machine that seemed ignorant of there own self preservation, let alone the oppositions. This made many a player take pause when they should have backed themselves, and as a result balls were dropped, and plays went awry.

Warriors management aware of the "Campion Effect" have hired him as a part of the coaching team for next year. Alongside Campion, kicker extraordinaire Ivan Cleary is has also been hired to assist the coaching staff. With Cleary's vision and kicking expertise the team will do well.

Going back to forward momentum rhino-like Iafeta Paleasena has bucked the trend of poor form to have his best season ever. Iafeta has shown that given a little faith he can stay on the feild for longer periods than he was given credit for, as a consequence he has been the form player of the season. And next year he gets to devastate the oppositions defence alongside two of the games most respected go-forward men of them all. Reuben (the muss) Wiki and Steve Price.

Both of these players have been secured for next years competition and will offer valuable leadership and a skill base few could deny. Price will also take over the teams captaincy from Monty Betham. I believe that this is a good decision. Monty has certain leadership qualities, but needs a little to temper this with a little level-headed maturity.

One of Monty's faults is that he is often like a pit bull, with referees, sure he is only backing his team mates but sometimes Monty pushes the envelope and causes the team to be on the wrong side of the ref, which only causes strife and high penalty counts against the team.

Sure Betham has many leadership attributes, like unrelenting determination and respect the respect of the competition, but there are many more important attributes like using controlled aggression, and level-headed maturity. Only by spending time under the likes of Wiki and Price will Monty reach that next level, and become a great leader.

Posted 6th June, 2004

Pictures sourced from: www.warriors.co.nz