League fans
stalling on a long-term deal for the Australian, who decided to take an offer from Penrith. No one knows what might have unfolded had he stayed but the turmoil and dramas of subsequent campaigns seemed so unnecessary.
Kiwis’ 2017 World Cup
An event local league fans had waited more than half a century to host turned into a serious anticlimax. Kiwis coach David Kidwell never got to grips with the job and some of his left-field ideas didn’t work.
He wasn’t helped by the suspension of Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor following the Canberra cocaine scandal, or the shock exodus of the Tongaaligned players on the eve of the tournament. The 4-2 loss to Fiji in the quarter-finals, along with some bizarre post-match interviews, was the nadir.
Johnson’s Mt Smart exit
It wasn’t so much the outcome as the process that made this a low point. Johnson’s departure wasn’t a complete surprise, as he had looked around before re-signing his previous contract, but his treatment was. The halfback didn’t come out of the affair lily white, but Johnson was afforded a staggering lack of respect, given his contribution to the club. The press release that acknowledged his exit summed it up, with his career at Mt Smart condensed into 12 words. Attempts to paint him as a bad egg among the playing group were also in poor taste, and for all his renowned inconsistency, the Warriors struggled badly without him in 2019.
Woe in Workington
The shock 18-18 draw with Scotland was the clearest sign that all was not well on this tour in 2016, confirmed a week later by the one-sided Four Nations final. There were mitigating factors — the field and facilities were well below test standard — but the Kiwis should have coped better. The decision to rest four front-liners, including Jason Taumalolo, backfired and they were out-enthused by the Northern Hemisphere minnows.
The sleeping pills-energy drinks scandal
Six Warriors players, including Vatuvei and Ben Matulino, were stood down after admitting to mixing sleeping pills with energy drinks on a night out in 2016. That it came days after a hiding in Melbourne and a week out from the Anzac test made it even worse. It wasn’t an issue isolated to the Warriors across the NRL, although the Auckland club were one of the few that took decisive action. Only one of the six remains at the club.
Warriors’ unwanted streaks
July and August were often months of misery for Warriors fans as the club compiled lengthy losing runs in 2012 (eight matches), 2015 (eight) and 2017 (nine). The worst was probably 2015, as the club were on track for a finals spot, and maybe even a top four finish, before Johnson’s broken ankle derailed their campaign.
Notable mentions
The flat performances in the 2013 World Cup final, and Four Nations decider three years later; the 62-6 capitulation at Penrith in 2013, which remains a record defeat; and the bitter falling out between Warriors coowners Eric Watson and Owen Glenn.