A bandwagon to nowhere
But no one is laughing and a state of fear now surrounds what is still to come.
Make it stop. Please, we can’t take any more. It’s bad enough that the Warriors are going to miss the NRL finals yet again, but making us sit through four more games will only hurt the innocent.
The big worry now is that an awful situation could yet become worse, if the Warriors fail to improve and instead close the year with a clubrecord nine straight defeats.
That’s a strong possibility given the worrying lack of effort shown by some players in Saturday’s insipid 26-10 loss to last-placed Newcastle, and the form and ability of the sides coming their way in the next month.
The Warriors’ next opponents, Canberra, are coming off a moraleboosting 30-12 win over reigning premiers Cronulla and are looking to charge back into the top eight.
The week after, they’ll take on Souths, who have struggled all year, but on Friday managed a come-frombehind 26-24 upset win over the Dragons.
A penultimate round match against Manly, who are scrapping to keep themselves in the mix for a topfour spot, doesn’t bode well, while a final game away against Wests Tigers, even from this far out, has ambush written all over it.
Coach Stephen Kearney admitted after the four-tries-to-two loss to the Knights that his side was struggling for confidence.
They’re not the only ones, with even the Warriors’ most ardent supporters struggling to see any light at the end of the long, dark tunnel heading towards September — traditionally known around these parts as the beginning of the offseason.
Just two weeks ago, there was some glimmer of hope that the Warriors would at least go down fighting, following a whole-hearted effort in defeat to North Queensland in Townsville.
But any remaining optimism quickly disappeared after the following week’s loss to Cronulla — although we all got a good laugh when some players declared they were intent on winning their remaining five games.
Finish the season on a high, they said.
Still plenty to play for, they insisted.
Pride in the jersey would see them fight tooth and nail for a win.
Apparently they even made a commitment to each other.
No doubt some great one-liners were trotted out, but the shambolic performance against this year’s likely wooden spooners proved the guys were just joking.
But no one is laughing and a state of fear now surrounds what is still to come.
While we’ll all be put out of our misery soon enough, the damage from this run of continual failure will be long lasting.
If the Warriors are unable to pull at least one win — just one — out of the bag in the next month, the club will be battling to convince anyone to get on the rollercoaster again.
Usually the collective mood among jaded league followers improves after Christmas and expectations rise through January before we all start getting excited about the season ahead.
But this time, the growing depression among impatient supporters — burned too many times by their over-hyped team underdelivering — is already manifesting itself in cynicism towards the club’s ambitions for 2018. Doubts are growing and arguments flaring over the club’s plans to recruit front row pair Adam Blair and James Graham.
Almost any message that comes from the club is being met with scepticism or ridicule and the general feeling is one of hopelessness.
The Warriors are close to rockbottom — let’s just hope it doesn’t get any worse.