Finals failure ‘burns’ departing Leuluai
Thomas Leuluai will leave a disappointed man if the Warriors again miss out on playing finals footy in the NRL.
While not giving up on chance to still finish in the top eight, it’s become a situation outside the club’s hands.
The Titans needing to lose their two remaining games, against the Panthers and Cowboys and the Warriors having to win theirs, against the Tigers and Eels.
Chances of this playing out as the Warriors hope are slim and, if that’s the case, Leuluai will return to Wigan next year without coming close to achieving what he wanted when he rejoined the club in 2013 – playing finals footy.
‘‘That will always burn in me a bit,’’ Leuluai said.
‘‘I would have liked to have not got injured as much and also have played finals football.
‘‘That’s the thing I’ve missed the most since coming from England, it’s those big games.
‘‘But I can’t say I haven’t tried my a..e off here and I know a lot of other guys are in the same boat.
‘‘Things just haven’t worked out, it’s been rocky with everything and every year there seems to be something popping up, not just on the footy field, but outside the club.
‘‘I’ve got no regrets and it’s just the way it goes.’’
Tomorrow’s game against the Wests Tigers at Mt Smart Stadium has been billed as a mustwin fixture for both clubs, who are on 24 points, three below the eighth-placed Titans.
But if the Titans defeat the Panthers on Saturday, the Warriors v Tigers game becomes meaningless and it could become a fizzer.
‘‘It could be and there is that chance,’’ admitted Leuluai.
‘‘But for us it’s also about us playing good football in front of our fans.
‘‘Regardless of what happens, whether we’ve got a chance or not, the fans that turn out every week and our families, they deserve to see us play some good football.’’
The expectation that comes with every new Warriors season was greater than ever this year because of the arrival of Issac Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
Not finishing in the eight would mean another failed season for the Warriors, but Leuluai won’t go as far as calling it that.
‘‘I wouldn’t say it would be a failure, but yes, disappointing to be honest,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not just the expectations the media put on us, we had expectations too.
‘‘Obviously with everything, you’ve got to put some context to it. There has been some challenging parts to the season, but I suppose every club goes through that.
‘‘There will be a lot of disappointed people if we don’t make the playoffs.’’