The level of professionalism at the Warriors is again coming under scrutiny after three players posted video and comments on social media after attending a live concert in Auckland just two days before Sunday's embarrassing 50-16 thrashing against Wests Tigers.
Less than a week after the Warriors were belted by the same scoreline by the North Queensland Cowboys, injured winger Manu Vatuvei, centre Konrad Hurrell and departing utility Dominique Peyroux were sighted in one of Hurrell's Instagram videos, on stage with R&B performer Ginuwine, during last Friday's concert at Auckland live music venue The Studio.
The Warriors travelled across the Tasman the following day ahead of their game at Campbelltown Stadium, but the footage has raised concerns about the mindset of the group at this late stage in the NRL season.
After claiming a spot in the top four following their round 18 win over Melbourne the Warriors have slipped out of finals contention and down to 11th spot on the back of seven straight demoralising defeats.
"Good fun with the boys on stage with the bro @ginuwine !! It was pretty cool thanks for having us on stage dox @ginuwine haha @manuvatuvei@dominique_peyroux," read Hurrell's Instagram post.
Vatuvei later added a comment, posting: "Still buzzing @koni_hurrell was riding the horsey lol @dominique_peyroux."
The players were well within their rights to attend the concert and no trouble or irresponsible behaviour was reported from their night out.
However, the timing of the outing and the social media posts that followed could not have been worse considering the Warriors late-season predicament, and the situation has placed the club under more unwanted attention.
Vatuvei, who is out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury, remained in Auckland but surprised fans on Sunday afternoon when a tweet revealed he was not watching television coverage of the Warriors game, but at the cinema to watch the film War Room.
"Time to watch #WarRoom at #EventCinemas #OUA," read Vatuvei's tweet before some of his Twitter followers questioned his decision.
The players were well within their rights to attend the concert and no trouble or irresponsible behaviour was reported from their night out.
However, the timing of the outing and the social media posts that followed could not have been worse considering the Warriors late-season predicament, and the situation has placed the club under more unwanted attention.
Warriors managing director Jim Doyle is in Sydney attending a meeting with all 16 NRL club bosses and was unavailable for comment, but told TVNZ he would discuss the video with the players upon his return home tomorrow.
The Warriors have one match remaining in the season, against the Canterbury Bulldogs in Sydney on Sunday, when they will look to avoid equaling the unwanted record of 2012, when they lost their last eight games.