Is it the crime of the century? No. Heck, it barely registers as an indiscretion in NRL terms but the hardline stance taken by managing director Jim Doyle and coach Andrew McFadden puts it into perspective.
These players have not lived up to expectations this season. They turned in a pathetic effort on a day that invokes such a sense of nationalism and pride and then had the lack of respect to everyone involved to go out on the town once they got back to New Zealand and flout team rules.
Perception is everything here and that is why they have copped such punishment.
For Manu Vatuvei and Konrad Hurrell, this is not the first time they have been sanctioned by the club for this sort of behaviour. The second warning would want to have more of an impact if they harbour a desire to remain Warriors players.
In making this move, the club are essentially saying they won't tolerate unprofessional attitudes at an organisation that has been constantly questioned about their culture.
After stating clearly that anything less than a top-six finish this season would be a failure, heads will surely roll at the season's end, if not before, if the status quo remains.
Debate on this article is now closed.
