It's been such an up and down year. Some weeks we were eight out of 10, another week we rated a two.
We probably underestimated the impact of the retirement of Simon Mannering.
He was such a vital player, the king of the 'one percenters' and did so much to tighten up our middle. Simon was also part of the furniture and brought so much in terms of work ethic, leadership and mana.
The departure of Shaun Johnson also had an impact. He'd been at the club for eight seasons and was part of a lot of highlights reels over that time.
Having said that, Chanel Harris-Tavita and Kodi Nikorima have done a great job and I'm looking forward to working with them and building our combinations over the offseason.
One of my favourite memories of 2019 was the round one game against the Bulldogs.
The awful events in Christchurch happened two days before and cast a dark shadow over everything.
It affected many of the players in our team, as well as our fans, but it was a special day at Mt Smart and felt like the whole country was united, in grief as well as support, as we ran out.
The narrow win over the Sharks in Wellington was also special, in the middle of our most consistent stretch of our season.
Our worst game was the Raiders clash at Mt Smart.
It came off the back of a tough stretch on the road, and the result completely knocked the wind out of our sails. That game is still fresh in our minds, and a reminder of what we need to do better this Saturday.
It's been another tough week at training. There has been lots of contact and physical work and a massive emphasis on defence, which hasn't been up to scratch for most of the last month.
The Raiders' success with their English imports hasn't surprised me. From my time in Super League I know that British players are always tough and resilient and I imagine a lot of NRL clubs will now be casting glances north to find their own gems.
It will be sad to see Issac Luke leave the club, as he has been great for us and New Zealand league.
When he is on song, running from dummy half and defending aggressively, he is great to watch. His performance last year against the Eels, when Shaun and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck were both out injured, was typical. He really rose to the occasion, scored a vital try and led with his actions.
We will also farewell Blake Ayshford after four seasons, where he has always been the ultimate professional, epitomised by his display in Wellington earlier this year after David Fusitu'a was injured in the captain's run.
Finally, I'd like to thank all of our loyal fans, who have supported us week in, week out, in what has been a difficult year for them.
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