KEY POINTS:
And away goes Steve Price ...
The TV commentators for the Warriors' glorious and crushing win over the Knights might have borrowed the famous old rugby commentary line.
The original went "and away goes Kirkpatrick". It heralded All Black captain Ian Kirkpatrick's wondrous 1971 Lancaster Park try against the Lions.
The redoubtable Warriors captain Steve Price produced a similarly extraordinary run for a big forward at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday in a league career that keeps on running and running.
Okay, the occasion might not have been of epic test match standards. But the feat was just as freakish.
The commentators, and anyone else, had no reason to believe that they would be witnessing anything special when the Warriors prop latched on to a loose Newcastle pass 60m from the tryline. A posse of Knights backs were lined up nearby although they had been set for attack and needed to turn. So away went Price, on and on, eventually swandiving over the line like a flashy wing with not a chaser in sight.
What an extraordinary try - and from a man who used to have trouble scoring them.
Former Bulldog Price didn't come cheap, but he's been worth every cent plus more.
Through the chaos of the salary cap problems last year and a losing streak this season, his relentless spirit and running has helped the Warriors emerge as 2007 title prospects.
The key point about NRL title aspirations is to make the top eight in good shape. Injury-ravaged Newcastle might scratch and claw their way into the finals, but the trip probably wouldn't go further. The Warriors, though, are on an encouraging roll and well placed injury-wise.
They are now a very traditional league side, with a brutal, workaholic forward pack that has the "Metre-Leader" Price and the tackling machine Micheal Luck at its heart.
Gone are the days of Ali Lauitiiti-type flamboyance - the ageing, bruising Ruben Wiki now starts in the second row. The best chance of a quality bust and pass these days comes from Price himself. The Warriors have off-loaded the offloaders (and the freeloaders). They also let the king of the offloaders, Aucklander Sonny Bill Williams, pass them by.
Instead, the host of Australians who play at hooker, in the halves and at fullback are the Warriors' sword, while the forwards and centre Simon Mannering are the hammer.
Some of their outside backs are talented yet prone to wild ways or indiscretions, but their forwards have the personality of coach Ivan Cleary, who prefers to lean on professional calm and gives little away.
Even wing Manu Vatuvei has found confidence, although he still looks dangerously like a freight train that becomes unshackled from his teammates on defence.
The 2007 sporting year is jam-packed and the Warriors slid under the radar when the predictions were flying about. But a potential league boilover is coming to the surface. Of their five remaining opponents, only Manly are in the top half. Then again, the Roosters are resurgent while Canberra on a cold Saturday night and Penrith farewelling Craig Gower spell trouble.
Still, optimism rules. The signs are good.
We all knew Price was a good signing, but this good?
He got the basics right both in his game and in caring about others and what was going on around him since arriving in 2005. He even approached then chief executive, the erratic Mick Watson, demanding to know why players weren't more involved in school visits etc.
He was influential in encouraging Stacey Jones out of test retirement, leading to the Kiwis' historic 2005 Tri-Nations victory which ironically cut Price's own test career down.
While disappointed in his test shunning, he has kept putting his hand up. He claims he isn't talented enough to have the luxury of quitting representative consideration. He has knocked back switching to the Kiwis, remaining loyal to his Aussie colours rather than indulging in a Tonie Carroll-type flip-flop. Hooray for that.
Both Price and the equally revered Wiki, who are decorated NRL veterans, have been known to sit their Warriors coaches down and demand their input on how they might play better.
Price is also a media dream, and was refreshingly honest in the latest Wade McKinnon controversy.
In a hellishly tough sport, the 33-year-old Price really does seem to be getting better and better. Statistics and observations suggest he has even improved through this season.
At this rate, by the time he is 40 Mr S. Price will be leaping the Sky Tower in one bound to ward off invading aliens before flying down to the city and checking that the kids are safely tucked up in bed.
I jest of course. But the heat is on Australian coach Ricky Stuart, because even at his age Price is worthy of a test recall.
The really interesting part on the Price file is his admission to a gambling problem in the early 2000s, that he had been depressed "although not suicidal".
It hints at the sort of fears that have lurked below his neat and tidy surface, and also that he is a man who has come to terms with his demons and is even able to use this to nurture his life and drive his career on. Maybe those inner doubts are what ensure that he never rests on his laurels.
Above all, he appears to thoroughly enjoy his football and feels privileged to be able to do so. If this is the case, it is rubbing off in lumps on those around him.
