Chris Rattue: Second Coming could be Age of Jones

Stacey Jones showed on Sunday that he should be the Warriors' halfback this season. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Boy, that Stacey Jones has really set himself up for this week. No sneaking in the side door with this fella.

"Hey guys, I'm back, and to prove it I'll blow the reigning champions away."

So, on to Act II for the returning Warrior.

The Broncos are in town, there might be a full house at Mt Smart, and just about everybody will be expecting more miracles out of Jones on Saturday night.

Being Stacey Jones, he might actually deliver, but let's take a bit of heat out of the miracle market just now because the Broncos will be all over the 32-year-old comeback king who scuppered the not-so-good-ship Manly last weekend.

Even in his prime - and he could still be in it - Jones couldn't deliver Brookvale-type heroics every week. Even the very best of footballers have just reasonably good days.

What Jones showed against Manly is that he is, without a shadow of a doubt, the player to be running around in the Warriors No 7 jersey as long as his body holds up.

Nathan Fien might have a World Cup, but Jones has world class. Going head to head for your position with Stacey Jones is one way of putting a career in a tailspin, and Fien's utility value comes back into play.

At his best, Jones was not only a class or two above Fien, but most other halfbacks in the NRL.

What a Jones comeback it was, single-handedly inspiring victory out of defeat. Incredible, and thrilling to watch. For all of its off-field problems, and despite a lack of the great old characters who used to dominate this brutal game, league is continuing to serve up terrific on-field drama.

The Jones rescue act was pure Roy of the Roversstuff, to use the old football comic book standby when you are faced with describing something sporty where fact is as fabulous as fiction.

No one should have doubted he was capable of it and could also lead these Warriors where they have never been before. Yet his immediate impact was way above what even the most optimistic of his fans thought possible.

I doubt whether Jones would have even considered a comeback had the Warriors been under the wobbly leadership of Mick Watson or the various other excitable and/or overly extended coaches and chief executives who had turned a potential thoroughbred club into a mad donkey.

Under Watson's erratic stewardship, it would have been no surprise if Jones had been invited to end his competitive days by doing a spot of boxing.

It is a very different place now. From the coaching and recruitment of Ivan Cleary and John Ackland's considered management style to the Steve Price influence, the place exudes cohesion and quiet class.

This Warriors side has been a steady work in progress, the significant point being that you could actually see the progress, rather than having to hunt for something that only excuse-making coaches could apparently see.

What is starting to show is the character of the young players coming through, the latest being Russell Packer who looks primed for a long and well-constructed career.

In the age of the equalising effects of a low salary cap, this is the Warriors' time and they desperately need to make the most of it.

What Jones would have known, when Cleary made the comeback call to him, was that he would no longer be seen as the saviour of a club that needed rescuing.

Instead, he could be the key to unlocking the full potential of a very good outfit, and have a hell of a good time in stable surroundings while doing it.

It's already looking highly promising, but you have to add a major cautionary note. The NRL is a long and tough road, full of potholes and landslides. Coaching and analysis in the NRL is of the highest order, and the players - from the gifted to the workhorses - really know their stuff.

The opening rounds are all about staying in the hunt, getting points on the board. The title contenders often only emerge midway through the year, and the name of the game is to get to the play-offs in good health and in peak or rising form. These are very early days.

Jones more than anyone will know that he has sounded a warning, and that from now on he will be a marked man.

Manly coach Des Hasler thought his side was ready for the Jones tricks, but Hasler is in charge of a distracted team right now. And try as any coach might to warn his troops, Jones had been out of NRL sight - and thus out of mind - for well over three years. Cleary added a further element of surprise by starting him on the bench.

As it turned out, Manly were initially able to run at Jones when he came on but not enough to damage his attacking edge.

Everyone was then given an instant and glorious reminder of how dangerous Jones can be. When it comes to players of Jones' class, there are times when there is simply nothing an opposing coach or defending team can do to defeat him.

A lot of attention has centred on the Jones' plays that brought late tries against Manly.

Both were from kicks - a fabulous chip and dummy for the Brent Tate try and then a cross-field kick for Jerome Ropati's score.

Regathering a chip kick always requires a touch of luck, and players of lesser ability than Jones can put in telling cross-field kicks.

Rather, it was a Jones move which almost led to an earlier Fien try, when he attacked a hole near the Manly goalline and threw a scorching flat pass, that will have caught the attention of opposing coaches.

With stamina being tested under the dual-refereeing system, the little guys could wreak even more havoc.

With ball in hand, and tiring big men in their way, men like Jones and Allan Langer have been able to run amok over the years.

Jones will face plenty of tests in defence, but in league, the little man still has a comeback play against the big guys.

All in all, it's wonderful to have Jones back. Saturday night will be a welcome home for him ... but beware those Broncos. They have the finest of pedigrees and are more than capable of spoiling the party.

So, the Bulldogs are to lose two points for fielding an extra man against Penrith. Yet Penrith will not receive the two deducted points. This is standard sports practice, but not one I've ever been able to fathom.

In this case, it could be easily argued that Andrew Ryan's illegal presence on the field denied Penrith their rightful chance to claim a victory. If the Bulldogs' appeal fails, the Panthers deserve the points for my money.

Michael Witt deserves a lucky break. Professional sport can be a cruel beast and Witt probably got a rough deal at the Warriors who - according to reports I've read - dropped him from their plans when it was too late for him to secure a future elsewhere.

Witt is set to be contracted by the NZRU to play rugby for the Highlanders. He will have a lot to learn, including rugby's rules. That should take care of the next few months.

There are those of us who have watched rugby for years who don't understand them anymore. Even players and referees seem confused sometimes. The former Warrior will need his wits about him.

Just when you thought Australian cricket might be down and out ... they turn the tables on South Africa and Mitchell Johnson turns out to be the next great allrounder. You've got to hand it to the Aussie cricketers - they are a tough and skilful lot with traditions that mean they just never ever run up the white flag. Unlike our poor lot.

On the subject of Australian cricket ... their former star allrounder Andrew Symonds is in alcohol-related trouble again. Australian cricket, and Symonds himself, may need to reach the point where they realise he has an illness.

I wouldn't dare offer a definitive diagnosis on the man, but I would put forward a reminder that even the World Health Organisation regards alcoholism as a primary disease. It may turn out that Andrew Symonds isn't a crazy man, but a sick one.