Lifetime Warriors fan and aspiring sports journalist Sam Boughey gives his verdict on the NRL club's 2009 season.
The Vodafone Warriors slumped to a 30-nil drubbing against the Storm this weekend.
It summed up their mediocre season and unfortunately wasn't the fairytale finish to retiring Warrior and club legend Stacey Jones.
Jones didn't have his strongest game, but no doubt would have hoped for a better send-off from the boys.
The Warriors' season was fairly average with the majority of performances under par. Yet the Mt Smart faithful still turned up to home games in anticipation of a turnaround to their fortunes.
I have been a long-time supporter of the team, but like most Kiwis my patience has begun to wear thin. I've even started following Australian sides like the Parramatta Eels and the Melbourne Storm.
You can only put up with so much and the Warriors haven't really shown any major signs of a comeback and to work their way into playoff contention.
This feat was only achieved once by the club, in 2002, which really boosted the popularity of the club and of New Zealand rugby league as a whole.
The team that year were very consistent and had a thorough make-up to their side.
The 2009 Warriors, even aided with their Australian imports, still struggled game by game, much to the disappointment of the adoring loyal fans.
A lot of their performances were error-ridden, with heads hanging low and very little fighting spirit shown.
So now their season has come to an end with very few highlights to be found when one looks back. We can only hope that with some strong off-season signings that we see the true potential and capabilities of the club, as we did back in 2002.
A strong Pacific Islander presence is usually a big part of the Warriors' make-up, but with that comes unpredictability and inconsistency.
Sometimes their flair is sheer brilliance, but at times they can be let down by handling mistakes and also slack defence.
I really hope that 2010 brings a strong competitive Warriors side, that shows consistency all season and makes the playoffs.
