KEY POINTS:
The Warriors will experience their first flirtation with finals football since 2003. Michael Brown looks back on their forays into the NRL playoffs.
2001
Round 1
Eels 56 Warriors 12
The Warriors' first taste of finals football wasn't appetising, considering the heavy defeat to the Eels was, at the time, the largest in finals series history.
The fact they were there, however, was something of a triumph after the financial ructions of 2000 and there was widespread optimism it would be a harbinger of things to come.
The Warriors qualified for the finals by finishing eighth of the 14 teams but were up against it, taking on the minor premiers and heavy favourites for the title. The Eels steadily racked up the points and were well in control when they led 24-6 at halftime. They continued relentlessly in the second spell to earn themselves a week off. They slipped up at the last hurdle, though, going down 30-24 to the Knights in the grand final.
2002
Qualifying final
Warriors 36 Raiders 20
Aided by the Bulldogs' salary cap scandal (they were stripped of all 37 points), the Warriors claimed the minor premiership for the first time.
The Bulldogs' indiscretions also allowed Canberra to sneak into eighth despite a points differential of - 170, the poorest of any finalist in history.
Canberra rarely threatened the Warriors at a sold-out Ericsson Stadium (it remains the only playoff game to be played outside Australia).
The Raiders had been something of a bogey side for the Warriors but Stacey Jones picked them apart.
Canberra scored two late first-half tries, to go to the sheds trailing only 14-10 but the Little General scored a try to help the Warriors open up a 26-point lead.
Preliminary final
Warriors 16 Sharks 10
A thriller at Sydney's Telstra Stadium, this almost felt like a home game for the Warriors thanks to the philanthropy of Eric Watson. The owner, along with main sponsors Vodafone, bought 15,000 tickets for the match and gave them away to anyone with a New Zealand passport.
Motu Tony was like a thief in the night when he latched on to a Paul Mellor pass to score the only points of the first half. The two sides traded tries in the second spell with Mathew Rieck and Brett Kimmorley scoring for the Sharks and Clinton Toopi scoring a great individual try.
With five minutes left on the clock, and the scores tied 10-10, Jones produced some customary magic with a grubber close to the Sharks' line that sat up beautifully for John Carlaw to score. The Big Show awaited.
Grand final
Roosters 30 Warriors 8
Despite an embarrassing incident involving ageing rocker Billy Idol, who was all set to perform in the pre-game entertainment before a power failure left him stranded, the stage was set for the Warriors to take their first title.
They went into the match as minor premiers and with an expansive style of play that few teams were able to contain. The Roosters were favoured by most thanks to an eight-game winning streak. They also had Brad Fittler.
The Warriors started well in front of 80,000 spectators at Stadium Australia. They were particularly punishing in defence but the Roosters led 6-2 at the break after a defensive error allowed Brett Mullins to scamper down the wing and set up Shannon Hegarty for a try. When Stacey Jones scored one of the all-time great tries in grand final history, weaving his way through six defenders, the Warriors led 8-6 with 20 minutes remaining.
It was often a punishing match, with many players left battered and bloodied. It was a clash of heads between Fittler and Warriors prop Richard Villasanti, as well as a 40/20, that turned the game the Roosters' way. They stepped up the pressure and piled on three tries as the Warriors defence became stretched and mistakes crept in.
"I love everyone for making me feel this good - this is beautiful," Fittler gushed over the public address system at the conclusion of the match.
It had been a 27-year wait for Roosters fans.
2003
Qualifying final
Warriors 48 Bulldogs 12
This game will always be remembered for the feats of one player - Francis Meli. The Warriors winger amazingly crossed for five tries, setting a new playoff record and his season tally of 23 tries in 27 games helped him become the Warriors Player of the Year.
Five remains the most tries scored by a Warrior in a single game.
"It seemed like we kept turning around, going back and waiting five minutes for Brent Webb to kick a goal," then Bulldogs captain Steve Price said after the match.
Nine tries in all were scored against the Bulldogs but the game actually hung in the balance with 30 minutes remaining.
The Doggies seemed to have the momentum after clawing their way back to 16-16. But the Warriors sparked into life. Offloads stuck, breaks were made and the Bulldogs were powerless as try after try was scored.
The Warriors had gone into the finals as the sixth qualifier and were against one of the premiership favourites. Everyone was now wondering whether the Auckland-based side could make it two grand final appearances in a row.
Semifinal
Warriors 17 Canberra 16
This was one of the all-time classics. With 77 minutes on the clock, Stacey Jones stabbed over a field goal to put the Warriors within one more win of consecutive grand final appearances.
Once again, Eric Watson came to the party offering 10,000 tickets to New Zealand passport holders for the match at Aussie Stadium. What they saw was Canberra enjoy most of the early running, jumping out to a 10-0 lead before Logan Swann burst on to a Jones short ball to score. Clinton Toopi doubled the dose soon after to lock the scores up at halftime.
Winger Henry Fa'afili gave the Warriors the lead when he clutched a Jones bomb early in the second half but Canberra replied to set up a thrilling finish. The Raiders finished the strongest and came close on a number of occasions but couldn't apply the killer touch. Jones could.
Preliminary final
Panthers 28 Warriors 20
After the match, big prop Iafeta Paleaaesina was in tears while on a mobile phone, Stacey Jones said he would never watch a tape of the game and coach Daniel Anderson couldn't hide his disappointment.
"It's pretty obvious we saved our worst performance for today," Anderson said. "We were soft up the middle, didn't take opportunities and bombed a couple of deadset tries".
Maybe the Canberra game had taken too much out of them but the urgency, rhythm and momentum was gone from the Warriors.
Although Penrith dominated for much of the first half, the teams were level 10-10 as they went in for their halftime oranges. But Penrith took control soon after the restart and jumped out to a 28-14 lead.
It was too much for the Warriors to bridge and Penrith went on to claim the title with an 18-6 win over the Roosters the following weekend.
"The club is in good hands," Swann said as he reflected on what he thought was his last game in a Warriors shirt. "These guys can win it next year."
As it turned out, 2004 was the club's worst season on record. Only now do the Warriors have the chance to play finals footy again.
