Under new coach Andrew Webster, the Auckland league club is unrecognisable from the erratic rabble of the past three decades (give or take the odd good season).
Muscular Adam Pompey has his limitations as a centre but the way he destroyed the classy Valentine Holmes to create a try against the Cowboys said it all about Webster’s new broom.
Every team gets the chance of its day in the sun under the NRL’s salary cap, player-go-round system. For once, the Warriors look capable of grabbing the opportunity.
This punter can’t wait for the team’s return to Mt Smart Stadium, where they play the Bulldogs on Sunday. I haven’t felt this confident for a very long time, if ever.
If only Webster had been in charge when booming Brisbane prospect Reece Walsh was at the club.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster and captain Tohu Harris. Photo / Getty Images
WINNER: A second NRL team in New Zealand
The above leads to this.
As momentum grows, the NRL should look at quickly establishing a second team in New Zealand, with the New Zealand Warriors reverting to their true identity and becoming the Auckland Warriors again.
New Zealand needs another NRL team, not another A-league team. League will catch fire then.
Next job — building a proper football stadium in Auckland. Fat chance, unfortunately.
So how are we going to honour this humble cricketing colossus one day?
Please no, don’t say a knighthood.
I’m dreaming of the day when a famous Kiwi sportsperson turns down one of those remnants of ugly colonialism.
There needs to be a statue of Williamson somewhere. Or is that passe in the age of virtual reality and NFTs?
WINNERS: The Breakers
A great season fell just short of a title, as the Kings prevailed in game five in Sydney. Mody Maor’s outfit will be dejected, but they have engineered a magnificent turnaround that has brought the crowds back.
Jarrell Brantley’s re-entry into the NBA on the back of his spell with the Auckland club is also a big tick for Maor and co. and will help their recruitment prospects.
Jarrell Brantley signed a short-term contract with the Utah Jazz after a stellar season with the Breakers. Photo / Photosport
LOSER: Mark Robinson’s rugby regime
The New Zealand rugby boss is remote and uninspiring as the national game teeters.
For example … why the heck is this All Blacks coaching decision/announcement taking so long?
In recent days, pundits have wondered why there are only two candidates for the top job (Scott Robertson and Jamie Joseph), and if an overseas coach should come into the picture.
There should actually only be one candidate. If the NZR knew what it was up to, it would have had a clear target signed, sealed and delivered by now.
That’s how smart, professional sports organisations work.
Instead of that, they’ve turned it into some kind of long-winded The X Factor, but without x-factor.
LOSERS: Auckland stadiums/A-league dreams
It’s hard to work out just where the A-league’s confidence in New Zealand comes from, after the come-from-nowhere revelation it is looking at establishing a second football team here, in Auckland. The lack of a suitable boutique stadium should be a deal breaker.
WINNER: The Singing in Dublin
Another great atmosphere at a Six Nations match, as Ireland clinched the rugby title with a highly expected win over England.
WINNER: Scott Barrett
Blues captain Dalton Papali'i and Crusaders captain Scott Barrett. Photo / Photosport
Led the scratchy Crusaders to a win at Eden Park. He almost always has a terrific game.
Barrett is still a test nearly man behind the greatest locking combo in history.
If Barrett establishes a test starting place as Sam Whitelock’s career draws to an end, he would make a strong All Blacks captain.
LOSER: The Melbourne Storm
It’s not just that they are losing, it’s the way they are losing. The Dolphins’ raid on their forwards and a few key injuries have ripped the great NRL club apart.
Captain Christian Welch did come up with a winner of a quote though after the loss to the still-awful Titans: “We’ve been one of the best teams over the last couple of weeks at doing stupid shit.”
WINNER/LOSER: Erling Haaland
Manchester City’s Norwegian striker accelerated his goal deluge with eight in two games. But some pundits still wonder if he actually makes Manchester City a better team.
WINNER: Dick Fosbury
Perhaps the most famous case of a sportsperson having a technique named after them.
The American, who invented high jump’s Fosbury Flop, died aged 76, suffering from lymphoma.
Fosbury won the 1968 Olympic gold medal and his name sparks a feeling of success, unlike some others in this category.
Another candidate in the most famous eponymous sports stakes is Indian cricketer Vinoo Mankad, who probably wishes he’d never bothered with his controversial run out of an Aussie in the 1940s.
Belgian football battler Jean-Mark “Bosman Ruling” Bosman will forever be famous way beyond his ability, for the 1995 judicial challenge that changed the transfer system and world game forever.
The Cleveland Browns NFL team are actually named after their first coach, Paul Brown. They are not only eponymous but synonymous with failure, being among four teams yet to make the Super Bowl.
And of course rugby league has the Hopoate Move … but that’s another story (kids, ask your parents).
