How did the Warriors go from grand finalists to wooden spoon candidates in one season? Kris Shannon of APNZ looks at five reasons for the turnaround.
Inability to defend leads
Before the twin 40-point hidings came an even greater embarrassment - two 18-point leads squandered in consecutive games. But cast an eye even further back and the Warriors had hinted they were capable of such collapses. They must still wonder how they let slip a round 15 game against the Sharks, a match which the Warriors bossed for 70 minutes before conceding two tries to lose by a point. The Warriors looked like a rudderless ship in those final 10 minutes at Shark Park, one which was eventually sunk by mental lapses, a lack of direction and no plan B. All those attributes and more were on display in the galling games against Newcastle and Manly, when the Warriors stormed to significant leads but were helpless once momentum swung.
Brian McClennan
It would be unwise to suggest the slump is the sole result of McClennan taking the reins from Ivan Cleary - but there is no doubting the impact of a coaching change on the Warriors' fortunes. The only coach to record a winning record in his first season at Mt Smart Stadium was John Monie, and that was in the club's inaugural campaign in 1995. Since then, six men have arrived to find the Warriors a difficult club to corral in their maiden term. For the last half a dozen years - the longest tenure in Warriors' history - this has been Cleary's club. McClennan now needs time to turn them into Bluey's boys, all the while adjusting to the demands of his first job in the toughest league competition in the world.
Inexperience
If there is a downside to claiming back to back Toyota Cups, it has been illustrated. With a glut of talented youngsters pressing their case at under-20 level, the Warriors have shown no hesitation in promoting from within. It is a strategy which, of course, will pay dividends in the long run, but it is one which comes with short-term tumult. Knights' coach Wayne Bennett, speaking after last month's win in Auckland, described the difficulties in blooding young players at first grade level, and how the learning curve was greater than in many other sports. With the Warriors attempting to introduce half a dozen rookies at various points - some with success (Konrad Hurrell), others less so (Omar Slaimankhel) - it is unsurprising the side have been hampered by a callow streak.
Injuries
Yes, they plague every club throughout a gruelling season, but the Warriors have been hit particularly hard in key areas during this campaign. They have struggled to keep together their spine for an extended run of games, with hooker Nathan Friend breaking his jaw and the No 1 jersey seemingly cursed for the first half of the competition. Micheal Luck has endured terrible fortune in his farewell season, while workhorse prop Sam Rapira has also spent more time on the bench than barrelling into defenders. When a team, already light on veteran presence, suffers such setbacks it further exposes a weak underbelly to a level of competition to which they are unaccustomed.
