Ruben Wiki: It's time to make up for lost points

I have been through a lot in my career - it's what happens in 13 years in the game - and the events of the past couple of weeks are just another part of the journey.

It's a little ironic, though, that the most controversial things seem to involve the Warriors - there was the court case in 1994 and now the salary cap saga.

But I'm big enough and ugly enough to deal with it and I've never been one to get caught up with what is being said in the papers.

It was a huge shock when we found out but it honestly hasn't affected me, and my wife and kids have always been there to help me relax and keep things in perspective.

It's a cliche, but I've moved on and so have my team-mates - there's nothing we can do about it anyway.

I've always said the only things I can control are what happen in between the white lines and that's what my wife has told me - do my talking on the field. I will leave it up to those that wear the suits to sort this one out.

I have always hated pre-season training - running up and down sand dunes and doing beep tests is not why I play footy - but the salary cap controversy has given me another reason to look forward to the start of the season. Hopefully now we can talk about what happens on the field.

I'm not too worried about the four-point deduction because, the way I see it, we just take away the byes this season, which are worth four points.

It's a handicap but I know we can overcome this and we will be a stronger club as a result. Just look at how we came back from 20 points down to beat the Bulldogs in the last trial in the week we found out about the salary cap - it shows the character and enthusiasm in the side.

Some people point to the fact we have lost some quality players in the likes of Stacey Jones, Iafeta Paleaaesina, Francis Meli and Monty Betham, and we have certainly lost some seniority, but the guys who have come into the side are more than capable.

In some ways, the absence of Stacey means we can't rely on him to create everything and others like Nathan Fien, Lance Hohaia and Sione Faumuina will step up without him around. We have a lot of options and depth, especially in the forwards.

It would be great if we can build on what the Kiwis did in last year's Tri-Nations and the new coaching staff have approached some things in the way Bluey McClennan did last year. I noticed it the first day back at training, even when the motivation was a little low after a tough season in 2005, and it got me excited again.

I don't mind admitting I watch the final every week and I still shed a tear at the end of it because our win in the tournament was something special.

Hopefully we will have a few more tears of joy this season.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY