League: Ending hardly fit for a king

Stacey Jones left with a whimper, not a bang. Picture / Brett Phibbs

Contrary to popular belief, heroes rarely go out in a blaze of glory.

Maradona left football as a bloated cocaine addict, Babe Ruth left baseball not as a Bronx Bomber but as a spluttering wreck with the Braves.

And Stacey Jones last night left Ericsson Stadium for the last time as a Warrior as a loser, but unlike others, he left with his dignity intact.

He could have left with a hat-trick of tries on another night but video referee Steve Nash twice denied him in decisions that were technically correct but morally reprehensible - the man had no flair for the dramatic.

Referee Jason Robinson denied him another with a double-movement decision that was contentious at best.

But, as they say in France, c'est la vie. The result was only secondary, really.

He'll play out his career in Perpignan, where red wine not Lion Red will be the drop of choice, but there'll always be a little bit of Jones at Ericsson, with the news the Immortals Lounge in the West Stand has been renamed in his honour.

He might be a step slower than he was at his peak in the early years of this decade but as he says, he's a "few years older and wiser".

He was going to need all his infinite wisdom if he was going to better Andrew Johns, the benchmark for No 7s and one of Jones' greatest admirers if the video tribute he fronted at the start of the match was any indication.

A Jones kick broke the 0-0 deadlock but it would be a stretch to call it inspired; it was a couple of yards short of its target but Manu Vatuvei made it look good with a fine finish.

That was the end of the scoring, though the Warriors should have posted another 20 points if not for some shameful profligacy, until midway through the second half when Johns put Brad Tighe in a hole. Damn. Another Johns pass, another try, this time to Kurt Gidley. Double damn.

Clint Newton's try a few minutes later just confirmed another Warriors collapse.

Awen Guttenbeil said during the week "if we can't get up for this one, we can't get up for anything". Today, the truth must be unpalatable.

Jones might not have been the only one making his home farewell. Despite assurances to the contrary, rumour continues to swirl around the club that coach Tony Kemp will not be in charge next year.

But such matters were of little importance last night.

Jones has never felt that comfortable under the glare of the spotlight, unless they're the sort of spotlights that illuminate night games like these.

But he'd swap all the camera flashes and all the intruding microphones for a quiet exit out the back door.

He was never going to get that chance this week.

There was a lunch in his honour for a start - an occasion he was visibly humbled by.

The club, too, has played its part, recognising in a dead-duck season that a firm tug on the heart-strings would pull hundreds of uncommitted punters through the gates.

Some 17,000 took the opportunity to say goodbye.

The hype has been immense. There have probably been more reproduced quotes from the mouth of Jones in the past few days than there have been for the season.

He's not big on the soundbite, our Stacey, but even he seemed to sense this was no ordinary week.

"It's all over now. It's come to an end," he said during the week with suitable solemnity.

During the pre-match entertainment, a montage of Jones' finest moments as a Warrior was beamed on to the big screen.

To those who remember not much further back than the last two years, it was a reminder of the blinding acceleration and verve he played with.

He took the Warriors to a grand final on his shoulders and did his best to go one better - the solo try in that final perhaps being the defining moment in his career.

In 2002 Jones was more than the frontman for the Warriors, he was the frontman for his sport.

"If I have inspired someone or made someone feel happy, then that's great. I've been fortunate that the Warriors came about when they did," said the last remaining Class of '95er.

"For me to spend as much time as I have here through the good and the bad, I just look on it that I've lived the dream that young kids would love to do.

"I guess you could say that it has been a roller-coaster. There's been plenty of ups and," he said with emphasis. "A lot of downs.

"Now it's time to jump off and get on another one."

Warriors 4

(M. Vatuvei try).Newcastle

Knights 16

(B. Tighe, K. Gidley, C. Newton tries; A. Johns 2 goals)

- Additional reporting Michael Brown

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