WARRIORS v STORM
Mt Smart Stadium, 7.30 tonight
It hasn't been easy watching Stacey Jones this year.
Sure, there have been moments, occasional reminders of the genius once possessed by one of the game's greats. But such glimpses have been fleeting, the talent of old obscured by the unmistakable picture of a struggling player in a struggling team.
Off the field, the viewing has been just as tough. Ever the pro, Jones has fronted for the public duties that accompany his status. He's endured the interviews, dead-batted the questions, copped the criticism without complaint.
But while he has steadfastly stuck to the line that he has had no regrets, and has enjoyed his comeback, his body language has suggested otherwise.
While the question of his re-retirement remained unanswered, Jones looked increasingly hunted and harassed. Haunted would be going too far, but it hasn't been much fun. Can't have been, for someone who has always derived more enjoyment from his team winning than any personal achievements.
The Warriors' hierarchy have been steadfast in his defence, diverting any blame in the direction of his under-performing teammates.
Jones, however, has never sought to absolve himself of responsibility for the Warriors' poor season.
"I'd be the first one to admit I've been disappointed in some of my play," he said.
"But I've gone out there and tried to give my best. If the team wasn't successful, I always knew there was going to be some criticism. You cop it and you move on."
Before he can do that, there is the small matter of tonight's final match against the Storm.
The club's marketers have billed it as "Our Little General's Last Stand". While that smacks of trying to squeeze the last few drops out of an already parched stone, who can really blame them?
Who knows when a player of Jones' stature will next grace a Warriors jersey?
"Stacey's a true legend of the game and it would be great to see him given a decent send-off," coach Ivan Cleary said.
"No one deserves it more. He came back this season and has done a terrific job for us."
But with front line stars such as Steve Price, Manu Vatuvei and Simon Mannering headlining an extensive injury list, the chances of that happening appear slim.
The Storm have injury concerns of their own with Sika Manu, Matt Cross, Jeff Lima, Scott Anderson and Anthony Quinn all out, but they have the return of superstar Greg Inglis.
The club lost both matches when the centre was stood down pending court action over an alleged assault of his former partner, but marked his return last week with a 38-4 thrashing of the Roosters.
Needing to win to preserve a fourth place finish and with it home advantage for the first round of the playoffs, the Storm aren't overly worried about Jones' farewell lifting the Warriors.
"We're obviously aware of it," halfback Cooper Cronk said.
"Stacey is not only a great person for New Zealand rugby league but a great bloke for league in general.
"No doubt they've got their reasons to play good football on Saturday but we've also got ours.
"We're going over there to do what we need to do and play things the way we need to play to hopefully make some noise in the coming weeks."
Jones departs owning most of the club's records, including most points (674) and most tries (77). But just two of those tries have come in his 22 games this season - a strike rate of one every 11 matches. His career average is closer to a try in every three.
Asked for his assessment of Jones' form this season, Cleary felt he had been hampered by the way the Warriors had gone as a whole.
"I feel the team around him probably hasn't performed as well as it could have or needed to in many respects," he said.
WARRIORS v STORM
Warriors
Wade McKinnon
Kevin Locke
Lance Hohaia
Patrick Ah Van
Aidan Kirk
Joel Moon
Stacey Jones
Sam Rapira
Aaron Heremaia
Evarn Tuimavave
Lewis Brown
Ukuma Ta'ai
Micheal Luck (c)
Interchange: Ian Henderson, Russell Packer, Jacob Lillyman, Ben Matulino
Storm
Billy Slater
Steve Turner
Will Chambers
Greg Inglis
Dane Nielsen
Brett Finch
Cooper Cronk
Brett White
Cam Smith (c)
Aiden Tolman
Adam Blair
Ryan Hoffman
Dallas Johnson
Interchange: Ryan Hinchcliffe, Hep Cahill, Ryan Tandy, Wairangi Koopu.
- additional reporting NZPA, AAP
