NRL: Maddest moments of the Warriors

Many recall fondly the bizarre pre-match entertainment before the opening game against Brisbane, where intense, war scenes swept across the Mt Smart Stadium. Photo / Getty Images

1 Monie makes a costly decision

A taste of things to come. The Warriors were stripped of the points from their first ever win, in 1995, over Western Suburbs at Mt Smart Stadium, after breaking the interchange limit of four when prop Joe Vagana was sent on late in the game.

The Warriors had the game in the bag, and later admitted there was debate in the coaches' box about whether Vagana could go on.

Coach John Monie turned up to training with a dunce hat on - well earned too because the Warriors just missed the playoffs that year.

2 Tatupu opts for Samoan healing techniques over modern medicine

A cultural clash occurred in 1995 when forward/centre Tony Tatupu shunned modern medicine in favour of traditional Samoan healing techniques to deal with a broken arm. We'll make no judgment on
the merits of ancient and modern medi cine but it's hard to forget the disbelief from the Aussies who ran the club.

Tatupu removed a cast from his right forearm and had the mother of teammate Tony Tuimavave massage the injury. This was a new one on coach John Monie and chief executive Ian Robson and dire predictions were made about whether the arm would heal.

Tatupu, one of the most delightful characters I have ever met in sport, and now an Auckland policeman, stood firm declaring "half the battle is believing in things and I have always heard of miracles happening in the islands''.

He returned to action about a year after the initial injury.

3 Local clubs on standby during boycott threat

The Super League war of the mid-1990s - what an absolute mess as rival media organisations duked it out to control the game.

A potential lowpoint came when the Warriors' players and coaches, who were in the rebel camp, aimed to boycott the early 1996 match against Brisbane.

Thirty-four club players from Otahuhu and Ellerslie were put on standby to play the mighty Broncos.

This crisis within a major crisis for the game was averted when Brisbane forfeited.

4 Acrimony and money a destructive combination

Which brings us to the Super League war itself. The game was awash with acrimony and money ... and Auckland's much anticipated entry into the world of professional rugby league had been turned into an unholy mess. Remnants of the dispute remain in Australia to this day.

The Australian club competition has survived reasonably well, although international rugby league has never truly recovered from being a pawn of corporate power.

Those in charge of the Warriors, including inaugural coach John Monie, were distracted - entranced - by the money on offer, human nature being what it is. Clever ways were never established at this pivotal time, and the tumultuous style of ownership and management which followed contributed to a club that has never settled into a successful pattern.

5 Search for a safe pair of hands

The fun and games never stopped. If Auckland and New Zealand sport wanted to experience the sharp edge of professional sport, they got it in spades from the Warriors.

In late 1998, the struggling club was sold by the Auckland Rugby League to an outfit whose majority owners were the Tainui tribe, run by league fanatic Bob Mahuta, and after a short but highly controversial period - in which Tainui put up to $5 million into the club - businessman Eric Watson rode to the rescue and grabbed a bargain deal as the new owner.

6 The mad, mad world of Mick Watson

The roller coaster ride continued, with the wild new chief executive Mick Watson at the centre of every storm.

He did have success, as the club made the 2002 grand final under coach Daniel Anderson. But Anderson left in unhappy circumstances, and top players like Stacey Jones departed with all manner of weird reports circulating.

Star prop Steve Price's book lifted the lid on the mad world of Mick Watson's Warriors. The CEO was intimidating and aggressive, Price wrote, and two-faced with players.

After Watson had departed, his salary cap breaches of about $1 million were exposed and the club was hit with a massive fine and the loss of four competition points before the 2006 season. In some respects, the cap breach was almost a price worth paying, as it brought Price and the great Ruben Wiki to the club.

Price in particular became a sort of figurehead of New Zealand league, a much-liked figure and the relentless forward who kept the club on an even keel.

Price believed that Mick Watson had been caught unprepared when both he and Wiki said yes to Warriors contracts.

The picture Price painted of the club was quite extraordinary, including the sight of Watson's large frame training virtually fulltime with the players.

Oh the Warriors - you've got to love them.

7 Witt holds the ball high before scoring a winning try

Under Eric Watson's ownership, Wayne Scurrah's leadership and Ivan Cleary's coaching, the club has settled down, but the Warriors need a title.

Watson has had his reputation dented with the failure of investment company Hanover Finance.

However, the latter-day controversies pale in comparison to the mad world of Mick Watson, the Super League disaster and the complicated dealings around Tainui ownership.

You might not see a crazier event on the field though than when Michael Witt momentarily held the ball in the air, apparently in celebration, before dotting down for the winning try in the shock playoff victory over Melbourne in 2008.

Had Melbourne been able to dislodge the ball, Witt would never have been forgiven.

The spirit of John Monie, with his ridiculous interchange decision in 1995, almost lived on.

8 Fiery match openings

Many recall fondly the bizarre pre-match entertainment before the opening game against Brisbane, where intense, war scenes swept across the Mt Smart Stadium playing field. A few years later, a similar effort almost ended in disaster as a flaming man was left dangling in midair when a pre-match stunt threatened to come unstuck.

9 The daft but good old days

Only the Warriors could get involved in a fuss about flying dogs, as occurred when it emerged English prop Andy Platt's
contract included an expensive clause that his dogs would accompany him to New Zealand.

Then there was the Ruben Wiki affair at the outset, when the rising Canberra star was signed by the Warriors in an airport lounge. When Wiki decided to stay at Canberra, the Warriors' big spending chief executive Ian Robson was found to have signed up Wiki in an airport lounge using an unidentified citizen as the
witness. He later said he had no copy of the contract.

Even the club's tekoteko logo ran into trouble - the curved tongue signified weakness and had to be straightened.

The list went on and on ... those were the mad (but kind of good) old days.

10 The modern era

Which brings us to modern times.

Fines for "Waterboy" Wiki getting involved in an altercation, an incorrect team sheet and taking the field late are child's play compared to the wild and wacky - and sometimes tragic - Warriors of old.

In some ways, the club is an extension of the old days in Auckland rugby league, a place of charm and lovable rogues.

Never a dull moment, as they say. In the rather stoic world of New Zealand sport, they have been a breath of fresh air, even if it has often blown in bizarre directions.