NRL: No regrets for having a shot

Stacey Jones. Photo / Getty Images

7

On November 7, 2008, Stacey Jones announced that he would return to the Warriors.

It was met with surprise and excitement but 2009 wasn't always a happy time for a player who has a lounge at Mt Smart Stadium named after him.

"I am glad I gave it a shot," Jones says after careful consideration. "I am disappointed with the way things turned out but I have no regrets about coming back and giving it a go. It's certainly been tough and I wish things had been better but I am glad I did it."

95,300

The number of Google hits in 0.28 seconds when the words Stacey, Jones and retire are plugged in. It's probably also the number of times it has been mentioned to Jones because it has felt like he's had more comebacks than Winston Peters.

The 33-year-old has often struggled to say no, like when the Kiwis needed him for the Tri Nations campaigns of 2005 and 2006 and when the Warriors realised the best way to try to replace Jones was enticing Jones back.

"This is my last game," he says on the eve of last night's match against the Storm. "And it feels good."

2002

The year Jones was at his best. The Little General helped the Warriors to the minor premiership and their only grand final - where he scored one of his best tries, jinking past three Roosters defenders.

It was also the year Jones became only the second Kiwi after Hugh McGahan (1988) to win the Golden Boot Award as the world's best player.

"It was a great year," Jones says. "We didn't win the premiership which is the ultimate. But I think the first year [in 1995] is the one I look back on with fondest memories because it was a novelty to everyone. As a kid, it was something you dream doing, playing as a professional in your own country. The hype was around that year."

18

The age Jones was when made his Warriors debut against the Eels on June 4, 1995. He had sat on the bench plenty - in those days a handful of reserve grade players sat on a bloated interchange bench but didn't always get on - but replaced the injured Gene Ngamu late in the game against Parramatta.

It was only five minutes but in that time he scored a try, kicked a conversion and got a cut, forcing him to the blood bin. He sat out the next two matches before starting at five-eighth against Cronulla on the same day Team New Zealand won the America's Cup. Jones played every Warriors match from then on until the end of the 1999 season - an unbroken stretch of 100 games that is a Warriors record.

"It was a dream come true to play alongside some great players, players you look up to like Dean Bell and Greg Alexander and then play alongside some of your mates like Joe and Nigel Vagana and Awen Guttenbeil. It was a special time. You see it happening today with guys like Kevin Locke and Russell Packer. It brings back memories of what it was like when I was first starting."

6

Jones has played under all six Warriors coaches - John Monie, Frank Endacott, Mark Graham, Daniel Anderson, Tony Kemp and Ivan Cleary.

It was during Anderson's reign that Jones went through the best and worst of times.

In 2004, as the Warriors went through a bad slump, Anderson labelled Jones "gutless" and threatened to drop him to the Bartercard Cup. Anderson, who was also Kiwis coach, did say, however, that he would be picking him for the upcoming Anzac test.

Jones was incensed. He 'retired' from the Kiwis believing if he wasn't good enough for the Warriors, then he certainly wasn't deserving of a spot in the New Zealand side. Jones now looks back fondly on all the coaches he played under.

"They were all different," he says. "It's been tough for the coaches here at the Warriors. When we're going through a tough time, everyone is on their back and saying they should get rid of them. I think that's sad. A club like the Warriors needs to stick solid with a coach and let him build a group and that's what they need to do with Ivan [Cleary]. They need to let him build his culture. He's only young and will keep building."

261


The number of games Jones played for the Warriors.

He played 238 between 1995 and 2005 and has since extended his records: most games for the Warriors, most points (674 before last night), most tries (77), most field goals (14) and most consecutive games (100).

"Records don't mean a hell of a lot to me," he says. "What matters is results. To be at the club for such a long time is pretty special, though."

2010

Jones doesn't really know what next year holds for him. He expects to spend more time in the Subway shop he owns, as well as his local Point Chevalier club, and the Warriors have indicated they would like to re-employ him as a coach (he was kicking coach in 2008).

"Relaxing," Jones says smiling. "And some more golf."