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After years of promising so much and delivering so little, the New Zealand Warriors are finally looking like they can make their way into the top four and push for the premiership.
The Warriors came from the bottom half of the eight in 2011 to make it to the grand final. This came after a qualifying finals round flogging at the hands of the Broncos – they can thank the McIntyre system for keeping them alive that year.
They went on to fall at the final hurdle to Manly, but many saw 2011 as the start of a Warriors dynasty. With a youthful team full of quality players, leading into 2012 New Zealand were premiership favourites.
History goes to show that they were pretty ordinary throughout 2012 and 2013 and this year didn’t start much better. Despite having a squad brimming with talent and attacking flair, the Warriors were languishing at the bottom of the table. Matt Elliott found himself as the first coach sacked this year.
A few months later and under the tutelage of Andrew McFadden, the Warriors are playing to their potential. Sam Tomkins is starting to live up to the hype that surrounded his big money move from England, Konrad Hurrell is proving near impossible to stop, and Shaun Johnson is the most exciting attacking player in the comp.
You can’t forget the forward pack either, with Jacob Lillyman, Simon Mannering and Ben Matulino all big men leading the way up front.
Things have really clicked into gear over the last two months, with the Auckland-based side winning their last three games and five from their last six. Their record of nine wins from sixteen games is pretty impressive when you consider that they lost five of their first seven.
While the Warriors have always been good at putting teams to the sword, the last few weeks saw them grind out some closer wins, notably against the Broncos and Panthers.
Their huge win against the Eels also exhibited how lethal they can be when they are on song. While Parra are proving to be a one-man team, not even the great Jarryd Hayne would have been able to stop most of these first half tries.
The Warriors have even got luck on their side at the moment. I loved seeing Tomkins score from a contested scrum on the weekend, and I would like to see more of it in the future, rather than referees blowing a penalty to the team with the feed nine times out of ten.
While the Warriors are still a way off from taking their maiden premiership, as a Manly fan I would be nervous if the Sea Eagles faced them in the finals.
The Warriors play the Broncos in Brisbane and Manly in Auckland over the next fortnight, and their performances against both of these teams will give a good indication as to whether or not they can grab a top-four spot.
Follow Louis on Twitter @louismcintyre
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