OPINION: This is it Warriors fans. The most hotly anticipated debut in the club’s history is upon us. Kieran Foran is fit, available, and ready. We hope.
I can't wait. With Roger Tuivasa-Sheck set to make his return as well, this is the moment we get to find out if this spine can produce the spine-tingling performances it promises on paper.
Foran's return to the NRL has been carefully stage-managed this week.
Named on an extended bench, shielded from the media before, finally, confirmation in the form of an interview on the club's website. One minute and 54 seconds of Kieran Foran, his head freshly-shaven, indicating he's all set.
He looks a little nervous, but says all the things you'd expect; "It's been a great week, he's really looking forward to it, he honestly can't wait to run out this weekend with record-breaking teammate Simon Mannering."
But the most telling part was his thoughts on the team's start to the season.
"I think there's been parts throughout games where we've looked really good we just haven't been able to scrape away with the two point in the last couple of games," he said.
That's where Foran comes in.
The expectation from fans is that he'll be the difference. The player who'll scrape the team over the line when it's tight but, more importantly, he'll be the guy to control games from the start and avoid the need to scrape over the line at all.
Kieran Foran is the player they've been waiting for. And you don't need to look too far into the comments from the typically understated Stephen Kearney to know that he expects that too.
How will Foran cope with his first game since May? "I think he'll be fine, yeah," Kearney said knowingly, before going on to discuss what Foran's leadership, direction, and competitiveness will bring to the side. The message was that Foran won't fix all the problems, but he'll have an instant impact.
Foran has been through an awful lot in his life in recent times, and this article certainly isn't designed to place more pressure on his shoulders. One can only imagine the range of emotions he'll be feeling ahead of kick-off in an already tough match against St George at Kogarah tonight. There will be thoughts about the shoulder injury that delayed his return, and the personal reasons he's been out of the game for nearly a year.
He'll feel the direct pressure from fans, and the indirect pressure from others like his friend Jim Doyle, the Warriors CEO, whose trump card was bringing Foran to Mt Smart. He's admitted he may resign if this year isn't a success. That's not all on Foran by any means and it's certainly not what Doyle would have intended but boy, that's pressure.
While he may have left Sydney to escape, Foran's arrival in Auckland comes with the hope, and perhaps the unfair expectation, that he will be the last, key piece of the Warriors' puzzle. He would have known that when he signed, but it doesn't make it any easier.
Let's hope he really is ready to return. If so, this could be some season. After a false start, the Warriors' 2017 campaign really begins tonight.
Andrew Gourdie is a Newshub sports reporter.
