OPINION: No one is surprised the curtain has come down on the Warriors career of Manu Vatuvei. But the pleasantries of fan favourite and prolific try scorer, or the dispersions of erratic and past it being churned out do not paint the full picture.
This bloke changed the game.
He wasn't the first big winger in the NRL, but he was the most destructive. You don't earn a nickname like "The Beast" while playing in the backs for no reason.
His ability to start sets off with powerful runs, using the frame of a professional wrestler with the speed of a sprinter, became the prototype other clubs dreamed of replicating. Ask any forward that's played with or against him over the past 13 years - those runs early in the tackle count inspire sides and change the momentum of games.
It's been a criminally under-valued part of his game. Teams changed the way they defended to try contain 'The Beast' or devised game plans around disrupting him, you don't get more influential than that.
It's sad to see the way his time at Mt Smart has ended but let's be frank, it could have ended a decade earlier.
Anyone who saw his infamous capitulation on May 28, 2007 against the Eels would have thought the then 21-year-old Vatuvei was done.
His suspect hands went from a flaw to his dominant characteristic in the space of one train wreck of a night. I still remember the commentators pleading for him to be hooked from the field, to be put out of his misery. Manu was dropped and many thought Ivan Cleary was mad to bring him back to first grade within a fortnight.
But he showed a determination even he didn't know he had. He was always capable of a "rocks or diamonds" type performance. But having spoken to Vatuvei about this many times over the years, that he overcame this hurdle gave him confidence he could bounce back throughout his career.
Love him (many do) or hate him (same goes), Vatuvei has been a consistent force for the Warriors in good times and in bad.
Yeah that's right, I just used the word consistent to describe Manu Vatuvei.
He is the only player in NRL history to have scored at least 10 tries in 10 consecutive seasons.
Let that sink in. All the greats who have graced the comp, not one of them has been able to achieve that. And Manu did it while playing for the Warriors.
Vatuvei is the club's top try scorer with 152 of them and will be for many years to come - and 10th in the NRL's all time try list. He's third on the Warriors point scoring list - without ever kicking a goal!
I have seen stadiums become unglued when Vatuvei charges the ball back at a defensive line, masses of people rise out of their seats when he is in full flight down a wing, and countless kids replicate his kiss to the heavens try celebrations at footy grounds around the country. My four-year-old son dreams of growing up to be as big and strong as Manu Vatuvei, I don't have the heart to tell him otherwise.
All this doesn't even take into account his test career. His 22 tries again a record, but that doesn't tell the full picture either.
Before Vatuvei played for the Kiwis, getting a win here or there was something to celebrate.
But he was there - and playing key roles in the drought-breaking 2005 Tri-Nations winning side, the World Cup conquering 2008 team, and the first team in more than 50 years to beat the Kangaroos in consecutive tests to win the 2014 Four Nations on home soil.
No one else has all three of those defining moments in New Zealand rugby league on their resume. If you're not impressed by that, then nothing will.
There is absolutely one thing missing from that list though. A premiership ring. He's not the first Warriors icon who will leave the club without one and he certainly won't be the last.
Vatuvei's best days are behind him, and there could be an argument he played on a season too long at the club. But there can be no argument the impact he has had on the NRL, the Warriors and rugby league in this country.
It's the right move for the Warriors, it will free up cash to fill a front row, centre or half position. Salford have got themselves a potential game changer for them if Manu gets his body right. And while he won't be in Warriors colours again after his farewell lap on Friday, it won't be the last we see of him on these shores.
He's a certainty to be picked for Tonga in the World Cup, and I hope to watch the Beast unleashed in person one more time against Samoa and the Kiwis in Hamilton.
You don't have to be a fan of Manu Vatuvei, but you've got to respect what the boy from Otara has achieved.
Sam Ackerman is head of sports at Newshub.
