OPINION: The Warriors' season starts now.
They've been brilliant on their way to an unprecedented five straight wins to start the 2018 campaign, but a first loss had to come at some point and it came last night against the Broncos.
They say you learn more from your defeats than your victories and now we wait to find out how the Warriors will respond against the unbeaten Dragons next week.
- Richard Fale confirms foundational agreement signed to become NZ Warriors owners
- Warriors' surprise success spices up ownership contest
But after watching that loss on Saturday night, there's just one thought in my mind.
Eric Watson, don't sell the Warriors. From the club's point of view, the timing's all wrong.
For the past 10 years the Warriors have been crying out for change. It's obvious that the culture's been rotten, and CEOs, coaches, players and even Watson himself have all tried and failed to fix it.
But it's obvious from those first five games that something has changed. There's a different attitude to training, a different mental approach to the game.
Fitness has improved, defence has improved. Something has changed and now that it seems to be working, they need stability.
They don't need new owners with new ideas coming in, throwing their weight around, letting their egos run wild and immediately wanting to make their mark on their new toy.
Selling the club with so much of the season ahead would create doubt from the front office to the front row and the fans in the stand. It would threaten to unsettle the rhythm and the mentality of a team that is clearly onto something good.
One defeat doesn't change much for the team, but one decision from Watson certainly could.
I understand the buy-low, sell-high mentality of any businessman, but what's the reason Eric Watson bought the club in the first place?
Whether we're talking about the NFL, NBA, EPL or NRL, owning a sporting franchise is a vanity piece for any high-flying businessman. They're in it for the possibility they might win a competition and be there to hold the trophy after winning the championship.
Watson's never had that moment and it may never come, but surely there must be part of him that's watched the club's best ever start to a season and wondered whether, after all these years, he might just have the pieces in place to do what he always wanted.
If he decides to sell now and the Warriors go on to achieve success this season, then that success will be attributed to others. If the season unravels as a result of the sale, Watson will inevitably be blamed for destabilising the club at a point where they had shown such promise.
Perhaps the cold-blooded streak that separates the best business minds from the rest would leave him indifferent to either situation, but from the few times I've spoken to Eric Watson, I sense he genuinely cares about the club.
If that's the case, the right thing to do by the club and its fans is to wait. Wait and see what happens.
If it's not the Warriors' year, so be it - but if it is, stay on for the ride. What's the harm in sticking around one more year?
Maybe, for whatever reason, he needs to sell. If so, that's business.
But if not, there's no question that selling the club six games into the season, with so much of a promising campaign at stake, would be a mistake.
Andrew Gourdie is a sports reporter/presenter and host of RadioLIVE's Sunday Sport from 2pm.
