OPINION: The NZ Warriors are playing finals football for the first time since 2011 and they are determined as ever to make a deep run.
They head into finals football having won four of their last five games and they’re oozing confidence.
- Warriors waiting to learn finals opponents
- Mannering set to be fit for finals
- Opinion: Belief the key to Warriors playoff hopes
It has been a season of many ups and a couple of downs, but overall, the club has achieved more on the field than people expected.
Newshub league tragics take a look back at the highlights - and make fearless playoff predictions.
PLAYER OF THE SEASON
Kirstie Stanway (Newshub rugby league reporter): Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
There is no doubt about this one. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been brilliant this season.
He's run 4058 metres in 22 games this season and could still be named Daly M Medallist. Case closed!
Ben Francis (Newshub digital sports producer): Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
The fullback has often been known for his freakish abilities with the ball, but off the ball, he has been just as superb.
His try-saving tackles have often changed momentum in games and he has shown his leadership traits during the season, showing why he was given the role as captain.
John Day (RadioLIVE sports reporter): Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Not only has he been the best Warriors player, he's been the best in the NRL.
His defence is just as good as his attack and his leadership has gone 'nek level'.
Brad Lewis (Newshub digital sport producer): David Fusitu'a
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been outstanding in 2018 and rightly deserves all the plaudits he is receiving, but I'm going to go with David Fusitu'a.
The Warriors winger has been a metre-eater all year from the back and currently tops the NRL try-scoring ladder. Fusitua scores tries for fun and has made a habit of making extremely hard put-downs look easy.
His high ball ability is as good as anyone in the history of the game - and I include Israel Folau in that.
A breakout season for the Warriors right winger.
Sam Ackerman (Newshub head of sports): Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
I disagreed with RTS getting the award last year, but I'll start a riot if he doesn't claim it in 2018.
His presence, leadership and confidence have grown throughout the season, barely putting a foot wrong along the way.
A game-breaker and the best last line of defence in the comp, Tuivasa-Sheck's not just in line for the Warrior of the Year, but the NRL player-of-the-year at the Dally M's.
Enough said.
Grant Chapman (Newshub digital sports editor): Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Hard to go past a Dally M frontrunner, but Roger Tuivasa-Sheck - always looking to improve his game - has added defensive reliability to his repertoire this season.
He's always been a fantastic runner, now he's also a tackler and his exploits at the back have provided the inspiration for a greatly improved Warriors effort without the ball.
MOST IMPROVED
JD: Ken Maumalo
He hasn't got the tries that fellow winger David Fusitu'a has, but Ken Maumalo has become the total package.
Thoroughly deserves his four-year contract extension.
BL: Bunty Afoa
What an impact Bunty Afoa has made in 2018. He doesn't usually start with the likes of James Gavet, Agnatius Paasi and Adam Blair in the squad, but Afoa has been a terrific bench option for Stephen Kearney throughout the season.
The Warriors really struggled for the three weeks he spent on the side-lines following the mid-season loss to the Sharks and his absence was a big factor in those back-to-back defeats.
Can play in the back row if required, but I really believe Afoa's future lies up front and he will only get better.
Honourable mention for Issac Luke.
BF: Jazz Tevaga
Many players could win this award, but for me, Jazz Tevaga has been a revelation.
He is the forwards version of Lance Hohaia. He can play anywhere you want - the smallest guy on the field playing prop!
He is such a strong ball carrier and it often takes 3-4 guys to get him to the ground, because he's super strong and is always looking for an offload.
Sill not a fan of him at hooker, but he has done many of the little things right.
KS: Ken Maumalo
Ken is in his third season and this has been his best by far. He's now a safe pair of hands and uses his big frame to cart the ball up the field when needed, averaging 154 metres per game.
The right hand side of the field has received high praise, but Maumalo deserves his fair share.
He's signed a long-term deal through to 2022 and has the right attributes to be as good as Manu Vatuvei.
SA: Issac Luke
It feels weird to give most improved to a veteran of 253 first-grade games, but Issac Luke's contribution has been immense.
No absence has been stronger felt than his, when he was injured, and his ability to swing a game with his darts from dummy half have been exactly why he was brought home in the first place.
I know he's in the twilight of his career, but it would be madness not to sign him up for 2019.
GC: Solomone Kata
For a few seasons now, Solomone Kata has had fans and teammates in fits with his inconsistent play, especially his hair-brained dashes out of the defensive line.
This season, he's kept that unreliable behaviour to a bare minimum, which is another big reason for the Warriors' improvement in their own territory.
BEST RECRUIT
JD: Tohu Harris
Blake Green has been a rock, but the player that has turned the Warriors from also-rans into contenders is Tohu Harris.
He knows how to win and is one of the best back-rowers in the comp.
BL: Agnatius Paasi
The easy answer would be Tohu Harris and I do think Adam Blair has answered a lot of critics in 2018, but Paasi's signing flew under the radar and he has proved to be quite the recruit this season.
Has formed a brutal starting front-row duo with James Gavet, giving the Warriors the one-two punch they have missed in recent years. Has a great gas tank to boot and defends his heart out every week.
No doubting 2018 has been the best recruitment class in club history, but given the limited expectations on the former Titan, he gets my vote.
BF: Adam Blair
Tohu Harris and Blake Green are deserving off this, but Blair has been my pick.
He was heavily criticised by fans as rumours swirled around his potential arrival, but he has shown why Kearney wanted him.
Yes, he has done some stupid things, but his leadership in the forward pack has been vital to the Warriors success in 2018.
KS: Tohu Harris
Despite missing several games with injury, Tohu Harris has been a massive coup for the Warriors.
His leadership and experience was just what the team needed, and his combination on the right edge has been great to watch.
SA: Tohu Harris
Probably the toughest category, as all the major recruits have added something this season. Tohu Harris gets the nod over the steadying influence of Blake Green or the competitiveness of Adam Blair.
Harris showed all his skills in helping turn Shaun Johnson and David Fusitu'a on the right edge from potential to potent.
Harris would be picked on the right edge of any team in the NRL and is crucial to the Warriors run into the finals.
GC: Alex Corvo
All the on-field moves have paid dividends, but strength and conditioning trainer Alex Corvo laid the platform for a five-game winning start to the season that really set the tempo and fired a warning shot that this Warriors outfit would be held to a higher standard than previously.
MOMENT OF THE YEAR
JD: Canberra Comeback
Down 19-12 with three minutes to go in the Aussie capital, Issac Luke scored, then Shaun Johnson provided two field goals to win it in regulation to see the Warriors get off to their best-ever start to an NRL season.
BL: Adam Blair's tackle on Jason Nightingale
So many moments to choose from, including Shaun Johnson's field goals against Canberra, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's one-man show against the Cowboys and Fuistua's three-try effort against the Panthers.
But the one moment that grabbed me the most in 2018 was the final play against the Dragons at WIN Stadium on August 4. For me, this was the turning point of the season, after a few shaky weeks, the Warriors had to win this one to stop the rot and they defended like brutes for the final 35 minutes.
The Dragons were chasing a miracle try to force the game into Golden Point when with time up, Nightingale received the ball 30 metres out and was crushed by Adam Blair, and the Warriors celebrated.
I was literally pacing in the living room during the final 10 minutes of this one and the joy at the end was well worth the emotional rollercoaster.
BF: Road Warriors
As a fan, making the playoffs makes me so happy, but just as gratifying was the number of hoodoos the Warriors broke across the Tasman.
It was their equal-best season in terms of away wins and we won in Perth for the first time. They also claimed rare wins in Canberra, Kogarah and an NZ win outside of Auckland.
After going 1-11 last year, who would have thought they'd have the equal-best away record in '18?
Honourable mention to the Canberra comeback, as it got me out of wearing a Raiders jersey for a day
KS: Making the playoffs
Best moment of the year - securing a spot in the top eight with a win over the Penrith Panthers.
It took longer than it should have to secure their spot, but after seven long years, the drought was finally broken and it felt good.
SA: Beating the Dragons in Auckland
The Drags were undefeated at the time and had been the Warriors' bogey team for decades.
The Warriors put on a complete performance and announced themselves as true contenders.
It may have been sandwiched by disappointing performances, but the intensity that night left an impression on me - and many non-believers on both sides of the ditch.
GC: Shaun Johnson field goals v Raiders
Think I was actually in a movie theatre when it happened, probably assuming the Warriors would not recover from a such big deficit to win.
Dropped goals have never been a Warriors trademark and Johnson hits two of them to steal victory - unbelievable.
That just showed the new confidence in this team.
HOW DEEP CAN THE WARRIORS GO
JD: Shallow waters
If they can get a home playoff, I think the Warriors will make it through to Week Two of the finals.
Otherwise, even with their superb away form this year, it could be a Week One exit.
BF: All the way if…
The Warriors have been up and down all year and most of the other top eight sides are also.
They will win in Week One and if they avoid the Storm and Sharks, they can go deep.
KS: Can go deep
On their day, the Warriors can beat anyone, so they have as good a chance to win as anyone.
They can go all the way to the Grand Finals, but they need everyone to fire, Roger to keep up the hard work, Shaun to hit his straps and Tohu to stay injury free (touch wood).
SA: No need to rush
There's the cliché of 'it's a new comp and anyone can win it. I think they'll last until Week Two, but predicting finals runs in the NRL is fraught with danger.
We can't forget the Warriors haven't made the finals in seven years. The NRL isn't the type of competition where you can easily go from the outhouse to the penthouse in the space of a season.
Making the playoffs is a great achievement, but it's just the start.
GC: Deeeeep
I think they can go deep. They're one of the best road teams in the league, so they don't need home games.
I think they have the collective belief to get to the Grand Final at least and no-one else is so dominant that they're unbeatable.
Newshub.
