In the bowels of Suncorp Stadium late Saturday night, Warriors half Shaun Johnson carried the same look of dejection that many of the Wahs faithful sported after the 42-12 defeat to Brisbane Broncos that brought their fairytale season to an end just one tantalising step shy of returning to the Grand Final.
Fresh from a week off, the Broncos' high-octane offloading offence proved too much for the Warriors to handle, operating in tandem with a suffocating defence that ultimately squeezed the life out of the NZ-based side.
It all equated to a limp finish that Johnson regrets didn't do their resurgent season justice.
"I just don't think we probably showed through our performance exactly we're we are at as a footy side," Johnson said afterwards. "That's probably the most disappointing thing.
"They were really good though. They played fast, they played physical, offloaded the footy and just made it difficult for us.
"That in turn made our attack look a little different than probably what it has just through fatigue, and those extra efforts you have to make when a side gets an offload on you.
"I thought their offloads killed us and some of our decision making defensively hurt us
"Sometimes the other team can just play that little bit faster, and I thought the Broncos were just that tonight."
A breathless opening stanza to the contest in which the teams traded tries suggested there could be an all-time classic contest brewing, until a quartet of tries in the space of 15 minutes gave the Broncos some breathing space.
But with the floodgates creaking, the Warriors managed to keep themselves in the contest, although at times were their own worst enemies, producing uncharacteristic errors that stunted any progress.
Nevertheless, going into the break just 12 points behind, Johnson insists the team were still well poised.
Well aware of the enormous stakes riding on the first tryscorer in the second half, both teams punched and counterpunched. Then Reece Walsh sparked the knockout blow - albeit from an egregious forward pass that somehow went undetected.
Johnson admits its was a pivotal moment in the contest, which stifled their mounting momentum and swung the ledger too far to pull back.
"It just felt like we're always in the game, and if we could just fix a couple of things then we could go out and do something special in the second half. I had full belief that we were going to do that.
"That's probably why moments like that pass hurt so much. The block of play that led up to that – we were peppering them, we were getting our game on, putting the ball in the pocket, middles getting excited and ramming it up. We were going well, getting into our flow."
"Then that sort of happens and it was a backbreaker. They're a quality side, home crowd, it was so hard to get that momentum back.
"The belief was always there but they won convincingly and they deserved that."
For as heartbreaking as the final result was, Johnson had only positive comments when reflecting on his team's remarkable reversal from competition afterthoughts to one of the most formidable forces in the NRL.
Aotearoa has been swept up by Warriors fever this season, and Johnson confesses his experience throughout the team's run has opened his eyes to how deeply the fans' connection runs with their beloved side – no better exemplified than by the cacophonous outpouring of adoration seen at Mt Smart in last weekend's demolition of the Knights.
"They've reacted to what we've done, which is coming in with that mindset of continued improvement," notes Johnson.
"It didn't affect what we did but it was nice to see the difference we were making in other people's lives.
"The reception I got walking off Mt Smart last week, looking into the crowd and people were in tears. We're connecting with these people that we probably didn’t quite understand."
First-year head coach Andrew Webster has arguably been the biggest factor in the team's transformation in 2023, helping rid the Warriors of the undisciplined, unstructured style that has plagued them for so many years and ushering in an overdue age of accuracy, execution, and elite on-field IQ.
Johnson seized a moment in the sheds to give Webster his flowers, paying tribute to his enormous impact on behalf of the players, identifying his even-keeled approach as the perfect antidote.
"It's quite easy for the head coach to always thank everyone else, and I just thought it was important that he should hear from the playing group how much we value him, and the reason we're in this position is because of him. The culture he's set, the standards he's set and the environment he's created.
"I've been so impressed with how he's carried himself this year. Obviously, it's easy to carry yourself when things are going well but we went through a period there where we lost three in a row, and he didn't change.
"When that was happening, I was thinking in my head 'this guy has got it'. It's just exactly what this group needed. So, I've got nothing but admiration for Webby and his coaching staff and the standards they’ve set.
"We all know success starts at the top and it filters down to the rest of us."
The success has certainly made its way down to Johnson, who confesses he's rediscovered his passion for the sport during what he describes as a "career season".
The competition leader in try assists, Johnson's Benjamin Button campaign has put him in firm contention to be awarded the Dally M medal as the game's best player on Wednesday night, where he's also nominated for halfback of the year alongside Panthers captain Nathan Cleary and Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans.
Johnson suggests the calf injury that stopped a nation affected his play more than he let on, but not enough to tarnish their most impressive year since 2011 he simply describes as "special".
"Obviously, I would've liked to have felt a lot different at this time of year. I worked so hard to get yourself in position and play September footy, and then the body started to break down on me.
"It's been a career season where I really have fallen in love with everything to do with the game again.
"Coming into work every day, it's just been an environment you really want to be a part of and really want to improve in."
