Through his decade-long, 251-game tenure with the Warriors, stalwart Shaun Johnson has created some cherished memories at Mt Smart.
But Friday's emphatic 40-10 win over Newcastle Knights – with their season on the line - to book their place in the NRL preliminary final is one Johnson admits has shot right to the top of his rankings.
More specifically, the moment he walked off the pitch when - with seven minutes to play and the result sealed – he had the luxury of exiting the game early to a round of cacophonous applause from a sold-out crowd showering their prodigal son with adulation.
"It's a moment I'll never forget," Johnson said, shaking his head as he relived it.
"I'm 33... played a few seasons now. That's as special as it gets. I can't think of a better [Mt Smart moment].
"They just make me feel so good and I love them for it."
After a week of nationwide speculation about the health of the torn calf that prevented him taking the field in their finals opener against the Panthers, Johnson ticked all the boxes he needed to prove his fitness.
The club left any official confirmation until an hour before kick-off, and Johnson picked up right where he'd left off with another masterclass of halves play.
The Dally M medal contender had a major hand in engineering all three of the quickfire tries in the Warriors scorching start. Then, just when the Knights thought they'd fought their way back into the contest, his relentless kicking game continued to pile on the pressure by relentlessly pinning the visitors deep in their own half.
That burden eventually took its toll. The result was four unanswered tries that left the Knights dazed and sudenly staring down the barrel of a whitewash.
Johnson concedes he had some trepidation with how his calf would hold up but those were quickly put to bed.
"Happy I got through it physically," he said.
"I was just really glad that I didn't feel underdone or anything, which I was a little bit nervous about.
"I missed two games, but it's been three really down weeks with my training load... it just dropped.
"It felt good out there. I felt comfortable, felt in the groove and felt really clear about what I wanted to do.
"I thought I went out and did my job, which is always nice. You can walk off the field with that sort of satisfaction that you just played your part in a really good team win."
While the week leading into the Panthers game was difficult mentally, Johnson says once they accepted he'd take no part in that match it allowed him to start taking more meaningful strides with his recovery, with his sights set on the Knights.
"It was probably last week that hurt me a little more, when I wasn't even ticking off the sessions that they'd prescribed for me.
"When we put a line in last week's game I was able to really shift my attention to this week and everything sort of changed with how approached it.
"Our physio and our [strength and conditioning] staff just guided me through the process and did everything I could possibly do. It pays off in moments like this."
Next week will likely follow the same routine for Johnson, where they tread carefully with his workload in preparation for their clash with Brisbane Broncos next weekend, when a win would send them to the Grand Final.
Johnson trained mostly individually all week, before getting through captain's run and eventually being able to assure his teammates he'd be on board.
"I've got to be smart with it," he said. "We'll look after it well this week, trust the physios and the staff here to do right by it and rollout for what's going to be a pretty cool experience next weekend.
"I'm a bit wiser with with age and you take lessons along the way and you learn to how to deal with playing with these sorts of injuries.
"Tonight was good. I was really happy with how I was able to, you know like tick boxes throughout the week and then come out here and play through that."
And rest easy, Johnson is adamant he'll be able to back up this weekend's effort for their blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium, where a "chance to do something special" awaits.
"All I can say is it felt good. I haven't pulled up too sore so we'll look after it this week and we'll be good to go next week.
"Tonight was just one of those moments where if we knew got our game on, brought the crowd into it – that we were going to run on with it
"We've just done what we've practiced all week and we know that, if we do that at a high level, then that's good enough to beat anyone. It's the same mindset heading into next week.
"Weve given ourselves a really awesome opportunity to do something special for our fanbase and for our club. It's an opportunity we just don't want to mess up."
