While the early exit of Addin Fonua-Blake remains the elephant in the NZ Warriors clubrooms, coach Andrew Webster insists his star front-rower seems more intent than ever to take his team to the next level in 2024.
The Dally M Prop of the Year sent shock waves through the club's fanbase over the off-season, when he requested an early release from his contract, due to expire in 2026, to return to Sydney on compassionate grounds.
In the interests of compromise, Fonua-Blake has committed to at least one more season at Mt Smart, while the Warriors bargain for the best return on their investment, when he leaves.
Sydney clubs are already queuing for his services, with St George Dragons emerging as the favourites, but they must also provide a suitable replacement on the Warriors roster.
Fonua-Blake, 28, has been instrumental to the Warriors' dramatic improvement over the past 12 months, with Webster rating him the best of his position in the game. News of his departure must be tearing at the heart of a coach desperately trying to elevate his team to an NRL Grand Final - an perhaps beyond.
If it is, Webster's not showing it.
"Whilst he's not at training, I've had heaps of conversations with Addin and I see nothing but focus," he said. "If anything, I see him more focused on wanting to leave here on a good note.
"You've got to understand, you've got a player who's not leaving because he doesn't like it here - the football environment - he actually loves it.
"He's passionate about this club, but he physically, for personal reasons, needs to go home. As a result of that, I think he's more motivated than I've seen, but we'll know when he gets back to training.
"I think he's unbelievably focused."
Fonua-Blake and fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad haven't made an appearance at pre-season training yet, given a few weeks' leeway, after their respective international duties with Tonga and New Zealand.
Everyone else has fronted in good spirits - and surprisingly good shape.
"They had targets and goals, but I didn't load the gun and tell, 'Do this or this will happen'," he said. "I just made it clear this is what we want from you as a result and we'll help with the training programme.
"If you're a professional athlete, that goes all year round. There's a time to stop for a little bit and there's a time to start getting ready for pre-season, just so we can start adding layers to our game, instead of stripping everything back and getting them to run all day.
"We can actually touch the football and get into more drills."
Warriors teams of the past have not always respected that requirement, and found themselves a step or two off the pace, when the season rolls around.
"Their attitude and the way they've come back physically has probably been the most pleasing thing for me," said Webster. "Historically, they haven't really come back in great shape, but you can see they're focused and want to get better."
Now past his rookie campaign, the Dally M Coach of the Year has wasted no time drawing a line in the sand for his players early in their pre-season.
"I thought what we did [last season] was really good," he said. "From where we started to where we got to was outstanding, but it wasn't good enough.
"We should be proud of the improvement, but at the end of the day, we should be hungry for that extra level. We got close, but not where we want to go to.
"It's really important that what we were good at last year, we get even better at, so that's going to be the focus. If we achieve that, we can add stuff to our game."
