Saviour the moment folks; it's Monday, September 3rd 2018 and Aotearoa Warriors are back in Finals footy with an Elimination Final against Penrith Panthers at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night. In beating Canberra Raiders on Friday night, the Warriors took care of business and it was then a waiting game to see how other results played out in a competition where 2 points separates the Warriors in 8th and Roosters in 1st. 

Today's Diary Of An Aotearoa Warriors Fan is all about taking time to enjoy what we have, express a bit of gratitude and appreciation for what the Warriors have done this season and reflecting on what it all means. Part of that includes celebrating the NRL, a league which had everyone trying to figure out how the top-8 would finish in the last round of action. A league in which any top-8 team could genuinely have a Premiership crack, the type of competition that makes Super Rugby look somewhat predictable and thus boring. 

In spending the weekend absorbing how it feels for the Warriors to be back in Finals footy, I got a vibe that many people were expectant of the Warriors playing footy in September. The same people who expected Stephen Kearney to be an instant fix last season, would perhaps find it disappointing that the Warriors have finished 8th and that another rollercoaster season is nothing but a sign of the ol' Warriors woes being present.

Here we are, preparing for Finals footy with a Warriors team that won 15 out of 24 games this season and enjoyed a 8-4 away record. Only three other teams in the top-8 have away records as good as the Warriors, all of which are top-4 teams; Roosters, Storm, Sharks. The Sharks and the Warriors are the only teams who are 4-1 in their last five games.

Another win would have seen the Warriors creep into the top-4, another 31+ points scored would have seen the Warriors finish 5th instead of 8th. Those are the margins we are working with here and with such fine margins, it doesn't feel like any kind of loss to finish 8th. 

Even if the margins were greater, finishing 8th would still be reason for celebration. 8th means Finals footy, it means playing into September and we all know how long it has been since the Warriors were in this position. I'm not here to pretend that everything has been honki-dory since 2011, during that time however, the Warriors have had five different coaches and despite not playing Finals footy, they never finished worse than 14th.

Since Ivan Cleary's departure, the club has been in a constant state of flux. Brian McClennan didn't even last the whole season in 2012 and as the Warriors searched for an identity, they somehow managed to remain reasonably competitive. After 2012, the Warriors finished 13th twice and in other seasons they sat on the cusp of the top-8. Remember that during this period, McLennan, Tony Iro, Mathew Elliot, Andrew McFadden and Stephen Kearney coached the team.

None of those coaches (ignoring Kearney) have been NRL coaches since leaving their Warriors role. McFadden was the first coach since Cleary to enjoy two seasons (one half season) in the job and given McFadden's coaching credentials, finishing 9th, 13th and 10th feels right. 

The Warriors were wayward, not in the sense of losing the plot, but post-2011 the Warriors have been searching. Whether it's soul-searching, or searching for the right people, the Warriors have had to suss out how this club is going to move forward and everything that has happened post-2011 leads us to this point where we are now.

Kearney is one of six Warriors coaches to coach for at least two seasons, six of 12 Warriors coaches have enjoyed two or more seasons. Two of those six coaches took the Warriors to Grand Finals and in his two seasons thus far, Kearney has taken the Warriors from 13th to 8th. While also implementing all sorts of changes at Mt Smart to lay foundations down, foundations for sustainable success.

This Warriors team and the club as a whole has found their identity, the soul-searching has led to this point where we have a team that balances razzle dazzle with eager defence. A team that epitomises the things that lured us into Warriors fandom and the things that we've always wished our Warriors team would do and do well. From staff to fans, we have a club that has great clarity in their journey ahead and should only get better; a team that loses Simon Mannering could be better off. 

The mark of a person is whether they leave a place better than than they found it. Maybe it's a job, maybe it's just leaving Earth and the community in a better position that when you came into existence. Mannering leaves the Warriors in perhaps the best position they have ever been in, with everything aligned towards a successful future, as we've always hoped for.

Sure, this is more a coincidence than anything else. As we prepare for Finals footy though, this idea nicely reflects the influence of Lord Mannering and regardless of what happens next weekend, Mannering has emphatically left the Warriors in the best position the club has ever been in.

Expect nothing from Finals footy. Improvements have been made, a true identity has been found and the future is bright. Last season Kearney sussed out all the woes, implemented changes to fix those issues and the results are visible, tangible improvements. We've won, progression is evident and we have a club that can only fill you with pride. 4th or 8th, it doesn't matter, the Warriors are in the Finals and that's reason enough to celebrate.

In enduring through the soul-searching, the Warriors are back in the mix. Anything's possible when the Warriors are in the mix.

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Peace and love 27.