The New Zealand Warriors enter the 2024 season as a team looking to make as big a statement as any.
The statement?
That they are no longer the inconsistent team who have been present throughout essentially their entire NRL existence to this point.
That's not a knock on the Warriors, but the simple truth of the matter is that they haven't, for the most part, been able to string multiple games together, let alone multiple seasons.
2023 saw them do the former of those though, with Andrew Webster earning every cent of his deal and repaying the faith shown in him by the club in what was an exceptional rookie head coaching season.
But now the Warriors, who have the support of a nation behind them and quickly became the hottest ticket in Auckland during the finals series, must back it up.
Here are the big questions that will determine exactly how well they might be able to go in 2024.
4. Can Addin Fonua-Blake maintain form in his final Warriors' season?
Fonua-Blake has agreed to join the Cronulla Sharks from the start of the 2025 season following his request for a release from the Warriors.
That will be news to nobody who has followed the competition's news cycle even remotely over the off-season, but now comes the question of whether he can match his 2023 campaign during his final year with the Warriors.
There is little to no doubt that Fonua-Blake was among the top props in the competition last year. At the Dally M Medal ceremony, he was rated in the team of the year, and was widely thought to be on par with James Fisher-Harris, with the duo sitting just behind Payne Haas.
But coming into the new year, there are clearly some off-field distractions for Fonua-Blake, both over his future, and within the reasons he requested that release.
This isn't a knock on him. He is an ultimate professional who should be able to maintain his best and block out the noise, but it's not always that simple, and certainly a question worth asking at any rate.
