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.
One of the big moves for the Warriors heading into the 2024 campaign is bringing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck back to the club after a stint in rugby union.
Once among the game's best fullbacks, Tuivasa-Sheck's stint in rugby union was a difficult one, and he returns to the 13-man code needing to put runs back on the board.
The added challenge to that, of course, is that it will come from an unfamiliar position as he lines up in the centres. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad's 2023 campaign was simply so good that there is no way he can wear anything other than the number one for the Warriors come the start of the new campaign.
And so, the attentions turns to Tuivasa-Sheck.
Centre is one of the game's toughest positions to play, both in attack and defence. There is little surprise that every team at the top of the ladder has strong players running out in the position.
Tuivasa-Sheck has all the tools to turn himself into one of the game's best centres, but he will be doing so under the microscope, and it'll be one of the more intriguing storylines to follow from anywhere in the competition this coming season.
Speaking of players returning to the Warriors after time away, Chanel Harris-Tavita returns and throws his name immediately into the mix to play in the halves.
But it's an absolute logjam for the Warriors, with Andrew Webster facing something of a headache in determining who will play alongside Shaun Johnson in the halves at the start of 2024.
Harris-Tavita is one option, but it's Luke Metcalf and Te Maire Martin who are also both at the club and in the mix for the number six jumper.
The two spent plenty of time in the five-eighth role for the Warriors throughout 2023, although both battled with injury at various points of the campaign.
Metcalf was there towards the end of the season, and at his best, was excellent for the Warriors before battling through a second stint of injury issues.
If he is fit, he could well be the best option to partner Johnson, although it has been reported Chanel Harris-Tavita is in the lead for the role.
Whichever way Webster goes, this is a critical call he must get right from the start of the season.
In a surprise move late in the off-season, former Queensland Maroons State of Origin second-rower Kurt Capewell was released by the Broncos to pick up a new deal with the Warriors.
He brings plenty of experience to the club, but exactly where he will fit into the side's best 17 remains a question.
The most realistic scenario is that Capewell ultimately becomes the replacement for Josh Curran, who spent most of the 2023 campaign struggling to hit his potential and playing off the bench for the Warriors.
A part of that though was also down to the breakout form of Jackson Ford, who had moved across from the St George Illawarra Dragons ahead of last season getting underway.
There is little doubt he will remain in the starting side, while Marata Niukore and Capewell will be the players likely fighting it out for the other second-row position.
Whether Capewell plays in the starting side or off the bench, there is little to no doubt he will bring experience and impact to the Warriors. It's just whether he fits in to the system which will ultimately determine how good of a move this is.
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.
The Warriors are blessed with a roster, and pathways system, that has some of the best junior talent anywhere in the NRL.
Of course, when it comes to pathways, it's difficult to look anywhere other than the Penrith Panthers as the benchmark in recent years, but the Warriors pushed all the way to a NSW Cup grand final qualifier last year, built on a team with exciting youngsters all over the place.
Many of those players are going to be pushing for NRL time this year, particularly backs Ali Leiataua and Ben Farr.
A centre, Leiataua made his NRL debut at the back end of 2023 and will be sitting behind Rocco Berry and Adam Pompey to start the year for a spot this go around, while Farr is a fullback who can also play at five-eighth.
In the forwards, Jacob Laban and Zyon Maiu'u lead the charge of players who will be pushing for big first-grade minutes throughout the year, but there are certainly others in and around the club, including middle forward Tom Ale, who could be in for a big year as he prepares for an increasing role in 2025 once Addin Fonua-Blake departs Auckland bound for Cronulla.
Coach Webster has certainly shown no hesitation in throwing his youngsters into the fire, so expect to see more of the same - and some breakout performances - from the Auckland-based outfit during the 2024 season.