Awkward problem caused by prodigal son's return

The Warriors were one of the big success stories of 2023, rising from second-last to within a game of the grand final.Along the way, they captured the hearts and minds of Kiwi-land, leaving the once-mighty All Blacks in their wake.The team that sacrificed so much during COVID-19 was rewarded with capacity home crowds and responded by playing brilliant attacking football.Rookie Andrew Webster was a deserved winner of the Coach of the Year title while critics on both sides of the Tasman are scratching their heads over how Shaun Johnson missed out on the Dally M Medal.Regarded as "soft" and unable to go the full 80 minutes by Aussie teams in previous seasons, the Warriors exhibited a new hard edge in 2023.They proved formidable opponents every time they went around and their ability to score spectacular tries made them one of the best teams in the game to watch.Their reward for a wonderful season - and fourth spot on the ladder - was an emotional game in the second round of the finals at home.The "house full" sign went up early in the week - and the Warriors produced one of their best-ever performances by thumping 10-game straight winners Newcastle 40-10.That game appeared to be their grand final, however, and the following week they crashed out of the competition with a 42-12 defeat to the Broncos.But 2023 will still go down as one of the Warriors' finest seasons and the start of what looks a promising era under Webster.The club recruited smartly, with new buys Marata Niukore, Luke Metcalf, Dylan Walker, Mitchell Barnett, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Te Maire Martin and Jackson Ford all playing significant roles in the new-look Warriors.While Johnson missed the Dally M Medal by the slenderest of margins, he made the Team of the Year at halfback, alongside Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (wing) and Addin Fonua-Blake (prop).Hooker Wayde Egan was also superb and could easily have made the Dally M team, just losing out to Storm dynamo Harry Grant.Tohu Harris was a tower of strength at lock, leading the side well and often topping the tackle count and/or running metres.Like the Storm, the Warriors made the top four but then suffered heavy defeats to the "big two" - Brisbane and Penrith - in the finals and their job over the summer will be to bridge that gap.