Mitchell Barnett (C). Photo: photosport
He considered retiring from rugby league altogether at the start of the season. Instead, Warriors forward Mitchell Barnett has received the club's top honours.
The Warriors held their 30th annual awards night at Auckland's Aotea Centre on Sunday, where 30-year-old Barnett was awarded the Simon Mannering Medal for 2024.
In a statement, the club said Barnett "epitomised the essence of a Warriors player" through his "consistency and toughness", in a season in which he missed just one of the club's matches.
That match was due to his selection for New South Wales; his State of Origin debut which saw him miss the birth of his son.
In addition to reaching his 150-game milestone, Australian-born Barnett also took the reigns as captain from injured Tohu Harris mid-season.
Barnett admitted he had been thinking about retirement, on the advice of doctors following a serious neck injury last year.
"I wasn't gonna play on," he said.
But after discussions with head coach Andrew Webster and Warriors club owner Mark Robinson, Barnett committed to the club and is "thankful" he did.
The evening also marked the final time legends Addin Fonua-Blake, Jazz Tevaga and Shaun Johnson would represent the club, with Fonua-Blake and Tevaga headed to new clubs next season, and 14-year veteran Johnson hanging up his boots.
Shaun Johnson and Jazz Tevaga both depart the club at the end of the 2024 season Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
It was a bitter-sweet evening for Tevaga, who said it's "pretty awesome for a kid from Papakura to be able to represent this club that I grew up watching".
Johnson - who played for Cronulla from 2019-2021 - echoed his sentiments, saying "although I loved my three years at the Sharks, this is the only club I ever wanted to play for".
Fonua-Blake was awarded Players' Player of the year by his peers, ahead of Barnett and halfback Te Maire Martin.
Warriors half Luke Metcalfe won clubman of the year, while Jacob Laban took home rookie of the year after a strong showing in the first grade side earlier this season.
The resounding message of the night was that the club is in a better place than it has ever been - with the Warriors looking to field six separate teams in the 2025 season, including the highly-anticipated return of the Women's Warriors side in the NRLW.
