One swallow does not make a summer, nor does one rough season make a poor coach. Ivan Cleary is still the right man at the helm of the Warriors.
Whilst his position does not hold nearly the same accountability as perennially under-fire All Blacks coach Graham Henry, Cleary has copped his fair share of vitriol for the Warriors' disappointing 2009 campaign.
And fair enough too. They were billed as one of the favourites at the start of the season and have now faded to the extent that they were scaring the Roosters for the wooden spoon until last Sunday's victory in Sydney.
But before the knees start jerking and the 'clear out Cleary' calls spout forth, a little perspective is needed.
This is the same coach that steered the Warriors to the top four in 2007 and masterminded an incredible run to the semi-finals last year when they made history by beating minor premiers, the Storm, in round one of the finals before falling one short of the grand final when beating by runaway NRL champion Manly.
It is worth remembering that for all the attacking woes in 2009, it has never been an issue in the past. Cleary sides of years gone by have never had trouble lighting up the scoreboards.
That is not to say that he should not be held accountable for this season's below-par efforts.
But the NRL is a brutally tough competition and when plans don't go your way, along with a bit of luck, you can find yourself going from the penthouse to the outhouse.
Look at the Sharks and Ricky Stuart for a perfect example. First-equal at the end of the regular season in 2008, the Sharks all of a sudden found themselves at the bottom of the barrel a year later due to a mixture of on-field and off-field woes.
Stuart is still the same coach. Still the man with a premiership ring on his finger from 2002.
That is the nature of the NRL.
Cleary has found that out the hard way.
He will learn from decisions such as signing another defensive back-rower in Jacob Lillyman as a reaction to defensive struggles. With Micheal Luck already a fixture in the back-row, the balance fell apart and it was no surprise the Warriors failed to post points.
He may reflect that throwing all your eggs in one basket, with Stacey Jones on the label, after fleeting glimpses of form was not the way to go.
He will realise there is a balance to be struck between safety-first football that suits his no-nonsense personality and the balls-to-the-wall risky style that has historically made the Warriors a team to fear.
That is not to say Cleary has not done anything right. Far from it.
When others were calling caution and suggested Kevin Locke was still too small for the NRL, Cleary threw him into battle and the rest is history.
Lewis Brown has been introduced as a star of the future, not to mention the present, while Cleary has also not been scared to blood the likes of Ukuma Ta'ai, Daniel O'Regan, Leeson ah Mau, Aaron Heremaia and most recently Isaac John.
Injuries are part and parcel of the competition but not all are of the magnitude of losing Brent Tate.
The extent of how much Tate would be missed soon became apparent as the Warriors' edge defence suffered and their attack also