Synonymous in the past as a razzle-dazzle side capable of scoring from anywhere on the field, the Warriors are in danger of 'dying with the music in them' in 2009.
Perched three points outside the NRL's top eight after 14 rounds, the doomsayers who have already counted the Warriors out of playoff contention have perked up way too early.
We all know the Warriors have been here before. They were 13th at this stage in 2008 with an identical record of five victories through 14 rounds before flying home to fall one short of the grand final with 10 wins from 12.
Trouble is, a year later they have the toughest draw of any side in the NRL after a bye in round 15 and they'll need to find a way to post points, and plenty of them, against the big boys.
Where has the attacking verve, such a hallmark of the Warriors in past seasons, got to?
It seems to be been replaced by a safety-first policy of tucking the ball under the arm, hoping to complete sets before, more often than not, chancing their arm on a kick to Manu Vatuvei's wing.
Unfortunately the rest of the NRL are onto this. As a result, the Warriors haven't scored over 20 points in a match since round five and hold the competition's third-worst attacking record with 203 from 13 outings.
Capable ball-players in the forwards – captain Steve Price apart – look scared to offload. That has led to a lack of opportunities in broken play for the likes of Wade McKinnon, who is doing a fine job defensively but has been stripped of his attacking potency.
Along with the promotion of gun youngster Kevin Locke, coach Ivan Cleary should be commended for starting Lance Hohaia at five-eighth to allow him to make a greater impact from kick-off and also to take some of the responsibility off the willing but not always 100 percent able Stacey Jones.
Fingers crossed that Hohaia is left to make the No.6 jersey his own, leaving Joel Moon to return to the centres.
Cleary has also teamed up Lewis Brown and Ben Matulino in the second-row, breaking up a back-row combination featuring Micheal Luck and Jacob Lillyman that was defensively sound yet impotent on attack.
The make-up of the side now looks spot-on and now it's time to let them express themselves.
Mistakes will come – prematurely bald and greying Warriors fans are testament to that – but the tough games to follow are not going to be won 13-0 and 14-0, nor will they all be played in soggy Auckland conditions that suit them down to a tee.
Two dry tracks are likely to be offered up on a two-week Queensland road trip against the third-placed Titans and the fifth-placed Broncos. That's followed by a pair of Sunday afternoon visits by the high-flying Bulldogs and Dragons, sandwiched around another Sunday fixture away to the Roosters.
In fact, eight of the Warriors' last 11 matches are against top eight opposition and a glance at their 2009 record so far makes for ominous reading.
Of their five victories, only one has been against a top eight side – in their last outing against the eighth-placed Knights.
The glass half-full brigade will rightfully say 'we did it last year' in terms of a late-season run to the finals.
However, that won't apply in 2010 unless the Warriors cast off their shackles and start harnessing their attacking potential.