Former Kiwis forward Tawera Nikau feels for Warriors fans as the club is set to miss the finals for a sixth-straight year.
The Warriors still have a mathematical chance of making the finals for the first time since 2011, but it's unlikely they will end their hoodoo.
The beleaguered club will need to win their final five games of the season, while having a number of results going their way.
Nikau, who played 19 Tests for the Kiwis between 1989 and 1997, stressed that players need to be more accountable if the Warriors are to make the finals again.
"I feel really sad for the Warriors' supporters because every year it is the same thing, 'we are going to do this, we are going to make the top four' and it doesn't eventuate," Nikau told Trackside Radio.
"Einstein's definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, and that isn't happening.
"What it comes back to is the player being accountable for their performances.
"If I'm a professional rugby league player and I don't do my job, I should be kicked back to reserve grade. If you can't do your job, maybe you should go do something else, 'cause at the end of the day that is what you get paid to do.
"You are supposed to perform for 80 minutes a week, so the challenge is what I can do as a player to do the best possible job every week.
"For me, a few players in the Warriors have let their teammates down every week."
Nikau was a part of the Melbourne Storm side which won the club's first title in 1999. One of his teammates was current Warriors coach Stephen Kearney.
The lock-forward played a big role in the match, inspiring the Storm's 20-18 win over the Dragons - who held a 14-0 lead at the break.
Nikau said Kearney needs to start making some tough calls and build a solid forward pack if the Warriors are to once again be a force to be reckoned with.
"I know Stephen has been in the Brisbane and Melbourne system, but it takes time to effect change and if players are not performing they need to be moved on and he will have to make some tough calls.
"If you look at the recruitment for next year, they have signed Tohu Harris and Levivaha Pulu - two back rowers and nobody else, nobody with any substance.
"One thing I know having played in the forwards is that you have to lay a foundation. You have to lay a solid foundation up front to control the rucks before your backs can do any work and for me, the Warriors have not delivered up front this year.
"Ben Matulino is leaving next year and you haven't got anybody to replace him next year. Kieran Foran is going so you are losing some leadership, Ryan Hoffman is going and Simon Mannering is thwarting away.
"I think they are struggling in the front row department, they're struggling in the forward pack. Tohu will add some punch but you need some go-forward through the middle."
The Warriors face the last-place Newcastle Knights on Saturday afternoon with plenty on the line for both sides.
The Warriors will be hoping to snap a four-game losing streak while picking up a rare win without halfback Shaun Johnson. The Knights will be hunting back-to-back wins for the first time since 2015, after dethroning the Dragons 21-14 last week.
With the season all but over for the Warriors, Nikau believes this is a good opportunity for the players to show why they deserve a spot in the squad for 2018.
"In terms of the players, it is a good chance for some of the player to stake their claim for next year.
"They are coming up against the Knights, who are the wooden spooners, but in saying that we saw the Knights dispose of the Dragons last week.
"Newcastle is a team that never give up, they are right in there until the end of the game - although they have been at the bottom of the table, there have been a few games they lost in the final minutes.
"Lots of the players are playing for credibility in Stephen Kearney's eyes, so as a player you want to go out there and challenge yourself.
"It will be interesting to see how the Warriors perform against the bottom side in the competition."
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