A common complaint among Warriors fans has long been the success players have once they leave the club.
Whether it's a case of the one that got away or an athlete underappreciated by Mt Smart officials, it's often grated supporters to see someone head off-shore to become a better player.
It's a long list too - Paul Whatuira and Joe Gulavao went from struggling for game time in Auckland to dual premiership winners and Kiwi internationals. Ngani Laumape's code hop took him to the All Blacks and Sam Lousi doesn't look too far behind.
There's been much gnashing of teeth over the likes of Chad Townsend, Krisnan Inu, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Nigel Vagana, Elijah Taylor, Konrad Hurrell, hell, even Jeff Robson going on to better performances after they were allowed to leave the country.
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But no-one has seen their post-Warriors career soar higher than James Maloney.
What's ridiculous is his Warriors career was actually a damn impressive one.
Maloney came to the club as "James who?", with a handful of games at the Storm under his belt and a reputation for having a smart mouth. This reputation was very quickly confirmed by anyone who spent more than two minutes in his company.
But over the next three seasons, he became pivotal to the Warriors' fortunes, the punt working out for both parties, as he partnered up with rookie sensation Shaun Johnson to make the 2011 Grand Final.
The club has spent the past six seasons trying to find someone to complement Johnson's game the way Maloney did - until Blake Green filled that void.
Maloney's even in the conversation for the club's best-ever No.6, all from barely three years here, and sits behind only Johnson, Stacey Jones and Manu Vatuvei in the club's all-time scorers list.
Take a look at his record since - a premiership with the Roosters, a crucial role in the Sharks' first-ever NRL title, a State-of-Origin call-up for New South Wales and a place in Australia's World Cup-winning squad.
Three times he's finished a season as the NRL's top scorer and with two-and-a-half years left on his current Penrith contract, his average has the gritty former Warrior on track to finish his career inside the NRL's top 10 all-time scorers.
His missed-tackle counts and penalties-conceded tallies have seen him labelled a liability, but you can't question he's a winner.
Maloney's now the most experienced member of the new-look New South Wales side that's aiming to conquer Queensland in this year's State of Origin. When the Blues needed a leader with a winning mentality, they turned to Maloney.
If he can guide NSW to victory, there won't be much left on his career bucket list to tick off.
And with his Panthers flying with a young team, 'Jimmy' could join the great Glenn Lazarus in helping three different teams to NRL glory.
This may seem like depressing reading for a Warriors fan, but one thing is certain - Maloney never came to Auckland with the intent to stay.
His family was in Australia and he wanted to play for NSW, which is near-on impossible to do from this side of the ditch. The Warriors were always a stepping stone to get where he wanted to be.
So Maloney's not the one that got away, he's the one that Warriors faithful should be happy they got to see in the first place.
Sam Ackerman is head of sport at Newshub.
Join us at 10pm Wednesday for live updates of the NSW vs Queensland State of Origin showdown from Melbourne.
