The Warriors have been defeated by the Dolphins in their NRL qualifying final, at Go Media Stadium in Auckland.
The Warriors will now have to take the scenic route to the NRL grand final, after bowing to the Dolphins 26-16 on Saturday night.
After finishing second, to earn homefield advantage for the opening round of the playoffs, the Warriors could not take advantage of their fan support and a penalty advantage that had them 12-8 ahead at halftime.
Their only try of the game came when fullback Taine Tuaupiki spun out of a tackle near the line and scooted clear to score. Tuaupiki scored all the Warriors' points, adding a conversion and five penalties, as his team chose to kick for goal, instead of push for tries in the redzone.
They probably should have led by more at the break, but Tuaupiki stretched the margin beyond a converted try, with two more penalties in the second half, before the Dolphins piled on three unanswered converted tries in the final 20 minutes.
The Warriors' cause was not helped by ill-discipline, as centre Adam Pompey was sin-binned for a no-arms shoulder tackle and then second-rower Kurt Capewell was matched for sparking a melee just before halftime.
Dolphins wing Selwyn Cobbo was also sent to the bin in the same incident, after he dumped Jackson Ford in a tipping tackle.
The Warriors lost centre Leka Halasima to injury during the warm-up, with Pompey promoted to the starting line-up in his place.
The Dolphins were good for their win, scoring four tries to the Warriors' one, all converted by wing Jamayne Isaako, and they will now take a rest next week, as they await their opponents for a preliminary final in two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Warriors will host Newcastle Knights next week.
The result broke a six-game winning streak and marked the first time this season they have lost, after leading at halftime.
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