And if it wasn't for their leagues club, the Panthers would have been gone years ago!
The reason the Warriors almost went under was because of poor management, had nothing to do with a lack of support for the game over there. Poor management (spending more money on fancy pre-game entertainment instead of developing a strong squad, for example, and buying high-priced players that were on their last legs) meant that the team didn't - couldn't - perform well on the field. Things have changed now, though, as we saw last year when the Warriors made it to the finals.
Jonah Lomu played rugby league as a kid, but went to union because they catered for young players better than the non-existent league did. Same with some other guy I can't remember who is now an All Black. Things are changing now, though, and the Warriors is one reason why.
You're all a bunch of philistines if you can't see why the Warriors shouldn't be in the NRL! Pah! Anyway, who knows, in twenty years time hopefully there'll be a fully-fledged first grade competition in NZ, and then we won't have to play below-average sides like the Eagles and the Panthers each week.