Coached by Steve Folkes and captained by Steve Price, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2002 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season at the bottom of the ladder due to punishment for breaches of the NRL's strictly-enforced salary cap.
Mark O'Meley was signed up for the 2002 season as the club said farewell to captain Darren Britt and his deputy Craig Polla-Mounter.
NRL Chief Executive David Gallop described the violation as "exceptional in both its size and its deliberate and ongoing nature".
[3] The stripping of the Bulldogs' points also enabled the Canberra Raiders to make the finals with a points differential of -170, the poorest such record of any finalist in the competition's history, and despite the fact that the Raiders only won one game outside of Canberra for the entire season.
The Warriors received A$100,000 prize money for finishing the regular season as minor premiers.