Two days earlier, Warton was burying his brother Ashley - on Warton's birthday of all days - who the All Black dedicated his award to.
So, when speaking to Warton on Saturday night, you could tell just from looking at him how much this award meant to him.
“I’m lost for words. I’ve never won anything,” Warton said.
“The only time I win something, it's at the TAB.
“People like me don’t win awards like this.
“To win it at 48, it’s taken my whole life to win something like this.
“I feel pretty special right now.”
Warton first came to the All Blacks three years ago, after playing for Bonnie Doon, but off-field issues meant the Mansfield resident chose to step away from the club.
“The common saying is change is as good as a holiday, so I thought I’d go play for the arch rival of Bonnie Doon, which is here,” Warton said.
“Ever since I’ve come here, the club has embraced me.”
“I don’t think I’ve felt a part of anything, like I feel a part of here, ever in my life.”
After playing up forward in his first year at the club, Warton has found a role for himself down back in the reserves, where he continued to go from strength to strength this year.
And it was clear speaking to Warton of the love he had for the club he calls home, as he credited the All Blacks for giving him life again.
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Speaking of an incident at training, where he suffered a serious meltdown, Warton said if it was not for coach Harry Moran and fellow player Michael Donehue, who is big on mental health, he would not be around today.
“I was about to give up and I didn’t,” he said.
“To have that club support, to be an outsider of the club, and to travel from Mansfield every week - that shows how much the club has changed me as a person.
“You wouldn’t get me doing anything.
“I was the most negative person before I came to this club.
“They’ve given me a new lease on life.
“You can’t win awards like this if you’re not around good people.
“This all comes back to the club.”
When speaking to a packed room at the presentation night, club president Chris McNair was full of praise when awarding best clubman to Warton.
“I’ve got a lot of time for this bloke,” McNair said.
“He’s someone, to look at, you might not want to talk to him.
“But I’ll tell you now, he’s a top bloke.
“And once you get to know him, he’ll be a friend for life.”