New Zealand Warriors

New Zealand Warriors

Club information
Full name	New Zealand Warriors Limited
Colours	Black      Grey
Founded	1995 as Auckland Warriors
Current details
Ground(s)	Mt Smart Stadium Penrose, Auckland (30,000)
CEO(s)	Wayne Scurrah
Coach	Brian McClennan
Captain(s)	Simon Mannering
Competition	National Rugby League
2011 season	Runners-up (6th)
Home colours		Away colours
Current season
Records
Premierships	None
Runners-up	2 (2002, 2011)
Minor premiership	1 (2002)
Club Championship	1 (2010)
Toyota Cup	2 (2010, 2011)
Most capped	Stacey Jones - 261
Most points	Stacey Jones - 674

The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia. Coached by Brian McClennan and captained by Simon Mannering, the Warriors are based at Mt Smart Stadium in the southern Auckland suburb of Penrose.

For the 1995 season the newly formed Auckland Warriors became the first off-shore club to be admitted to the Australian Rugby League's premiership when it expanded to twenty teams. As a result of the mid-1990s' Super League war, Auckland left the ARL to compete in the Super League competition of 1997, before joining the re-unified NRL the following year. They re-branded themselves the New Zealand Warriors in 2001. Over seventeen seasons the Warriors have claimed one minor premiership (in 2002), reached two grand finals (2002 and 2011), reached the play-offs 7 times, and provided the majority of the New Zealand national team's players.

History

The History of the Bid

Original logo for the Auckland Warriors

Rugby league was largely centred around Auckland ever since the New Zealand Rugby League was founded in 1909. Auckland produced the bulk of the international squad for many years, and most of these players headed to either Australia or Great Britain to play.

The Auckland representative side was consistently providing top opposition to touring sides. An Auckland team was admitted into the mid-week ARL Amco Cup competition in 1978. In their first year they made the semi-finals, and were defeated by the overall competition winners, Eastern Suburbs. They remained into the competition until the early 1980s. In 1987, an Auckland side toured Great Britain and claimed wins over powerhouse clubs Leeds and Wigan.

In 1988, serious investigation into an Auckland team entering the New South Wales Rugby League premiership commenced, encouraged mainly by the Mt Albert club. On 17 May 1992, the announcement stating an Auckland-based team's entry into the Australian Rugby League competition, the Winfield Cup in 1995, was made. This followed very good turnouts to a number of NSWRL club games played in Auckland. The new team was to be called the Auckland Warriors and run by the Auckland Rugby League organisation. The original colours selected were blue, white, red and green. Blue and white are recognised as the colours of Auckland, while red and green were the colours of the Warriors' original sponsor, DB Bitter.

1995 – The First Season

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
10th (of 20)	22	13	0	9	–	538	501	+37

The coach of the new team would be former Parramatta and Wigan coach John Monie. A number of fading stars were signed, such as Greg Alexander and Andy Platt. Captain Dean Bell was one of the few signings who performed regularly. Former Rugby union players such as John Kirwan and Marc Ellis were brought in later years.

The Warriors' first year in the Australian Rugby League was 1995. Their debut match was against the Brisbane Broncos on 10 March 1995 in front of 30,000 people at a newly refurbished Mt Smart Stadium. The Warriors led 22–10 at one point in the second half of the match, however the Broncos finished far stronger and defeated the new club 25–22.

A home crowd attendance record of 32,174 was set at Ericsson Stadium in Round 6 of the 1995 ARL season, a record that was not topped until Round 1 of the 2011 NRL season. ^[1]

The Warriors were deducted two competition points for an interchange error. In a match against Western Suburbs, the Warriors used five interchange players instead of the allowed four. The Warriors won the match comfortably, 46–12. This error had disastrous consequences for the club, as they utimately missed the finals by two competition points. The season saw the debut of future star, Stacey Jones, who scored a try on debut in a 40–4 rout of Parramatta in Sydney. The biggest issue with the season was the lack of consistency that plagues the Warriors even today, despite a six match winning streak late in the season. It was observed that when the Warriors weren't winning by 20 points they were losing by 20 points.

1996

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
11th (of 20)	21	10	0	11	–	412	427	−15

The Australian Rugby League season 1996 could have been regarded as a better one for the Warriors. The Warriors found themselves siding with the Super League during the Super League War when the New Zealand Rugby League signed up to the rebel competition. They claimed their first 'victory' over the Broncos in round one of the competition that year, after all Super League clubs agreed to boycott the first round of the competition in protest. The Warriors won the two points when they travelled to Brisbane with a squad of players that were unsigned to Super League, forcing the Broncos to forfeit the match.

With four rounds remaining the Warriors were in sixth place in the competition, seemingly headed for a finals berth. They proceeded to lose all four matches to tumble out of the finals. The only positives were that young New Zealand talents Stacey Jones and Joe Vagana had superb seasons.

Super League – 1997

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
7th (of 10)	18	7	0	11	–	332	406	−74

The Warriors spent 1997 in the breakaway Super League Telstra Cup competition. Despite the reduced number of teams, they failed to make an impression on the competition. Monie was replaced by Frank Endacott as coach midway through the 1997 season. The only positive was the teams performance in the World Club Challenge. The Warriors hammered United Kingdom powerhouses Wigan and St Helens, and comfortably handled Warrington. The Warriors were knocked out in the Semi Finals by eventual winners Brisbane, going down 16–22.

1998

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
15th (of 20)	24	9	0	15	–	417	518	−101

The first season of the reformed competition was a year that saw few highlights for the club. It was readily apparent that the club needed a new approach and attitude. Fortunately for them, they were in a better position than the other two clubs that joined the competition in 1995.

The Tainui Era – 1999

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
11th (of 17)	24	10	0	14	–	538	498	+40

Former Kiwi Mark Graham took over as coach in 1999. The club was sold off to a consortuim that included ex-Kiwi coach Graham Lowe and the Tainui tribe. The club again disappointed on field, but a mid season ultimatum saw a strong finish to the season, with the side winning five of their last six games. The signs appeared promising for the new millennium.

Financial Collapse and Reinvention – 2000

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
13th (of 14)	24	8	2	16	–	426	662	−236

In National Rugby League season 2000 the Warriors could only finish second last. This season included the Warriors' largest ever loss, 54–0 to the Dragons in Wollongong. Alarmingly, the problems off-field overshadowed the on-field problems. The majority shareholders were under intense financial pressure, and the club's future was looking bleak at best. The key assets of the club were purchased by business tycoon Eric Watson. This did not include player contracts, and many players were released and had to fight to get the money they had been promised. Ultimately only 10 players from the 2000 season were retained.

The club was re-branded as the New Zealand Warriors, with new colours of black and grey – resembling the national sporting colours. New coach Daniel Anderson and CEO Mick Watson focused on signing unknown New Zealand talent. There were only six Australians in the 2001 squad, and only three foundation players – Monty Betham, Stacey Jones and Logan Swann.

First Finals Series – 2001

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
8th (of 14)	26	12	2	12	–	638	629	+9

In a season where the rebranded New Zealand Warriors were tipped to finish in second-last place behind the North Queensland Cowboys, the team surprised all, qualifying for their first ever finals appearance in the National Rugby League season 2001.

The Warriors were involved in Round 8 in one of the biggest near-comebacks in the history of the NRL. Down 24–8 to the Bulldogs with under six minutes remaining, the Warriors rattled off three tries in as many sets, only failing to win the match as ironically Stacey Jones missed his easiest kick of the night in the final minute.

After a mid season struggle, the Warriors upset the runaway minor premiers Parramatta 29–18 at home, in what was a highlight match.

Then, with their season on the line, the team won four matches in a row, starting with impressive 34–8, 30–0, and 14–8 home victories over fellow finals-bound teams the Bulldogs, Sharks and Roosters. The Warriors also scored 24 unanswered points in the final quarter to beat the Panthers 48–32. Their first finals appearance was sealed with a bruising 24–24 draw with the Storm at Colonial Stadium (now Telstra Dome), but the effects of this bruising match was seen a week later, as the Warriors were beaten by 30–18 at home by the Cowboys, a win that saw the North Queenslanders avoiding the wooden spoon.

On a hiding to nothing heading into their first ever finals appearance, they were hammered by the Minor Premiers, the Parramatta Eels 56–12. The loss was at the time the largest in finals series history, but at last things seemed to be going in the right direction at the Warriors.

Minor Premiership and Grand Final – 2002

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
1st (of 15)	24	17	0	7	2	688	454	+234

The Warriors reached their zenith to date in the National Rugby League season 2002. They won the Minor Premiership, finishing in first place at the conclusion of the regular season after the Bulldogs lost 37 competition points late in the season due to severe salary cap breaches. The club played what stands as the first finals match to have been held outside Australia at Mt Smart Stadium in the first week of the Finals Series. The Warriors would defeat their bogey side Canberra 36–20 after surviving an early scare.

For the Preliminary Final against the Sharks at Telstra Stadium the Warriors' sponsors, such as Vodafone New Zealand and Eric Watson, purchased 15,000 tickets and gave them away for free to anyone with a New Zealand passport. Reportedly, in the 45,000 crowd there were more Warriors supporters than Sharks supporters – astonishing considering the Sharks are a Sydney based club. The Warriors went on to win 16–10 with John Carlaw scoring a famous try after latching onto a pinpoint Stacey Jones grubber-kick.^[2]

The Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters was a tight match for the first hour. The Warriors trailed 2–6 at half time, but took a lead just after halftime when Jones scored a great grand final try – as he left defenders sprawling in his wake on a 40 metre run to the try line. The Roosters ran away with the match in the final 20 minutes after captain Brad Fittler was involved in a head clash with Warriors prop Richard Villasanti. The final score was an unflattering 8–30.

Top Eight Again – 2003

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
6th (of 15)	24	15	0	9	2	545	510	+35

2003 was another quite successful year for the Warriors.

After blowing an early 16–0 lead to lose 26–36 to the Newcastle Knights in Round 1, the Warriors embarked on a five-match winning streak to announce themselves as contenders for the season. However, the Warriors then struggled through the middle-stages of the season, squandering a 26–12 lead with eight minutes remaining to lose to the Parramatta Eels dramatically 28–26 at Parramaata Stadium. There was also an insipid 10–30 loss in Townsville to the North Queensland. They played their first ever extra time match, defeating South Sydney 31–30, recovering from a 6–24 deficit.

On the back of inspired play by prop Richard Vilisanti, the Warriors secured their playoff spot, ultimately finishing sixth on points differential, a dangerous position to finish, as the 6th placed finishers had been eliminated after the first week of the playoffs in the past three seasons.

Their first finals match was against the Bulldogs at the Sydney Showground. The Warriors turned on one of their finest performances ever, stunning the Bulldogs early to lead 16–4 at halftime, and after a Bulldogs comeback tied the scores at 16-all, scoring five tries in 16 minutes to blow the Bulldogs away, eventually winning 48–22. Winger Francis Meli scored five tries, a finals record. This prompted Graham Lowe, a known critic of the Warriors to say that the Warriors would win the premiership. The next week a Stacey Jones field-goal in the dying minutes got the Warriors past a gallant Canberra Raiders 17–16. They however lost in the Preliminary Final to the Minor Premiers and eventual Premiers Penrith Panthers, 20–28. It was a disappointing loss for the Warriors, who did not lead at any point of the match, and blew their chance early in the second-half to take their first lead, when Henry Fa'afili lost the ball with the line wide open.

The Worst Year Ever – 2004

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
14th (of 15)	24	6	0	18	2	427	693	−266

Before the National Rugby League season 2004 started, there were predictions of the Warriors having a highly successful season. These were proved wrong, as the Warriors managed to only win six games to finish equal last, only escaping the wooden spoon by having a superior points differential to South Sydney. Coach Daniel Anderson resigned mid-season after an embarrassing 52 point loss to the Sydney Roosters. His assistant Tony Kemp was given the head coach position, and in his first game in charge the Warriors recorded an emotional 20–14 win over Canberra. A week later, the Warriors' first match in Christchurch since 1996 was a flop, as the Warriors were destroyed by the Wests Tigers 4–50. The season finished with an embarrassing six game losing streak.

The management looked to rescue a poor year with some high profile signings. Bulldogs captain Steve Price was signed, as was Kiwis captain Ruben Wiki, Cowboys half Nathan Fien and Roosters winger Todd Byrne.

The Rebuilding Begins – 2005

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
11th (of 15)	24	10	0	14	2	515	523	−13

2005 was an improvement over the horror scenes of 2004. The team remained competitive for all of their matches, and their largest loss was only 18 points. The team had a good chance to make the finals, however a four match losing streak late in the season removed those chances. The season was tinged with sadness, as it was announced it would be star halfback Stacey Jones' last season with the club before he would join French Super League club, Catalans Dragons. His last match for the team against Manly at Brookvale Oval was a fine way for him to sign off with the club as he scored the match-winning try with three minutes to go in a 22–20 victory.

At the end of the season the structure of the team was reviewed. CEO Mick Watson resigned and was replaced by Wayne Scurrah. Tony Kemp was sacked as coach and his assistant Ivan Cleary replaced him as head coach.

The Salary Cap Drama – 2006

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
10th (of 15)	24	12	0	12	2	552	463	+89

National Rugby League season 2006 got off to a bad start for the club. In February, the Warriors were found to have committed major breaches of the salary cap in 2005. This followed the high profile signings of Steve Price and Ruben Wiki. On 27 February the NRL announced the club would be deducted four competition points and the club would also be fined A$430,000.

Even before the penalty the Warriors were expected to struggle and were being picked as wooden spooners in some quarters. With the four point deduction, the Warriors won their first NRL game away from Auckland, with a 26–10 victory over the reigning premiers, the Wests Tigers, at Jade Stadium in Christchurch.

On 25 June the Warriors recorded their largest ever win, defeating South Sydney 66–0 at Telstra Stadium, as part of a four-match winning streak that claimed the scalps of the Sydney Roosters, Newcastle Knights, and also the Penrith Panthers. This streak was ended in a 18–22 golden-point loss to the Bulldogs, in a game where the Warriors surrendered an early 16–0 lead.

The Warriors finished the season on a positive note leaving room for optimism for 2007 and beyond. They caused arguably the upset of the season, defeating the Minor Premiers Melbourne 24–20 at Olympic Park Stadium in Melbourne, preventing the Storm from going the full regular season unbeaten at home.

Impressively, it took the Warriors 24 weeks to be completely out of finals contention. The Warriors finished winning eight of their final twelve games, including a 42–16 thrashing of the Roosters in Round 25, which included four tries by Jerome Ropati. Had the Warriors not suffered the four-point deduction, they would have finished in eighth place on the ladder, and hence would have taken part in the finals series. As it was, they finished tenth on the ladder.

There were a number of revelations in the squad. Unheralded halfback Grant Rovelli was a standout performer. Winger Patrick Ah Van has cemented a first grade spot and impressed many with his performances, while George Gatis and Nathan Fien were fine performers at hooker, and centre Simon Mannering has been one of the Warriors most impressive backs.

Return to the Finals – 2007

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
4th (of 16)	24	13	1	10	1	593	434	+159

The Warriors completed their pre-season with two wins from three games, defeating the Auckland Lions 64–4, losing to the North Queensland Cowboys 32–14 and defeating the Canterbury Bulldogs 36–6.

The Warriors finished the 2007 season in fourth place. The season began with a 34–18 victory over Parramatta at Mt Smart Stadium. The following week the side created history by winning their first two games of the season with a 24–14 victory over premiers, the Brisbane Broncos – the first time they have ever won their opening two games of the season.

After a good start which saw the team sitting in fourth place with a 4–2 win-loss record, the team hit a period of indifferent form, falling into a six match losing streak following a last minute win over South Sydney. The team returned to form, defeating Cronulla 12–2 in wild weather at Toyota Park. Following that victory the side won 9 out of 12 games, with one draw. The Warriors clinched a playoff spot with a 36–14 win over an understrength Manly side, and claimed a home final the following week, defeating the Penrith Panthers 24–20 at CUA Stadium in Round 25.

The Warriors, by virtue of finishing the regular season in fourth place, won the right to host one of the finals matches in the first week of the playoffs. However, the Warriors narrowly went down to the Parramatta Eels 12–10 at Mount Smart Stadium, and their season ended with an awful 12–49 loss to the Cowboys in Townsville.

On 30 May the Warriors signed Australian Kangaroos' centre, Brent Tate from 2008 to 2010 in what was described as a "major coup" for the New Zealand club.

Second-Half Revival – 2008

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
8th (of 16)	24	13	0	11	2	502	567	−65

Ben Matulino and Evarn Tuimavave in Round 16 of the 2008 NRL season

The 2008 season did not start as brightly for the club, losing Wade McKinnon for much of the year during a pre-season loss to Newcastle, and losing captain Steve Price for ten weeks, as well as injuries to other key players Manu Vatuvei, Jerome Ropati and Michael Witt. The team remained in contention for much of the season, however often performed very poorly away from Mt Smart Stadium, and suffered their first loss to South Sydney (28–35) since 1999, and went on to lose to the Rabbitohs again later in the season (16–18). Despite poor results away, strong home form and a now common revival in the second half of the season saw the Warriors make the top eight for the second season running, incredibly despite spending only three weeks in the top eight all season. A top-eight berth was secured in the last game of the season, when the Warriors defeated the Parramatta Eels 28–6 at Parramatta Stadium, marking the first time since 1995 that the Warriors had won away to Parramatta.

With nothing to lose in the first week of the finals, the Warriors caused arguably the greatest finals upset ever, and arguably greatest victory in the history of the club, defeating Melbourne 18–15 at Olympic Park; in doing so, they became the first 8th placed team to beat the minor premiers, with Michael Witt scoring two minutes from fulltime to clinch the win. Witt taunted Melbourne captain, Cameron Smith, before placing the ball for the historic victory.^[3]

In week two of the playoffs, the Warriors came from behind to defeat the Sydney Roosters 30–13 at Mt. Smart Stadium. The Roosters led 13–6 at halftime before a second-half comeback saw the Warriors pile on twenty-four unanswered points to earn the Warriors a place in the preliminary finals. This was the first time since 2003 that the Warriors have reached the grand final qualifier, and third overall in 14 seasons. They however went down heavily to an inspired Manly Sea Eagles 32–6.

A Season of Disappointment – 2009

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
14th (of 16)	24	7	2	14	2	377	515	−188

2009 started with the loss of young up-and-comer Sonny Fai, who tragically drowned at Bethels Beach, near Auckland. He had gone into dangerous surf to rescue some relatives but was probably sucked under by a rip. Almost as if using the occurrence as a inhibitor, the Warriors had a very disappointing year, despite winning the opening two rounds against eventual grand finalists Parramatta Eels 26–18 and reigning premiers Manly Sea Eagles. After those great wins they proceeded to win a poor 1 of 8 games including a draw. They did however manage to beat West Tigers 14–0 and the Knights 13–0 keeping both opponents scoreless, but it was the poor attacking that had every league fan questioning. and ultimately saw them lose their next 3 matches by heavy scores. They did beat the Roosters 30–24 at SFS and Raiders 34–20 at Mt Smart Stadium. But in the end the Warriors lost their final two games against the Bulldogs in Hazem El Masri's last home game [before finals] and ultimately ended their poor season in a bad way losing 0–30 to the eventual premiers Melbourne Storm.

Return to finals football – 2010

The Club Championship (left) and the Toyota Cup (right), both won in 2010

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
5th (of 16)	23	13	0	10	2	513	474	+39

Expectations were not high for the Warriors in 2010 after a disappointing 2009 season. The Warriors bolstered their playing stocks in the pivotal play-making positions by signing badboy Brett Seymour after he was cut by Cronulla and James Maloney from Melbourne. In arguably one of their best ever performances they humbled the Brisbane Broncos 48–16 at Suncorp Stadium in Round 3, with Maloney tying a club-record with 28 points (3 tries and 8 goals). Kevin Locke scored a hat-trick in the Warriors miraculous 20–18 win over the Sydney Roosters at AMI Stadium in Christchurch, narrowly escaping a serious hip injury after a high-speed collision with the goal-post (in the process of scoring the game-winning try). The Warriors won five matches in a row for first time since late in the 2003 season and finished in 5th position in the regular season. Sadly getting out of the final series in the first week after losing to Gold Coast Titans.

Another Grand Final but the title eludes them – 2011

Position	Pld	Won	Drew	Lost	Bye	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
6th (of 16)	24	14	0	10	2	504	393	+111

The Warriors began the 2011 season with an historic match Auckland's Eden Park, the first regular season home game the club had played away from Mt Smart Stadium. The match drew a record home game crowd for the Warriors of 38,405 however unfortunately the Warriors could not repay the large crowd with a victory as they were beaten 24-18 by the Parramatta Eels. The Warriors went on to lose their following two matches and it appeared that Warriors fans were in for another season of disappointment. To their credit the Warriors bounced back and were in the running for a top four position late in the season but finished in 6th spot. Midway through the season coach Ivan Cleary was approached by the Penrith Panthers and was appointed as their coach for the 2012 season. Cleary remained coach for the remainder of the 2011 season with Brian McClennan appointed his successor for 2012. One of the highlights of the season was the unearthing of young halfback Shaun Johnson who played a key role as the Warriors approached the 2011 finals series.

In week one of the finals series the Warriors were thrashed 40-10 by the Brisbane Broncos. Other results went the Warriors way and they were fortunate to progress to week two of the finals where they would meet a highflying Wests Tigers who had completed their 9th straight victory. The match was expected to go the Tigers way however a brilliant second half comeback by the Warriors culminated in a late and controversial try to Krisnan Inu which saw the Warriors win 22-20 and earn the right to play the Melbourne Storm for a place in the Grand Final.

The Warriors travelled to Melbourne as heavy underdogs but turned in what is considered one of the most complete performances in the clubs history. The Warriors controlled the match and sealed the Melbourne Storm's fate with Shaun Johnson mesmerising the Storm defence to send Lewis Brown in for the try that would send the Warriors to their second ever Grand Final, where they would meet the Manly Sea Eagles.

The Warriors would again start the match as heavy underdogs and with a side boasting only three players who had previously played in a Grand Final. But for a few moments of bad luck and some mistimed errors when it mattered most, the Warriors could well have celebrated their maiden premiership in 2011. In the end they fell just short – beaten by a rampant Manly outfit 24-10 in the decider – yet the Warriors’ effort in reaching just their second ever grand final (and their first in nine years) was a triumph for the club and departing coach Ivan Cleary.

Season summaries

P=Premiers, R=Runner-Ups, M=Minor Premierships, F=Finals Appearance, W=Wooden Spoons
(Brackets Represent Finals Games)

Competition	Games Played	Games Won	Games Drawn	Games Lost	Ladder Position	P	R	M	F	W	Coach	Captain	Details
1995 ARL season	22	13	0	9	10 / 20						John Monie	Dean Bell	Auckland Warriors 1995
1996 ARL season	21	10	0	11	11 / 20							Greg Alexander	Auckland Warriors 1996
1997 SL season	18	7	0	11	7 / 10						Frank Endacott	Matthew Ridge	Auckland Warriors 1997
1998 NRL season	24	9	0	15	15 / 20								Auckland Warriors 1998
1999 NRL season	24	10	0	14	11 / 17						Mark Graham		Auckland Warriors 1999
2000 NRL season	26	8	2	16	13 / 14							John Simon	Auckland Warriors 2000
2001 NRL season	26 (1)	12 (0)	2 (0)	12 (1)	8 / 14				♦		Daniel Anderson	Kevin Campion/Stacey Jones	New Zealand Warriors 2001
2002 NRL season	24 (3)	17 (2)	0 (0)	7 (1)	1 / 15		♦	♦	♦				New Zealand Warriors 2002
2003 NRL season	24 (3)	15 (2)	0 (0)	9 (1)	6 / 15				♦			Monty Betham	New Zealand Warriors 2003
2004 NRL season	24	6	0	18	14 / 15						Tony Kemp		New Zealand Warriors 2004
2005 NRL season	24	10	0	14	11 / 15							Steve Price	New Zealand Warriors 2005
2006 NRL season	24	12	0	12	10 / 15						Ivan Cleary		New Zealand Warriors 2006
2007 NRL season	24 (2)	13 (0)	1 (0)	10 (2)	4 / 16				♦				New Zealand Warriors 2007
2008 NRL season	24 (3)	13 (2)	0 (0)	11 (1)	8 / 16				♦				New Zealand Warriors 2008
2009 NRL season	24	7	2	14	14 / 16								New Zealand Warriors 2009
2010 NRL season	24 (1)	14 (0)	0 (0)	10 (1)	5 / 16				♦			Simon Mannering	New Zealand Warriors 2010
2011 NRL season	24 (3)	14(2)	0	10 (1)	6 / 16		♦		♦				New Zealand Warriors 2011

2011 Squad

New Zealand Warriors
NRL squad								Coaching staff
Shaun Berrigan - CE Lewis Brown - SR, CE Glen Fisiiahi - FB James Gavet - PR Pita Godinet - HB Ben Henry - LK, SR Aaron Heremaia - HK Lance Hohaia - FB Saulala Houma - PR, SR Krisnan Inu - CE, WG, FB Isaac John - FE, HB Shaun Johnson - HB Jeremy Latimore - PR		Jacob Lillyman - PR, SR Kevin Locke - WG, FB Sione Lousi - SR Micheal Luck - LK James Maloney - HB, FE Simon Mannering (c) - SR Alehana Mara - HK Feleti Mateo - FE, SR, LK Ben Matulino - SR Joel Moon - CE Russell Packer - PR Ivan Penehe - WG, CE Upu Poching - PR		Sam Rapira - PR Steve Rapira - LK, SR, PR Matt Robinson - SR Jerome Ropati - CE Brett Seymour - HB, FE Ukuma Ta'ai - SR Elijah Taylor - LK Bill Tupou - WG Manu Vatuvei - WG				Head coach Ivan Cleary Assistant coach Tony Iro Legend: (c) Captain (vc) Vice captain (gk) Goal-kicker Injured Updated: 29 May 2011 Source(s): Player Profiles

Transfers

2012 Gains

Player	Previous Club	Length	Notes
Nathan Friend	Gold Coast Titans	2013 with option	[4]
Brian McClennan	Leeds Rhinos	2012–2013 with option	Coach[5]

2012 Losses

Player	Club	Notes
Lance Hohaia	St Helens RLFC	[6]
Aaron Heremaia	Hull FC	[7]
Brett Seymour	Hull FC	[8]
Jeremy Latimore	St. George Illawarra Dragons	[9]
Joel Moon	Salford Reds	[10]
Shaun Berrigan	Canberra Raiders	[11][12]
Isaac John	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	[13]
Ivan Cleary	Penrith Panthers	Coach

Captains

Years	Captain
1995	Dean Bell
1996	Greg Alexander
1997–1999	Matthew Ridge
2000	John Simon
2001–2002	Kevin Campion/Stacey Jones
2002–2004	Monty Betham
2005–2009	Steve Price
2010–present	Simon Mannering

Coaches

1995–2011

Coach	Tenure	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Winning Percentage
John Monie	1995–1997 (sacked mid-season)	52	26	0	26	50.00%
Frank Endacott	1997–1998	33	13	0	20	39.39%
Mark Graham	1999–2000	50	18	2	30	36.00%
Daniel Anderson	2001–2004 (resigned mid-season)	92	51	2	39	55.43%
Tony Kemp	2004–2005	37	13	0	24	35.14%
Ivan Cleary	2006–2011	137	68	3	66	49.63%
Brian McClennan	2012–	-	-	-	-	-

Jerseys

• Home jerseys of the Warriors
• 

  1995–1996

• 

  1997–1999

• 

  2000

• 

  2001–2002

• 

  2003–2005

• 

  2006–2008

• 

  2009–current

Individual Records

List of New Zealand Warriors records

* indicates player still active.

1995–2010

Most Games

Games	Player	Career
261	Stacey Jones	1995–2005, 2009
195	Logan Swann	1997–2008
174*	Lance Hohaia	2002–
170	Awen Guttenbiel	1996–2006
159	Wairangi Koopu	1999–2008

Most Tries

Tries	Player	Career
87*	Manu Vatuvei	2004–
77	Stacey Jones	1995–2005, 2009
60	Francis Meli	1999–2005
57	Clinton Toopi	1999–2006
53*	Lance Hohaia	2002–
47*	Jerome Ropati	2003–

Most Tries in a Season

Tries	Player	Season
23	Francis Meli	2003 (Including Finals)
20	Manu Vatuvei	2010 (Regular Season Record + 1 Final)
19	Sean Hoppe	1995 (Regular Season Record)[14]
18	Clinton Toopi	2002
17	Clinton Toopi	2003
16	Manu Vatuvei	2008

Most Points

Points	Player	Career
674	Stacey Jones	1995–2005, 2009
439	Ivan Cleary	2000–2002
348*	Manu Vatuvei	2004–
341*	Lance Hohaia	2002–
291	Michael Witt	2007–2008
283	Gene Ngamu	1995–1999
277*	James Maloney	2010-

Most Points in a Season

Points	Player	Season
242	Ivan Cleary	2002
188	James Maloney	2010
173	Ivan Cleary	2001
160	Tony Martin	2006
153	Michael Witt	2007
147	Stacey Jones	2005
138	Michael Witt	2008

Most Points in a Match

Points	Player	Details
28	Gene Ngamu	3 tries, 8 goals vs North Queensland, 1996 (Won 52–6)
28	Ivan Cleary	1 try, 12 goals vs Northern Eagles, 2002 (Won 68–10)
28	James Maloney	3 tries, 8 goals vs Brisbane Broncos, 2010 (Won 48–16)
22	Tony Martin	1 try, 9 goals vs South Sydney, 2006 (Won 46–14)
20	Ivan Cleary	1 try, 8 goals vs North Queensland, 2002 (Won 50–20)
20	Francis Meli	5 tries vs Canterbury Bulldogs, 2003 (Won 48–22)
20	Michael Witt	2 tries, 6 goals vs Penrith Panthers, 2007 (Won 54–14)

Club Records

List of New Zealand Warriors records

1995–2010

Biggest Wins

Margin	Score	Opponent	Venue	Year
66	66–0	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Telstra Stadium	2006
58	68–10	Northern Eagles	Mt Smart Stadium	2002
46	52–6	North Queensland Cowboys	Mt Smart Stadium	1996
44	60–16	Western Suburbs	Campbelltown	1999
44	52–8	Penrith Panthers	Mt Smart Stadium	2001

Biggest Losses

Margin	Score	Opponent	Venue	Year
54	0–54	St. George Illawarra Dragons	WIN Stadium	2000
52	6–58	Sydney Roosters	Sydney Football Stadium	2004
46	10–56	Melbourne Storm	Olympic Park Stadium	2000
46	6–52	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Brookvale Oval	2008
46	4–50	Wests Tigers	Jade Stadium	2004

Kept Opposition To Nil

Score	Opponent	Venue	Year
66–0	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Telstra Stadium	2006
42–0	Newcastle Knights	Mt Smart Stadium	1999
30–0	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Mt Smart Stadium	2001
26–0	North Queensland Cowboys	Mt Smart Stadium	2006
14–0	Wests Tigers	Mt Smart Stadium	2009
13–0	Newcastle Knights	Mt Smart Stadium	2009

Kept To Nil

Score	Opponent	Venue	Year
0–54	St. George Illawarra Dragons	WIN Stadium	2000
0–44	Sydney Roosters	Sydney Football Stadium	2002
0–30	Melbourne Storm	Mt Smart Stadium	2009
0–24	North Queensland Cowboys	Mt Smart Stadium	1999

Most Consecutive Wins

Wins	First Round	Last Round
8	Round 7, 2002	Round 14, 2002

Most Consecutive Losses

Losses	First Round	Last Round
7	Round 17, 2000	Round 23, 2000
7	Round 20, 2004	Round 1, 2005

Most Consecutive Home Wins

Wins	First Round	Last Round
7	Round 18, 2008	Round 1, 2009

Most Consecutive Away Wins

Wins	First Round	Last Round
5	Round 8, 2002	Round 16, 2002

Most Consecutive Home Losses

Losses	First Round	Last Round
6	Round 24, 1998	Round 9, 1999

Most Consecutive Away Losses

Losses	First Round	Last Round
7	Round 5, 2009	Round 17, 2009

Biggest Comeback

Recovered from a 20-point deficit.

• Trailed Newcastle 20–0 after 39 minutes to win 30–26 at EnergyAustralia Stadium on 17 April 2005

Worst Collapse

Surrendered a 26-point lead.

• Led Penrith 32–6 after 59 minutes to draw 32–32 at CUA Stadium on 1 August 2009

Surrendered a 16-point lead (twice).

• Led Newcastle 16–0 after 34 minutes to lose 36–26 at Mt Smart Stadium on 16 March 2003
• Led Canterbury 16–0 after 21 minutes to lose 22–18 (in extra-time) at ANZ Stadium on 9 July 2006

Golden Point Record

Played 7: Won 2, Lost 3, Drawn 3

• Won 31–30 vs South Sydney Rabbitohs, Round 16, 2003
• Lost 26–28 vs North Queensland Cowboys, Round 15, 2004
• Lost 29–30 vs Canberra Raiders, Round 20, 2004
• Lost 18–22 vs Canterbury Bulldogs, Round 18, 2006
• Draw 31–31 vs Sydney Roosters, Round 21, 2007
• Won 17–16 vs Sydney Roosters, Round 6, 2009
• Draw 14–14 vs Melbourne Storm, Round 7, 2009
• Draw 32–32 vs Penrith Panthers, Round 21, 2009

All Time Premiership Record 1995–2010

Games	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win Percentage	Points For	Points Against	Points Differential
399	182	201	7	46.67%	8268	8652	−384

Supporters

Notable supporters of the Warriors include Sir Peter Leitch.

See also

• National Rugby League
• Rugby league in New Zealand

References

1. ^ News, NRL.Com (12 March 2011). "Eels beat Warriors in NZ". NRL.Com. http://nrl.com/eels-beat-warriors-in-nz/tabid/10874/newsid/61706/default.aspx. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
2. ^ "Warrior chief living life to the Maximus – www.smh.com.au". smh.com.au. 2011 [last update]. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/28/1064083254800.html. Retrieved 9 March 2011. 
3. ^ Guy Hand (14 September 2008). "Warriors play Storm at their own game". Fox Sports News (Australia). http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24345430-23214,00.html. Retrieved 20 September 2008. 
4. ^ Friend says first priority is Titans goldcoast.com.au, 12 April 2011
5. ^ Lawton, Aaron (31 July 2011). "Warriors set to sign 'Bluey' this week". The Sunday Star-Times. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/sport/5365691/Warriors-set-to-sign-Bluey-this-week. Retrieved 30 October 2011. 
6. ^ Hohaia confirms four year contract with St Helens rleague.com, 12 April 2011
7. ^ "NRL: Heremaia signs with Hull". The New Zealand Herald. 3 June 2011. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10729995. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
8. ^ "Seymour to leave Warriors". Television New Zealand. 22 June 2011. http://tvnz.co.nz/rugby-league-news/seymour-leave-warriors-4254344. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
9. ^ Dragons sign Matthews, Latimore nrl.com, 5 July 2011
10. ^ Salford sign Joel Moon and Jordan James rleague.com, 10 September 2011
11. ^ Brown, Michael (1 September 2011). "NRL: Cleary calm as farewell game approaches". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10748653&ref=rss. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
12. ^ Raiders sign Shaun Berrigan rleague.com, 19 October 2011
13. ^ Wakefield sign Isaac John code13rugbyleague.com, 29 October 2011
14. ^ Vatuvei closing in on record

External links

• New Zealand Warriors Official site
• Official NRL site of the New Zealand Warriors
• RL1908.com Club History
• Daily Telegraph – NZ Warriors 2007 season feature