Gourt Home::Gourt :: New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors (formerly Auckland Warriors) are a rugby league team based in Auckland, New Zealand who compete in the Australian based National Rugby League competition.
The Warriors Club is based at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland.
History
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.
The coach of the new team would be former Parramatta and Wigan coach John Monie. Former rugby union players such as John Kirwan and Marc Ellis (in 1996) were brought in also.
The Warriors first entered the Australian Rugby League in 1995 with their debut match against the Brisbane Broncos on March 10, 1995 to an almost full stadium of 30,000. The Warriors lost 22-25.
In 1995 the Warriors missed the playoff by just two points, ironically after having two points deducted from them mid season due to interchange infringements in Round 3 against the Western Suburbs Magpies. In 1996 the Warriors found themselves well off the pace and they again missed the playoffs. With the superleague war in full swing the Auckland based franchise sided with the rebel Superleague teams.
Monie was replaced with Frank Endacott as coach midway through the 1997 season. Aside from occasional flickers of form such as in the World Club Challenge, where the Warriors made the semi-finals to lose 22-16 to the Broncos, things continued to look lack-lustre for the Warriors as the team continued to miss making the play offs.
Former Kiwi Mark Graham took over as coach in 1999 after the Auckland Rugby League sold the club to a consortium that included Former Kiwi Coach Graeme Lowe and the Tainui Tribe. In the 1999 and 2000 seasons the Warriors again disappointed fans and did not threaten the leaders.
In 2000 the Warriors club was put up for sale after mounting debts forced the club's majority shareowner to sell. The key assets of the club were bought by local business tycoon Eric Watson. Controversially this did not include the player contracts. Operations of the club were made more effective through streamlining measures including the beginning of a program to get more local talent into the team. Only three players had been retained from 1995: Logan Swann, Stacey Jones and Monty Betham.
These measures seemed to work, as in 2001 the Warriors made the play-offs, albeit only just, having finished 8th. In the playoffs the Warriors were immediately eliminated when they lost to the Eels 56-12, which at the time was the biggest ever loss in finals matches.
The Warriors reached their zenith to date in 2002. They won the minor premiership, finishing in first place at the conclusion of the regular season after the Canterbury Bulldogs lost most of their competition points late in the season as a result of salary cap breaches. The Warriors would finish the season as runner-up after losing in the Grand Final to the Roosters 30-8.
For the 2002 Preliminary Final match against the Sharks at Homebush 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 plus crowd there were more 'black' (Warriors) supporters than there were for the local Sharks side which greatly reduced the home advantage. The Warriors went on to win 16-10.
In 2003 the team finished 6th after the round robin and fell one game short of their second consectutive Grand Final losing to Penrith 28-20 in the Pleminary Final. Despite predictions from many in the pre-season of the Warriors in 2004 performing well, ended up finishing second to last and narrowly escaped being bottom on the table.
In 2005 it didn't get much better with the team finishing 11th, despite some high profile off season signings including captain Steve Price, New Zealand international captain Ruben Wiki, Nathan Fien and Todd Byrne.
At the end of the 2005 round robin the coaching structure was reviewed and Ivan Cleary, a former Warrior, was promoted from Assistant Coach to Head Coach replacing Tony Kemp. Prior to this, CEO Mick Watson was replaced by Wayne Scurrah.
In February 2006, the Warriors were found to have breached the NRL salary cap. On the 27th of February, it was announced the club would be deducted 4 competition points for the 2006 season, and the club would also incur a A$430,000 fine. The club will also have to play under a reduced salary cap in 2007. On 25 June the Warriors recorded their biggest win ever as they defeated the South Sydney Rabbitohs 66-0 at Telstra Stadium. This eclipsed their previous record victory, 68-10 over the Northern Eagles.
The Warriors winning streak ended at four games on 9 July, when, after leading 16-0, a Mark O'Meley try in extra-time gave the Canterbury Bulldogs a 22-18 win. This and the following weeks loss to the Eels means that the Warriors are now six points off the top eight and are extremly long odds to make the final series.
See also
- Peter Leitch (Mad Butcher) - Arguably the Warrior's biggest fan and promoter
Squad
| Current Squad | Backs
2007 Gains
Aidan Kirk (from Sydney Roosters)Wade McKinnon (from Parramatta Eels)
Michael Witt (from Manly Sea Eagles)
Contract Extensions
Patrick Ah Van (2009)Epalahame Lauaki (2008)
Simon Mannering (2009)
Tony Martin (2007)
Sam Rapira (2009)
Grant Rovelli (2010)
Manu Vatuvei (2009)
Ruben Wiki (2008)
2007 Losses
Awen Guttenbiel (to Castleford Tigers)Misi Taulapapa (released mid-season)
Clinton Toopi (to Leeds Rhinos)
Brent Webb (to Leeds Rhinos)
Richard Villasanti (released mid-season to Cronulla Sharks)
Coaches
| Coach | Tenure |
|---|---|
| John Monie | 1995-1997 (sacked mid-season) |
| Frank Endacott | 1997-1998 |
| Mark Graham | 1999-2000 |
| Daniel Anderson | 2001-2004 (resigned mid-season) |
| Tony Kemp | 2004-2005 |
| Ivan Cleary | 2006- |
Club Records
1995-2006
Most Games
| Games | Player |
|---|---|
| 238 | Stacey Jones |
| 164* | Awen Guttenbiel |
| 145 | Logan Swann |
| 134* | Wairangi Koopu |
| 132 | Jerry Seuseu |
Most Tries
| Tries | Player |
|---|---|
| 75 | Stacey Jones |
| 60 | Francis Meli |
| 57* | Clinton Toopi |
| 44 | Sean Hoppe |
| 38 | Henry Fa'afili |
Most Tries in a Season
| Tries | Player | Season |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Francis Meli | 2003 |
| 19 | Sean Hoppe | 1995 |
| 18 | Clinton Toopi | 2002 |
Most Points
| Points | Player |
|---|---|
| 654 | Stacey Jones |
| 439 | Ivan Cleary |
| 283 | Gene Ngamu |
| 240 | Francis Meli |
| 238 | Matthew Ridge |
Most Points in a Season
| Points | Player | Season |
|---|---|---|
| 242 | Ivan Cleary | 2002 |
| 173 | Ivan Cleary | 2001 |
| 154* | Tony Martin | 2006 |
| 147 | Stacey Jones | 2005 |
Most Points in a Match
| Points | Player | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Ivan Cleary | 1 try, 12 goals vs Northern Eagles, 2002 (Won 68-10) |
| 28 | Gene Ngamu | 3 tries, 8 goals vs North Queensland, 1996 (Won 52-6) |
| 22 | Tony Martin | 1 try, 9 goals vs South Sydney, 2006 (Won 46-14) |
| 22 | Tony Martin | 1 try, 9 goals vs South Sydney, 2006 (Won 66-0) |
| 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) |
All Time Premiership Record
| Games | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win Percentage | Points For | Points Against | Points Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 282 | 129 | 149 | 4 | 45.7% | 6,063 | 6,353 | -290 |
External links
- New Zealand Warriors Official site
- NRL New Zealand Warriors site
- RL1908.com Club History
- Unofficial Warriors Forum
National Rugby League | New Zealand rugby league clubs | Sport in Auckland | Rugby league in New Zealand
"New Zealand Warriors"