New Zealand Warriors

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

The New Zealand Warriors (originally Auckland Warriors) were launched in 1994 with unprecedented hype and attention. Their first game in 1995 saw more hysteria than the game of rugby league had ever seen in their home base of Auckland and across New Zealand.

However, before long the Auckland Warriors were an embarrassment on and off the field. They were written off by all - and as the 1990s passed the Warriors never achieved anything that remotely gave their faithful fans much hope.

Like two of the other debutant clubs of 1995, the Auckland Warriors seemed destined for the scrap heap.

In 2001, under a new management and approach, the New Zealand Warriors began to look like the football team the rugby league faithful of New Zealand knew could exist.

In 2002 the New Zealand Warriors won the NRL minor premiership and reached the Grand Final. Finally, the club that had struggled for its life, was delivering the results it had promised back in 1995.

The first game of rugby league on New Zealand soil was a benefit match for New Zealand's 1907/08 ‘All Golds' manager Albert Baskerville's widowed mother. Baskerville died in tragic circumstances before the tour party returned home. The game was played before 10,000 spectators at the Athletic Park, Wellington on June 13 1908. Had Baskerville lived and many of the players not stayed in England, the game in New Zealand may well have built on the tour's success.

But to the game's credit in the "Shaky Isles" it persevered and has continued to do so for nearly a hundred years, despite the obstacles placed in its path by the NZRU from time to time. In August 1908 teams from Wellington and Auckland played each other in a two match series. New Zealand Maori teams also went to Australia in 1908 and 1909 with some success.

In July 1909 a meeting was held and the NZRL was formed. From 1910 onwards, there has been a club championship in Auckland and a similar competition started in Wellington from 1912. Other clubs and competitions sporadically rose and then disappeared throughout the 20th century across New Zealand. The fact that the first inter-island representative game did not take place until June 1925 says a great deal about the difficulties rugby league in New Zealand has always faced.

The game though has been centred around Auckland where a strong rugby league community supports the code. It has provided the bulk of the New Zealand Kiwis test players through the 20th century. Many of them subsequently moving to Australian or English clubs.

The Auckland representative side always provided tough opposition to national touring sides from Australia, Great Britain and France, along with NSW, Queensland and numerous Australian club and rep teams. As recently as 1989 Auckland defeated the visiting Australian side (26-24).

Auckland entered the mid-week Amco Cup in 1975 and promptly reached the semi-finals, losing to the eventual winners Eastern Suburbs. Auckland were part of the Cup until the early 1980s playing against numerous Sydney and regional teams. In 1987 an Auckland side was selected and they made a six game tour of Great Britain which included wins over Leeds and Wigan.

The first serious examination of the feasibility of entering an Auckland team in the expanding Sydney competition were made in 1988. Rumours of imminent acceptance by the NSWRL appeared regularly in the press. On 17th of May 1992 the announcement confirming Auckland's entry in 1995 was made. Much of the reason for the success was the well attended NSWRL club games that had been played in Auckland in the early 1990s.

It was soon decided that the club would be named the Warriors and adopted a not so accurate Maori based logo. The new club went heavily into importing officials and players from overseas and rugby union, starting with former Parramatta and Wigan coach John Monie.

The Warriors hired fading stars (from both codes) on huge salaries. Former All Blacks John Kirwan (1995) and Marc Ellis (1996) brought publicity and not much else. From England Denis Betts and Andy Platt would make an almost unseen impression on the Winfield Cup. Dean Bell and Frano Botica returned home from England and performed somewhat better, though the latter was cruelled by injury.

Also imported were Aussies Greg Alexander and Phil Blake, both had left their best days behind them. At the same time the Warriors managed to let home grown youth like Henry Paul take flight overseas.

On the opening night at Ericsson Stadium (v Brisbane) almost 30,000 filled the ground, while one in every three New Zealanders watched the match on TV. The Warriors led 22-10 late in the game, before crashing 25-22. Amidst the euphoria of their entry to the Winfield Cup, the club were forced to defect to the impending Super League competition once the NZRL signed up with News Limited.

The road ahead would be full of pot-holes for the Warriors. As the local media put it in 2001 "the opening match marked the beginning of years of misery, ineptitude, intrigue, wretched excess, vile exhibitionism and back-stabbing. The Warriors, a team launched with unprecedented hoopla, descended rapidly into a national embarrassment."

However, the Warriors could have made the Top 8 in 1995 if not for a stuff-up in counting the number of replacements used in a match against Western Suburbs way back in March. Somehow a fifth replacement was sent on when only four were allowed. What logic inspired the Warriors to have five (or more) replacements sitting on the benches ready to play?

Alerted by a sharp-eyed TVNZ reporter (whose side was he on!) the ARL checked the video and docked the Warriors two competition points. It ultimately was the difference between playing in the semi-finals or not. For the young club, an appearance in the play-offs could have spring-boarded rapid growth and stability.

The only highlight to the 1995 season was the debut of local junior Stacey Jones at half-back and home crowds that were over 20,000. With four rounds remaining in 1996 the Warriors were well placed at sixth position. They lost all four games and missed the play-offs. Stephen Kearney had an outstanding season, along with Jones and an improving Joe Vagana.

The Super League season of 1997 saw the club gain the services of Test fullback Matthew Ridge under the coaching of Frank Endacott. Ridge's nine matches for the season began a trend that would see the Warriors gain little benefit from him.

Auckland finished the year in 7th place of 10 teams. Signs weren't good early when the Warriors lost at home to the Adelaide Rams in Round 4. The club seemingly couldn't overcome timidness in defence and a lack of mental hardness when required. The maligned World Club Challenge provided some relief for Warriors fans with classy wins over St Helens and Bradford. Auckland played their best game of the season in the WCC semi-final against Brisbane, impressing many keen judges with their physical approach to the Broncos. They still lost though, 22-16.

By 1998 it was apparent the club needed a complete overhaul in its structure and approach. Mind you, by now two of their fellow entrant clubs from 1995 were no longer operating at all. The Warriors were at least still surviving while others were folding up or merging.

The Warriors again produced an at times woeful season dropping to 15th place in the NRL's 20 team 1998 competition. The local talent was undoubtedly where the Warriors' future lay, but the management of it seemed aimless and players were continually let down, overlooked or rushed too quickly into the team. Nigel Vagana impressed many outside the Warriors and youngster Ali Lauiti'iti looked to have rare attacking skills.

Mark Graham took over the coaching for 1999 and a mid-season ultimatum to his underachieving charges produced a pleasing back end to the season. The Warriors won five of their last six games and for once the season looked to offer promise of continued improvement in 2000. Auckland soon picked up the signatures of John Simon, Ivan Cleary and Mark Tookey.

The 2000 season didn't produce the outcome the Auckland club was searching for, they finished one place ahead of the wooden spoon. The Warriors had been starting to produce consistent winning results by mid-2000 after another inglorious start to the early rounds. However, the club was again beset by injury and off-field dramas. The most concerning were the financial troubles of the club's major shareholder, which cast a pall of uncertainty over the Warriors existence as the season marched on.

The Warriors club was put up for sale and was close to collapse with an $8.6 million debt and a $500,000 tax bill looming. After the season had ended the NZRL stepped in with a rescue package to take control. Soon after local business tycoon Eric Watson took a 75 per cent stake.

Under Watson's new streamlined management system a remarkable turnaround ensured in 2001. By seasons end the Warriors were in their first ever semi-final.

Renamed as the New Zealand Warriors and adopting a predominantly black playing strip, the club retained only ten players from 2000. Three of those were survivors from 1995, all local juniors - playmaker and leading try-scorer Stacey Jones, captain Monty Betham and powerful forward Logan Swann.

The only Australian representation in the side was Kevin Campion, David Myles, Cleary, Tookey and Jason Death. The rest were unheralded locals brought together by new coach Daniel Anderson. All of a sudden names like Henry Faafili, Francis Meli, Clinton Toopi, Jerry Seuseu, Motu Tony and Wairangi Koopu came to the fore.

The season included the scalps of all the NRL's top clubs apart from eventual premiers Newcastle. The wins also included the club's first win over Brisbane. After the second last game of the regular season the Warriors had secured a play-off berth for the first time. They received a heroes welcome back in Auckland, and over 24,500 fans were ready to party at the club's final home game. It was a let down when they lost to last placed North Queensland and they fell back to 8th place.

Without an injured Campion the Warriors seemed awe-struck in their finals debut against Parramatta. They were well beaten by the Eels 56-16, but the club could proudly look back at 2001 with pride.

The Warriors looked to 2002 for sure and steady improvement - something they had been unable to do before. Instead they exceeded all expectations when they reached the Grand Final and with 15 minutes left looked well capable of winning it.

For all the years rugby league had struggled in New Zealand since 1908, the 2002 season was one that the game could only have ever dreamed about. Rugby league in New Zealand put all other sport out of the headlines as the whole country rode with the Warriors to the Grand Final.

The Warriors were careful with their personnel additions for 2002, picking up only P.J. Marsh, John Carlaw and Brent Webb. They placed their faith in their developing junior talent - all soon saw why when five-eighth Lance Hohaia arrived on the scene. With a monster sized forward pack that was also mobile, the play makers in Jones, Marsh and Hohaia wreaked havoc across the NRL.

The fearsome Lauiti'iti became the world's number one ball playing forward. They were now a brutal side with attacking brilliance that would have to impress most fans of the game. Even at away games chants for the Warriors were heard for the first time as ex-pats came out of the woodwork.

The Warriors finished the regular season as minor premiers and winners of the JJ Giltinan Shield - removed from the shores of Australia for the first time.

The club hosted the Canberra Raiders in the first semi-final before 25,000 spectators, winning by 36-20. For the Final against Cronulla at Homebush the Warriors' sponsor purchased 15,000 tickets and gave them away to anyone with a Kiwi passport. In the 45,000 plus crowd there were more ‘black' supporters than for the local Sharks side.

With scores locked at 10-10 with five minutes to go, Stacey Jones ignored the expected field goal attempt and grubber kicked for the ingoal. John Carlaw streamed through to pounce on the ball. The New Zealand side was into the Grand Final against Sydney Roosters and the Australian game feared for the worse - the trophy was headed over the Tasman.

Early in the second half of the Grand Final Stacey Jones produced a mesmerising individual try to put the Warriors ahead by 8-6. Then it happened - Brad Fittler caught the Warriors defence napping with a 40-20 kick that turned the match on its head. Within moments the Roosters were in front and were not headed, ultimately winning by 30-8.

The Warriors followed up in 2003, fighting their way into the Final against Penrith, where the New Zealanders were edged out 28-20. The club imploded during the 2004 season - coach Daniel Anderson left mid-way through the year and many players lost form. The 2005 season saw another disappointing premiership campaign - ending with coach Tony Kemp being sacked, and the evergreen Stacey Jones moving to Les Catalans in France.

Even before the 2006 season kicked-off, the Warriors were in more trouble - a major salary cap breach had been found and the NRL deducted 4 points from the club's tally for the coming season. New coach Ivan Cleary faced a very difficult task to keep the club competitive and spirits high. In a repeat of 1995, the lost premiership points ultimately cost the Warriors a place in the 2006 play-offs.

Under Cleary's astute hand, the club continued to rise up the ladder, finishing fourth in 2007, and reaching the Final in 2008 (losing to eventual premiers Manly). On the back of the Kiwis win in the 2008 World Cup, as well as Stacey Jones' return from retirement, enthusiasm and expectation for the 2009 season is high.