WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

As pundits gazed into their 2020 NRL crystal balls, the Warriors featured in more wooden spoon predictions than Top 8 forecasts after the previous season’s substantial regression.

The club repeatedly came up empty in bids to bolster its roster, with reported approaches to the likes of David Fifita, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Sitili Tupouniua, and eventual recruits Matt Lodge and Kurt Capewell each rebuffed.

Back-up Penrith hooker Wayde Egan was the Warriors’ only significant pick-up for the new campaign, replacing unwanted veteran Issac Luke. Blayke Ayshford hung up the boots, while fellow fringe players Ligi Sao and Chris Satae took up Super League deals. Long-serving Wallabies conditioner Craig Twentyman arrived as Head of Performance with Alex Corvo – lauded for his role the Warriors’ 2018 upswing – leaving Auckland.

In an otherwise muted off-season, a video published on the club’s website depicted CEO Cameron George delivering a stirring, expletive-laden call to arms to the playing group about proving the doomsayers wrong.

But the season ahead – and indeed the ensuing three-year period – would be anything but nondescript for the Warriors, who were destined to become the NRL’s unwitting face of a global health crisis that dramatically impacted every facet of sport and society around the world.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

The Auckland Warriors’ average crowds in 1995-96 were second only to Brisbane’s, before attendances dwindled. Crowd averages from 2011-14 were boosted by taking home games to Eden Park and Wellington, but the club’s 2018 figures – the third-best in Warriors history at the time – were achieved playing solely at Mount Smart Stadium.

The Warriors’ ‘Up the Wahs’ era from 2023 onwards routinely attracted sellout crowds (including an unprecedented cleansweep of ‘Full House’ signs in 2024) and staggering season averages.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

The Warriors were entitled to enjoy their most under-the-radar off-season in years, basking in the glow of the club’s long-awaited return to the NRL finals and plethora of positive off-field developments.

But comments from CEO Cameron George to NZ Herald in late-October sent speculation around the future of Shaun Johnson, who was in Britain with the Kiwis at the time, into overdrive. The superstar halfback was under contract for 2019, but George confirmed the club would not be rushing to extend Johnson and added pointedly, “We’re not going to be scared to make big calls on any player”, apparently giving the 28-year-old the Warriors’ blessing to test his value on the open market.

One month later, the inevitable was confirmed: the Warriors had released their long-time talisman. “Yesterday (head coach) Stephen Kearney, (recruitment manager) Peter O’Sullivan and I met with Shaun and his manager Peter Brown,” George said in a scathing statement. “During the meeting Shaun clearly demonstrated to us that he didn’t want to be at the club in 2019. On the basis of what Shaun told us, we are not going to compromise our culture on and off the field with people who do not wish to represent our club, members and fans in the way we expect.”

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

The Warriors’ 68-10 obliteration of the hapless Northern Eagles in 2002 bettered their previous biggest winning margin by 16 points and remains the club’s highest score in a match. But the 66-0 rout of South Sydney four years later set a new winning margin mark – and is the biggest victory by an away team in premiership history.

At the other end of the scale, the Warriors’ dreadful 62-6 loss to Penrith in 2013 broke a 13-year-old record for their biggest losing margin and was also the club’s highest score conceded. A 70-10 defeat in Melbourne in 2022 overtook both marks and a horrific 66-6 beatdown on the Gold Coast in 2024 equalled the losing margin record.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

Fans and critics had apparently run out of patience with the Warriors. Regarded as the NRL’s perennial sleeping giant and a finals threat each pre-season, the sense of anticipation from the diehard supporter base was eerily muted. Memberships were also down by around 30 percent.

Meanwhile, pundits burned too often by the Warriors’ penchant for flattering to deceive deserted the team. Just one of the 12 experts polled by Big League had the Warriors making the 2018 finals, while five picked the club to collect a maiden wooden spoon. The sole analyst willing to back the Warriors to make the Top 8? Sir Peter Leitch. As well as a welter of last-place predictions from various media outlets, Stephen Kearney was the trendy tip to be the first NRL coach sacked in 2018.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

The Warriors’ rivalries with Brisbane and Melbourne stand out as the most memorable and important for most fans, enjoying disproportionate success against the heavyweights during certain periods.

Storied rivalries with the Roosters, Raiders, Sharks, Panthers and Tigers have been enhanced by epic finals encounters, but competition with every club has added significantly to the Warriors’ narrative.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

The Warriors announced the signing of troubled superstar Kieran Foran in September 2016, but it took until February for the NRL to officially register the contract due to concerns over his readiness to return to football.

The career of the former Manly playmaker, who starred in the Sea Eagles’ 2011 grand final victory against the Warriors, unravelled after joining Parramatta in 2016. Installed as Eels skipper, the extent of Foran’s array of personal off-field issues became public fodder. He then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury and was released by his new club in July.

Despite apprehension over Foran’s fitness and state of mind, the acquisition of the tough 21-Test pivot was roundly regarded as a coup for the Warriors. Uniting with Shaun Johnson, Issac Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck gave the club the Kiwis’ entire first-choice spine (though the quartet had only played one Test together in their preferred positions) under former national team mentor Stephen Kearney.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

Just 10 Warriors have been sent off in a first-grade match, with eight of those occurring in their first six seasons.

Ali Lauitiiti is the only player to have been given an early shower more than once, sent off three times for high tackles in 1999-2000. Wade McKinnon was the most recent player to be sent off, only to be cleared of any wrongdoing after being marched for dropping his knees into an opponent in a 2007 fixture.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

The Warriors’ calamitous finish to 2015 brought the club’s culture – that intangible and difficult-to-define quality so crucial to modern-day sports organisations – under intense scrutiny. The acquisition of proven winners Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Issac Luke was designed to alleviate the Warriors’ supposed culture shortfall off the paddock, as well as dramatically improving their chances on it.

Wily 33-year-old halfback Jeff Robson was recruited to take the playmaking pressure off Shaun Johnson, while Blake Ayshford and ex-Warriors NYC products Ligi Sao and James Gavet were depth additions following a stack of off-season departures. Former Warriors prop Justin Morgan returned to the club on Andrew McFadden’s coaching staff.

The Warriors faithful breathed a collective sigh of relief as Johnson made a successful return from injury in the Auckland Nines. The talisman rescued his side with a spectacular last-gasp solo try in their must-win pool game against Brisbane and steered the Warriors to the final, where Parramatta carved out a 22-4 victory. Johnson and Tuimoala Lolohea were named in the Team of the Tournament.

Simon Mannering dropped a mid-February bombshell

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

After the torrent of All Blacks and high-profile rugby union players switching codes to rugby league in the early-1990s, it seemed only natural the fledgling Warriors would have a few former ‘rah rahs’ in their ranks. The club’s first-ever signing, Gavin Hill, was a long-serving provincial forward and New Zealand Maori rep before becoming a Kiwi international from Canterbury-Bankstown in 1992.

The recruitment of All Blacks John Kirwan, Marc Ellis and Mark Carter was derided as a publicity stunt and produced mixed on-field results (though Kirwan was the club’s top try-scorer in 1996 and Ellis became a dual international), but all were commended for what they added off the paddock. The injury-hit stints of dual international superboots Frano Botica and Matthew Ridge at the Warriors fell well short of expectations.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

Seemingly well-placed after an admirable revival under Andrew McFadden’s coaching, the Warriors still carried a familiar millstone into 2015 – and the inconsistent label was only branded deeper and more painfully onto the club’s backside during another season of searing highs and depressing lows.

But more vigorous roster changes raised early-season optimism. Enigmatic ball-player Feleti Mateo’s best games had become increasingly less frequent and he was joined out the exit door by fellow back-rower Jayson Bukuya, who returned to Cronulla after an underwhelming one-year stint in Auckland. They were replaced by industrious, experienced duo Ryan Hoffman and Bodene Thompson to ease the workload burden on Simon Mannering and provide greater reliability and mobility to the pack.

The 31-year-old Hoffman – a five-time grand finalist with Melbourne and an incumbent NSW and Australia rep – was also expected to bring much-needed professionalism and a winner’s mentality to Penrose.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

Kevin Campion became the Warriors’ first State of Origin representative in 2001, playing four straight matches for Queensland before being replaced by clubmate PJ Marsh, the club’s only other Origin debutant until 2024.

Steve Price, Brent Tate, Jacob Lillyman, Ryan Hoffman – the Warriors’ sole New South Wales rep for their first 29 seasons – and Kurt Capewell were experienced Origin players before being lured to Auckland. Richard Villasanti and sole Blues debutant Mitch Barnett are the only players to earn a maiden Test call-up for Australia from the Warriors.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

After two consecutive off-seasons of upheaval as the club welcomed in new head coaches and staff, the Warriors approached 2014 confident a settled build-up ahead of Matthew Elliott’s second season in charge would yield the anticipated results on the paddock. But it also meant the excuses had dried up. The resilience and mental toughness the team showed during their stunning mid-2013 charge would be required across the whole campaign – and a strong start was essential.

Dressed to the Nines

They may not have won the tournament, but the Warriors lived up to the hype as the surrogate host and most talked about team at the inaugural NRL Auckland Nines at Eden Park. The Warriors were upset in the semis by eventual champs the Cowboys (who they beat in pool play) but brought the packed house down with their sizzling attacking play across the mid-February weekend. Captain Shaun Johnson – the unofficial ‘face’ of the Nines – was the top point-scorer and a standout Most Valuable Player recipient. He was joined in the Team of the Tournament by Suaia Matagi, while British import Sam Tomkins enjoyed an impressive first hit-out in Warriors colours.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

The Warriors have produced 75 New Zealand internationals since 1995. Sydney Roosters (28), Canterbury (25), Melbourne (21) and Penrith (17) are the next-most frequent homes for Kiwis players. Impressively, 48 of the Warriors’ New Zealand reps made their international debut from the club.

The Auckland Warriors’ line-up for their maiden premiership match in ’95 contained a staggering 12 New Zealand internationals, though Dean Bell, Whetu Taewa, Gavin Hill, Duane Mann, Se’e Solomona and Jason Mackie did not don the black-and-white jersey while at the club.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

Matthew Elliott was certainly unlike any other Warriors coach before him. Drawing upon learnings from the Dalai Lama, Richard Branson and the sphere of quantum physics, the former St George back-rower was not afraid to think outside the traditional NRL box. He was ahead of the curve – in rugby league, at least – in introducing meditation, visualisation and mindfulness during his stint at Penrith.

Nor could the eccentric Elliott be accused of dishing up cookie-cutter responses to a Kiwi league media more accustomed to the likes of poker-faced Ivan Cleary. The veteran coach talked a strong game, about instilling passion and character back into the Warriors.

History unanimously regards Elliott’s season and a bit in charge at the Warriors as an abject failure – but the club undeniably played some its best-ever football under his direction in 2013…and some of its worst.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

Simon Mannering was named the Warriors’ Player of the Year a staggering five times in his 15-season career, eventually having the award renamed in his honour. Steve Price, Ben Matulino and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – who created history by winning three straight and later added a fourth – are the only other multiple Player of the Year recipients.

The Warriors were largely overlooked at the Dally M Awards, until Tuivasa-Sheck’s historic Dally M Medal win as the premiership’s best and fairest player in 2018. Stacey Jones finished seventh or higher in the Dally M Medal count three times, with Shaun Johnson (second in 2023), Tuivasa-Sheck (equal-fifth in 2019 and sixth in 2021), Addin Fonua-Blake (eighth in 2023), Isaac Luke (equal-eighth in 2018), Brent Webb (ninth in 2006), Price (equal-ninth in 2007) and Kevin Locke (equal-11th in 2011) the Warriors’ next best performers.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

Despite widespread dismay at Ivan Cleary’s departure, Brian ‘Bluey’ McClennan was a popular hire. The former Auckland provincial five-eighth was revered for his role as coach of the Kiwis’ historic 2005 Tri Nations triumph and their near miss in the 2006 final. Back-to-back Super League titles with Leeds in 2008-09 only cemented his reputation as an NRL coach-in-waiting. A humble, affable yet forthright personality in the Frank Endacott mould.

On the surface, it was a dream gig – taking over a premiership-calibre roster that had become established as a genuine NRL powerhouse courtesy of four finals appearances in five years. But it would be an ill-fated stint for McClennan, who failed to see out a difficult season thanks to a trigger-happy administration.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

Hailing from a famous Auckland rugby league family, Tea and Iva Ropati became the first set of brothers to play for the Warriors. All seven of Iva’s top-grade games for the club were alongside Warriors stalwart and fellow Kiwi international Tea. Long-serving prop Jerry Seuseu accompanied younger brother Anthony in the latter’s only NRL game in 2001. Versatile brothers Vinnie and Louis Anderson played a record 14 games together when their Warriors stints overlapped in 2004; they later reunited at Warrington.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

The Warriors countered a sizeable exiting group with a quartet of astute signings for 2011. Freakishly-skilled Parramatta duo Feleti Mateo and Krisnan Inu seemed a natural fit for their new club’s trademark adlib attacking style. Former Brisbane star Shaun Berrigan – a Test centre, Origin half and Clive Churchill Medal-winning hooker – returned to the NRL from England. Back-rower Steve Rapira reunited with brother Sam after two years in Townsville.

Six of Rugby League Week’s eight experts predicted another finals appearance for the Warriors – including Mark Geyer, who tipped them to be crowned premiers.

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WARRIORS 1995-2025 BOOK CHAPTER MENU

Stacey Jones was the first 18-year-old to turn out in first grade for the club, setting a youngest Warrior record that stood until Ali Lauiti’iti’s 1998 debut. Thomas Leuluai became the Warriors’ first 17-year-old first-grader in 2003. Powerhouse winger Cooper Vuna shattered Leuluai’s record when he came off the bench against Parramatta in 2004.

There has only been one younger premiership debutant since 1993, while Vuna was one of five 17- or 18-year-olds to debut for the Warriors during 2003-04. Back-rower Isaiah Papali’i became the Warriors’ youngest NRL player in more than a decade in 2017 with only two 18-year-olds earning their first-grade spurs since.

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