Every Warriors Round 1 performance ranked
A comprehensive countdown of every season-opening display from our team.
There’s nothing quite like Round 1 for Warriors fans.
Hope springs eternal, anything is possible. It’s the first genuine look at new recruits, new combinations, young debutants. All teams start on level pegging (besides 2006, of course, when the salary cap-flaunting Warriors began on minus four competition points).
But while the Warriors have produced several memorable victories and stunning upsets to kick off the season, the overwhelming reality has been false dawns and disappointment.
The club has squared off in Round 1 on 29 occasions (in 1996, the Broncos forfeited a scheduled clash with the Warriors amid the Super League war, while we had the first-up bye in 2002) for a jarring record of nine wins and 20 losses.
The Warriors lost seven straight Round 1 matches from 2010-16, before winning three in a row for the only time in their history. As Andrew Webster’s charges aim to avoid a third consecutive season-opening defeat on Friday night against Sydney Roosters, we’ve gone to the trouble of ranking ever Round 1 Warriors performance.
29. 2013 – LOST 40-10 V PARRAMATTA EELS @ PARRAMATTA STADIUM
Entering the with 2013 campaign with new coaches, Ricky Stuart-helmed Parramatta and Matt Elliott’s Warriors appeared evenly matched. The Eels were reigning wooden spooners under Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney, while the Warriors were recovering from a post-grand final drop-off under ex-New Zealand Test mentor Brian McClennan.
The Saturday showdown at Parramatta Stadium was a complete mismatch, however, with enigmatic Eels halfback Chris Sandow and star fullback Jarryd Hayne running riot in a 40-10 rout. The Warriors scored the first two tries of the second half after trailing 18-0 at the break, but the Eels regrouped and captain Hayne completed a hat-trick.
Club debuts: Dane Nielsen, Todd Lowrie
28. 2014 – LOST 36-16 V PARRAMATTA EELS @ PARRAMATTA STADIUM
The Eels approached the 2014 season with another new head coach, Brad Arthur, and were again aiming to offload the wooden spoon. But the Warriors’ display and the result was eerily similar for Matt Elliott and co. on their second straight Round 1 visit to Parramatta Stadium.
A barnstorming Semi Radradra try inside five minutes was a portentous start, but the Eels led only 14-12 at halftime after tries to Warriors right-edge duo Glen Fisiiahi and Carlos Tuimavave. It was one-way traffic after the break, though, with Radradra and fellow Eels winger Vai Toutai finishing with hat-tricks in a 36-16 blowout.
Premiership debuts: Sam Tomkins, John Palavi
Club debuts: Chad Townsend, Jayson Bukuya
27. 2020 – LOST 20-0 V NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS @ MCDONALD JONES STADIUM
As the realities of the worsening COVID-19 situation hung over the opening round of 2020, the Warriors delivered a performance as drab as the Newcastle weather in a 20-0 loss to the Knights.
The eye-catching debut of second-rower Eliesa Katoa and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck creating history as the first skipper to win a Captain’s Challenge in an NRL match were rare highlights in a tough watch for Warriors fans.
The New Zealand government closed its borders later that afternoon, kick-starting an arduous three years for the club.
Premiership debuts: Eliesa Katoa, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown, King Vuniyayawa
Club debuts: Wayde Egan
26. 2025 – LOST 30-8 V CANBERRA RAIDERS @ ALLEGIANT STADIUM
The Warriors were by far the best supported club of the NRL’s second Las Vegas expedition – and fans were confident of a positive result against a Raiders side being freely tipped as wooden spoon candidates.
Limp attack, ragged defence and lack of direction headlined myriad negative takeaways for the Wahs as Ricky Stuart’s Green Machine set the tone for 2025 with a sizzling 30-8 win. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Adam Pompey were standouts as the rest of the Warriors line-up rolled snake eyes.
