The Warriors and South Sydney Rabbitohs have qualified for the finals in the same season just twice, but the clubs have still managed to produce some of the NRL era’s most extraordinary regular-season matches during a wildly fluctuating rivalry.
Overall record: Played 42 – South Sydney won 21, Warriors won 21; Warriors scored 1,077 points, South Sydney scored 1,001 points.
Biggest wins: Warriors – 66-0 at Stadium Australia, 2006; South Sydney – 60-22 at Sunshine Coast Stadium, 2021, and 48-10 at Sunshine Coast Stadium, 2022.
Longest winning streaks: Warriors – 12 matches (1999-2007); South Sydney – 8 matches (2018-23).
Most appearances: John Sutton (South Sydney) – 23; Simon Mannering (Warriors) – 17; Issac Luke (South Sydney and Warriors) – 16; Stacey Jones (Warriors) – 15; Nathan Merritt (South Sydney) – 15; Lance Hohaia (Warriors) – 14; Manu Vatuvei (Warriors) – 14.
Most tries: Alex Johnston (South Sydney) – 15; Nathan Merritt (South Sydney) – 9; Jerome Ropati (Warriors) – 9; Cody Walker (South Sydney) – 9; Lance Hohaia (Warriors) – 8; Manu Vatuvei (Warriors) – 8; Francis Meli (Warriors) – 7; Fetuli Talanoa (South Sydney) – 7; Brent Webb (Warriors) – 7; Simon Mannering (Warriors) – 6; Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Warriors) – 6.
Most points: Adam Reynolds (South Sydney) – 128; Shaun Johnson (Warriors) – 61; Alex Johnston (South Sydney) – 60; Stacey Jones (Warriors) – 55; Lance Hohaia (Warriors) – 52; Tony Martin (Warriors) – 50; Alex Johnston (South Sydney) – 48; James Maloney (Warriors) – 44.
1995-99 – SOUTHS BECOME A BOGEY
The Auckland Warriors’ first visit to the then-headquarters of rugby league, the Sydney Football Stadium, midway through their 1995 debut season garnered a 38-20 victory over South Sydney, with hooker Syd Eru scoring two tries. Eru bagged another double when the Rabbitohs made their maiden voyage to Auckland the following season, the Warriors prevailing 24-10.
But struggling Souths became a headache for the Warriors after the code came back together under the National Rugby League banner in 1998. The clubs faced off in the inaugural match of the NRL era, a Friday night Round 1 clash in Auckland. The home side led 18-12 inside the final 20 minutes but the Rabbitohs pulled off a 24-18 upset after high-profile recruits Tim Brasher and Terry Hermansson scored late tries.
Locked in a battle to avoid the wooden spoon towards the end of the season, South Sydney extinguished the Warriors’ slim finals hopes with a 20-18 boilover at the SFS. A 12-8 loss at Mt Smart in 1999 continued the Warriors’ run of outs against the Rabbitohs.
1999-2007 – WARRIORS PREVAIL IN RECORD ROUTS AND LAST-MINUTE THRILLERS
The Warriors began a 12-match winning streak against Souths late in 1999, featuring several merciless thrashings and cliff-hanger victories.
Round 21, 1999 – Short-handed Warriors grab comeback win
Auckland scored a miraculous 20-16 win over South Sydney at the SFS after trailing 10-6 at halftime and 16-10 with five minutes to go. A Logan Swann try trimmed the deficit to two points before Tony Tuimavave dotted down for the match-winner, both late touchdowns set up by brilliant halfback Stacey Jones. Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, draped in a red and green scarf, was on hand to watch the Rabbitohs capitulate in a body blow to their tenuous finals chances.
The Warriors surged to 25-18 and 46-10 wins after Souths were readmitted to the NRL in 2002. A 38-16 drubbing followed early in ’03, before the heavyweight Warriors squeezed past the last-placed Rabbitohs in extra-time mid-season.
