1995 Auckland Warriors season

The 1995 Auckland Warriors season was the inaugural season of the newly-formed club. Competing the 1995 Australian Rugby League premiership, they were coached by John Monie and captained by Dean Bell. The Warriors' home ground for their first season was Ericsson Stadium. They finished their first premiership regular season 10th (out of 20), so failed to make the finals.

1995 Auckland Warriors season
ARL Rank10th
1995 recordWins: 13; draws: 0; losses: 9
Points scoredFor: 538; against: 501
Team information
CEOIan Robson
CoachJohn Monie
Captains
StadiumEricsson Stadium
Avg. attendance26,450
Top scorers
TriesSean Hoppe (19)
GoalsGene Ngamu (36)
PointsGene Ngamu (84)
1996 →

Milestones

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Jersey & Sponsors

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The Warriors inaugural jersey was produced by Canterbury of New Zealand. The Jersey was blue with a Green, Red and White "V". In part, the colours were based on the traditional Auckland colours of Blue and White. The main sponsor was DB Bitter, with Ansett Australia as the sleeve sponsor. Asics, Coca-Cola and Mitsubishi also had sponsorship deals.

Fixtures

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The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 1995, and it remained the only Home Ground the club used in the competition until they played a match at Eden Park in 2011.

Pre-Season

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Three pre-season matches were played before the World Sevens and another three were played after the World Sevens.

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
18 January Match 1   Canterbury Addington Showgrounds, Christchurch Win 26 - 12 12,811 [2]
January Match 2 Central Districts Palmerston North Showgrounds, Palmerston North Win 36 - 16 [3]
January Match 3   Auckland Carlaw Park, Auckland Win 46 - 20 [3]
February Match 4 Northland Kaikohe Win 66 - 6 [3]
14 February Match 5   Canberra Raiders Carlaw Park, Auckland Win 23 - 16 16,000 [3]
25 February Match 6   Western Reds West Wyong Loss 28 - 40 [3]

World Sevens

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The Warriors participated in the 1995 Rugby League World Sevens, losing in the Trophy Quarterfinals.

Squad: Phil Blake (c), Sean Hoppe, Manoa Thompson, Tea Ropati, Whetu Taewa, Gene Ngamu, Syd Eru, Stephen Kearney, Tony Tatupu, Des Maea.[4]

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
3 February Round 1   Canberra Raiders Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Win 22 - 4 Blake (2), Hoppe, Ngamu Ngamu (3)
3 February Round 2   New Zealand 'A' Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Loss 10 - 26 Eru, Ropati Ngamu (1)
5 February Trophy
Quarterfinals
  Sydney Tigers Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Loss 12 - 16 Ngamu (2) Ngamu (2)

Tooheys Challenge Cup

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Team: Phil Blake (c), Sean Hoppe, Dean Bell, Manoa Thompson, Whetu Taewa, Martin Moana, Gene Ngamu, Gavin Hill, Duane Mann, Hitro Okesene, Stephen Kearney, Tony Tatupu, Tony Tuimavave. Bench: Tea Ropati, Se'e Solomona, Mike Dorreen, Jason Mackie.[5]

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
19 February Round 1   North Sydney Bears Parramatta Stadium, Sydney Loss 14 - 12 Taewa, Ngamu Hill (1), Ngamu (1) 8211

Regular season

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Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
10 March Round 1   Brisbane Broncos Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Loss 22 - 25 Blake, Hoppe, Ropati, Tatupu Ngamu (3) 29,220
18 March Round 2   Illawarra Steelers Steelers Stadium, Wollongong Loss 28 - 40 Blake (2), Hoppe (2), Ropati Ngamu (4) 12,127
26 March Round 3   Western Suburbs Magpies Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Win* 46 - 12 Blake (4), Alexander, Kearney, Ngamu, Ropati Ngamu (7) 21,446
1 April Round 4   North Sydney Bears North Sydney Oval, Sydney Loss 10 - 48 Blake (2) Ngamu (1) 14,683
7 April Round 5   Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Loss 14 - 26 Hoppe (2), Moana Ngamu (1) 30,112
16 April Round 6   Illawarra Steelers Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Win 38 - 12 Hoppe (2), Ropati, Alexander, Bell, Mann, Taewa Ngamu (5) 29,474
23 April Round 7   Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium, Sydney Win 40 - 4 Blake, Hoppe, Jones, Mann, Ngamu, Ropati, Tatupu Ngamu (4),
Alexander (1), Jones (1)
10,426
30 April Round 8   Sydney City Roosters Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Win 26 - 22 Bell (2), Mann, Ropati, Tatupu Ngamu (3) 29,048
7 May Round 9   Newcastle Knights Marathon Stadium, Newcastle Loss 6 - 48 Blake, Hoppe, Ropati, Tatupu Ngamu (3) 29,220
14 May Round 10   Cronulla Sharks Caltex Field, Sydney Win 23 - 18 Hoppe, Dorreen, Kirwan, Okesene Ngamu (1), Jones (FG) 10,142
4 June Round 11   Sydney Tigers Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Win 36 - 12 Hoppe (2), Betts (2) Jones, Ropati Botica (6) 28,713
18 June Round 12   Penrith Panthers Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Loss 16 - 34 Blackmore (2), Okesene, Ropati 24,723
25 June Round 13   Western Suburbs Magpies Campbelltown SG, Sydney Win 16 - 12 Jones, Tuimavave, Tatupu Jones (2) 10,700
1 July Round 14   South Sydney Rabbitohs SFS, Sydney Win 38 - 20 Eru (2), Alexander, Betts, Botica, Edwards, Tatupu Botica (5) 6,954
9 July Round 15   Gold Coast Seagulls Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Win 44 - 16 Ropati (3), Alexander, Botica, Dorreen, Hoppe,
Kirwan
Botica (6) 20,493
16 July Round 16   Western Reds Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Win 34 - 10 Alexander, Betts, Eru, Hoppe, Jones, Ropati Jones (3), Botica (2) 19,244
23 July Round 17   South Queensland Crushers Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Win 22 - 10 Hoppe (2), Blake, Blackmore Jones (3) 28,928
29 July Round 18   North Queensland Cowboys Stockland Stadium, Townsville Win 28 - 10 Alexander (2), Betts, Blackmore, Hoppe, Kirwan Ngamu (2) 23,521
6 August Round 19   St George Dragons Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Loss 14 - 47 Blackmore, Hoppe, Jones Alexander (1) 28,973
11 August Round 20   Sydney Bulldogs Parramatta Stadium, Sydney Win 29 - 8 Blake (2), Alexander, Kearney, Poaching Alexander (2), Hill (1),
Ngamu (1), Jones (FG)
10,416
18 August Round 21   Canberra Raiders Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Loss 8 - 15 Hoppe Ngamu (2) 29,500
27 August Round 22   Brisbane Broncos ANZ Stadium, Brisbane Loss 6 - 44 Ngamu Ngamu (1) 54,645

*The Warriors were stripped the 2 competition points from winning this game due to exceeding the replacement limit.

Ladder

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Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1   Manly 22 20 0 2 687 248 +439 40
2   Canberra 22 20 0 2 634 255 +379 40
3   Brisbane 22 17 0 5 600 364 +236 34
4   Cronulla 22 16 0 6 516 287 +229 32
5   Newcastle 22 15 0 7 549 396 +153 30
6   Sydney Bulldogs 22 14 0 8 468 352 +116 28
7   St. George 22 13 0 9 583 382 +201 26
8   North Sydney 22 11 2 9 542 331 +211 24
9   Sydney City 22 12 0 10 466 406 +60 24
10   Auckland 22 13 0 9 544 493 +51 24*
11   Western Reds 22 11 0 11 361 549 -188 22
12   Illawarra 22 10 1 11 519 431 +88 21
13   Western Suburbs 22 10 0 12 459 534 -75 20
14   Penrith 22 9 0 13 481 484 -3 18
15   Sydney Tigers 22 7 0 15 309 591 -282 14
16   South Queensland 22 6 1 15 303 502 -199 13
17   Gold Coast 22 4 1 17 350 628 -278 9
18   South Sydney 22 4 1 17 319 686 -367 9
19   Parramatta 22 3 0 19 310 690 -380 6
20   North Queensland 22 2 0 20 269 660 -391 4

*Auckland Warriors were stripped of 2 competition points due to exceeding the replacement limit in one game.

Squad

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Twenty Eight players were used by the club in 1995.

No. Name Nationality Position Warriors Debut App T G FG Pts
1 Dean Bell   CE / LK 10 March 19 3 0 0 12
2 Phil Blake   FB / HK 10 March 17 14 0 0 56
3 Sean Hoppe   WG 10 March 22 19 0 0 76
4 Manoa Thompson   CE 10 March 7 0 0 0 0
5 Whetu Taewa   CE 10 March 11 1 0 0 4
6 Gene Ngamu   FE 10 March 21 3 36 0 84
7 Greg Alexander   FB / HB 10 March 21 8 4 0 40
8 Gavin Hill   PR 10 March 7 0 1 0 2
9 Duane Mann   /   HK 10 March 13 3 0 0 12
10 Hitro Okesene   PR / HK 10 March 17 2 0 0 8
11 Stephen Kearney   SR 10 March 20 2 0 0 8
12 Tony Tatupu   /   SR 10 March 16 5 0 0 20
13 Tony Tuimavave   /   PR / LK 10 March 21 1 0 0 4
14 Se'e Solomona   /   PR 10 March 9 0 0 0 0
15 Tea Ropati   /   CE / FE 10 March 21 12 0 0 48
16 Jason Mackie   LK 10 March 5 0 0 0 0
17 Martin Moana   LK / FE 10 March 6 1 0 0 4
18 Joe Vagana   /   PR 18 March 8 0 0 0 0
19 Syd Eru   HK 28 March 15 3 0 0 12
20 Willie Poching   /   SR 28 March 2 1 0 0 4
21 Logan Edwards   SR / LK 7 April 15 1 0 0 4
22 John Kirwan   WG 16 April 16 3 0 0 12
23 Andy Platt   PR 23 April 14 0 0 0 0
24 Stacey Jones   HB 23 April 14 5 9 2 40
25 Mike Dorreen   CE 7 May 4 2 0 0 8
26 Richie Blackmore   CE 14 May 10 5 0 0 20
27 Frano Botica   WG 4 June 5 2 19 0 46
28 Denis Betts   SR 4 June 11 5 0 0 20

Staff

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  • Chairman: Peter McLeod
  • Chief executive Officer: Ian Robson
  • Football manager: Laurie Stubbing

Coaching staff

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Other teams

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The Warriors participated in the ARL's Reserve grade competition that mirrored the senior draw. The Reserve grade side made the top eight, finishing eighth, but lost to Penrith 8-14 in the Quarterfinals.[7]

In the Club Championship the Warriors finished seventh overall.

Warriors Colts

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In addition a Warriors Colts side was fielded in NZRL's Lion Red Cup. The Warrior Colts made the grand final but lost to the North Harbour Sea Eagles.

North Harbour Position Auckland Colts
Quinten Dane FB Nigel Vagana
Auvae Tapuai WG Paul Staladi
Paki Tuimavave CE Stuart Lester
Jason Kaulima CE Anthony Swann
Steve Barry WG Tacofe Kalauta
Aleki Maea FE Meti Noovao (C)
Latham Tawhai HB Willie Swann
Donald Stewart (C) PR Dallas Mead
Sean Wilson HK Aaron Lester
Darren Kohlhase PR David Fatialofa
Mike Setefano SR Bryan Henare
Keniti Asiata SR Frank Watene
Jason Palmada LK Logan Swann
Frank Fuimaono Bench Charlie Kennedy
Cory Jamieson Bench Des Maea
Lafaelle Filipo Bench Druce Nilsen
Brent Snooks Bench Steve Buckingham
Graeme Norton Coach John Ackland

After trailing 15–2 at halftime the North Harbour Sea Eagles came from behind to defeat the Warrior Colts 28–21 in the second Lion Red Cup Grand Final.[8] The match included an eight-point try scored by Paki Tuimavave in the 48th minute. Tuimavave was tackled high by Aaron Lester while he was grounding the ball. Lester was then sin-binned for back chatting the referee after the incident.

Team Halftime Total
North Harbour Sea Eagles 2 28
Auckland Warriors Colts 15 21
Tries (North Harbour) 1: F. Fuimaono, S. Wilson, P. Tuimavave, J. Palmada
Tries (Auckland Colts) 1: N.Vagana, B.Henare, M.Noovao, W.Swann
Goals (North Harbour) 6: Q.Dane
Goals (Auckland Colts) 1: S.Buckingham, M.Noovao
Field Goals Goals (Auckland Colts) 1: M.Noovao
Date 16 September
Referee Dennis Hale
Venue Ericsson Stadium
Broadcast TVNZ

Awards

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Tea Ropati won the club's Player of the Year award.[9]

Super League

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The Auckland Warriors, along with seven other clubs, signed with News Limited to form a new competition in 1996, the Super League. Thirteen players signed with the new competition on 2 April 1995, after the Warriors' Round 4 loss to the North Sydney Bears, with coach John Monie having signed in late March. The club as a whole signed with News Limited on 20 April. This decision meant that Auckland Warriors players became ineligible for the New South Wales and Queensland State of Origin sides and the Australian Kangaroos. The New Zealand Rugby League and English Rugby Football League organisations had also signed with News Limited and so the majority of Warriors players were still eligible to represent their countries at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.

References

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  1. ^ ARL 1995 - Game 3 rugbyleagueproject.org
  2. ^ Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1995, New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1995. p.218
  3. ^ a b c d e Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1995, New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1995. p.130
  4. ^ Squads Sevens details Archived 20 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine The Vault
  5. ^ Sydney Challenge Cup details Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Vault
  6. ^ Deane, Steve (18 June 2011). "Candidates line up for Cleary's job". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  7. ^ Australian Competitions 1995 Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Vault
  8. ^ Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1995, New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1995. p.75-84
  9. ^ New Zealand Rugby League Annual 2002, New Zealand Rugby Football League, 2002. p.50
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