| 1995 Auckland Warriors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | 10th ARL | |||
| 1995 record | 13-0-9 | |||
| Points for | 538 | |||
| Points against | 501 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Ian Robson | |||
| Coach | John Monie | |||
| Captain | Dean Bell | |||
| Alternate captains | Stephen Kearney Duane Mann |
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| Ground | Ericsson Stadium | |||
| Average attendance | 26,450 | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Sean Hoppe (19) | |||
| Goals | Gene Ngamu (36) | |||
| Points | Gene Ngamu (84) | |||
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The Auckland Warriors 1995 season was the Auckland Warriors inaugural first-grade season. The club competed in Australasia's Australian Rugby League competition. The coach of the team was John Monie while Dean Bell was the club's captain.
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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. |
The Warriors used Ericsson Stadium as their home ground in 1995, and it remains the only Home Ground they have used in the competition.
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] |
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) |
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 |
*The Warriors were stripped the 2 competition points from winning this game due to exceeding the replacement limit.
| 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.
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 |
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.
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 |
Tea Ropati won the clubs Player of the Year award.[9]
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.
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