2014 New Zealand Warriors season

The 2014 New Zealand Warriors season was the 20th in the club's history. Coached by Matthew Elliott until he was replaced by Andrew McFadden in Round 6, and captained by Simon Mannering, the Warriors competed in the National Rugby League's 2014 Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season 9th out of 16 teams, failing to make the finals for the third consecutive year. In the pre-season the Warriors also had competed in the inaugural NRL Auckland Nines tournament.

Milestones

• 9 March - Round 1: Four players made their club debuts for the Warriors; Sam Tomkins, Chad Townsend, Jayson Bukuya and John Palavi.
• 15 March - Round 2: David Fusitua made his NRL debut.
• 7 April: Head coach Matthew Elliott resigned as head coach.^[1] Andrew McFadden was made acting coach.
• 13 April - Round 6: Siliva Havili made his NRL debut.
• 2 May: Shaun Johnson, Ben Henry, Simon Mannering and Siliva Havili played for New Zealand in the 2014 ANZAC Test.
• 3 May: Suaia Matagi, Michael Sio, Dominique Peyroux and Carlos Tuimavave represented Samoa in the Pacific International.
• 13 May: Andrew McFadden was appointed head coach until the end of the 2017 season.
• 1 June - Round 12: Simon Mannering played in his 200th match for the club, and his 100th as club captain. Nathan Friend also played in his 50th game for the club.
• 19 July - Round 19: Agnatius Paasi made his NRL debut.
• 27 July - Round 20: Tuimoala Lolohea made his NRL debut.
• 24 August - Round 24: Ben Matulino played in his 150th match for the club. He is the first NYC graduate from any club to reach the milestone.^[2]
• 18 October: Sam Lisone and Adam Tuimavave-Gerard played for the Junior Kiwis.
• Sam Tomkins represented England, Simon Mannering, Manu Vatuvei, Shaun Johnson, Suaia Matagi, Siliva Havili and Thomas Leuluai represented New Zealand and Dominique Peyroux and Michael Sio represented Samoa in the end of year Four Nations tournament.

Jersey and sponsors

In 2014 the Warriors jerseys was again made by Canterbury of New Zealand.

Fixtures

Pre-season training

Pre-season training began on 28 October 2013.^[3]

Pre-season matches

The Warriors played the Gold Coast Titans at North Harbour Stadium on 9 February and the Brisbane Broncos at Forsyth Barr Stadium on 23 February.^[4][5] The Warriors also played the Wigan Warriors on Wednesday 12 February, in a warm up game before Wigan competes in the 2014 World Club Challenge.^[6]

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance	Report
9 February	Trial 1	Gold Coast Titans	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland	Loss	18-32	Lolohea (2), Ikahifo	Lino (3)	7,000
12 February	Trial 2	Wigan Warriors	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	Loss	22-46	Townsend, Tuimavave-Gerrard, Peteru, Friend	Townsend (3)
23 February	Trial 3	Brisbane Broncos	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	Win	48-4	Fisiiahi (2), Hurrell (2), Johnson, Gubb, Tuimavave, Fusitua, Tomkins	Johnson (4), Townsend (2)

Auckland Nines

The Warriors were coached by Ricky Henry. The squad consisted of Jayson Bukuya, Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Glen Fisiiahi, David Fusitua, Charlie Gubb, Konrad Hurrell, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Shaun Johnson, Solomone Kata, Ngani Laumape, Tuimoala Lolohea, Sione Lousi, Suaia Matagi, Dominique Peyroux, Sam Tomkins, Carlos Tuimavave.^[7] At the conclusion of the weekend Shaun Johnson was named the tournament's MVP and Suaia Matagi was named in the team of the tournament.

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Report
15 February	Nines 1	Canberra Raiders	Eden Park, Auckland	Win	25-14	Johnson, Fisiiahi, Matagi, Kata	Johnson (3), Tomkins
15 February	Nines 2	Manly Sea Eagles	Eden Park, Auckland	Win	27-4	Johnson, Kata, Peyroux, Fusitua, Lolohea	Johnson (3)
16 February	Nines 3	North Queensland Cowboys	Eden Park, Auckland	Win	28-23	Ikahihifo (2), Johnson, Tuimavave, Laumape	Johnson (3)
16 February	Quarter	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Eden Park, Auckland	Win	17-16	Johnson, Fisiiahi, Laumape	Johnson, Tomkins
16 February	Semi	North Queensland Cowboys	Eden Park, Auckland	Loss	0-8

	Quarter-Finals					Semi-Finals					Final
	Newcastle Knights		11
	Brisbane Broncos		16
						Brisbane Broncos		18
						Cronulla Sharks		14
	Parramatta Eels		6
	Cronulla Sharks		17
											Brisbane Broncos		7
											North Queensland Cowboys		16
	New Zealand Warriors		17
	South Sydney Rabbitohs		16
						New Zealand Warriors		0
						North Queensland Cowboys		8
	Penrith Panthers		12
	North Queensland Cowboys		22

Regular season

The Warriors played eight home matches at Mount Smart Stadium, three at Eden Park and another at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.^[8] Their loss to the Panthers in the final round saw the Warriors finish the season in 9th place, only just missing out on the finals. This was an improvement on their 11th placed finish in 2013 and their 14th placed finish in 2012.

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance	Report
9 March	Round 1	Parramatta Eels	Pirtek Stadium, Sydney	Loss	16-36	Vatuvei, Tuimavave, Fisiiahi	Johnson (2)	14,397
15 March	Round 2	St George Illawarra Dragons	Eden Park, Auckland	Loss	12-31	Tomkins, Ropati	Johnson (2)	14,392
22 March	Round 3	North Queensland Cowboys	1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville	Win	20-16	Fisiiahi (2), Lousi, Hurrell	Johnson (2)	12,738
30 March	Round 4	Wests Tigers	Westpac Stadium, Wellington	Win	42-18	Fisiiahi (4), Johnson, Vatuvei, Bukuya, Tomkins	Johnson (5)	22,512
5 April	Round 5	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Remondis Stadium, Sydney	Loss	6-37	Vatuvei	Johnson (1)	11,307
13 April	Round 6	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Eden Park, Auckland	Loss	20-21	Tomkins, Vatuvei, Hurrell, Mannering	Johnson (2)	22,160
19 April	Round 7	St George Illawarra Dragons	WIN Jubilee Oval, Sydney	Loss	10-20	Tomkins, Vatuvei	Johnson (1)	10,559
25 April	Round 8	Melbourne Storm	AAMI Park, Melbourne	Win	16-10	Fusitua, Mateo, Johnson	Johnson (2)	28,716
10 May	Round 9	Canberra Raiders	Eden Park, Auckland	Win	54-12	Johnson (2), Vatuvei (2), Matulino, Hurrell, Laumape, Tomkins, Bukuya	Johnson (9)	18,165
18 May	Round 10	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	Loss	12-16	Matulino, Henry	Johnson (2)	17,673
24 May	Round 11	Gold Coast Titans	Robina Stadium, Gold Coast	Win	24-16	Fusitua (2), Matulino, Johnson, Mannering	Townsend (2)	18,753
1 June	Round 12	Newcastle Knights	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	Win	38-18	Mannering (2), Vatuvei (2), Tomkins, Townsend, Hurrell	Johnson (5)	19,068
7 June	Round 13	South Sydney Rabbitohs	nib Stadium, Perth	Loss	18-34	Fusitua, Johnson, Mannering, Hurrell	Johnson (1)	20,267
	Round 14	Bye
21 June	Round 15	Brisbane Broncos	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	Win	19-10	Henry, Hurrell, Townsend	Johnson (3 & FG)	16,025
29 June	Round 16	Penrith Panthers	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	Win	30-20	Hurrell (2), Vatuvei, Mannering, Johnson	Johnson (5)	12,801
	Round 17	Bye
12 July	Round 18	Parramatta Eels	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	Win	48-0	Tomkins (2), Fusitua, Johnson, Hurrell, Mannering, Henry, Townsend	Johnson (8)	14,087
19 July	Round 19	Brisbane Broncos	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Loss	22-28	Henry (2), Mannering, Tomkins	Johnson (3)	37,082
27 July	Round 20	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	Loss	12-22	Hurrell, Mannering	Townsend (2)	19,199
3 August	Round 21	Canberra Raiders	GIO Stadium, Canberra	Win	54-18	Vatuvei (3), Rapira (2), Lousi, Tomkins, Hurrell, Matulino, Laumape	Townsend (7)	7,094
10 August	Round 22	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	Win	16-12	Laumape (2), Vatuvei	Townsend (2)	13,939
16 August	Round 23	Newcastle Knights	Hunter Stadium, Newcastle	Loss	22-28	Fusitua (2), Vatuvei (2), Friend	Townsend (1)	12,733
23 August	Round 24	Sydney Roosters	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	Loss	12-46	Tomkins, Laumape	Johnson (2)	19,676
30 August	Round 25	Gold Coast Titans	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	Win	42-0	Tomkins (2), Henry, Peyroux, Friend, Hurrell, Johnson	Johnson (7)	13,540
6 September	Round 26	Penrith Panthers	Centrebet Stadium, Sydney	Loss	6-22	Vatuvei	Johnson (1)	13,551

Ladder

2014 NRL season
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Sydney Roosters	24	16	0	8	2	615	385	+230	36
2	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	16	0	8	2	502	399	+103	36
3	South Sydney Rabbitohs (P)	24	15	0	9	2	585	361	+224	34
4	Penrith Panthers	24	15	0	9	2	506	426	+80	34
5	North Queensland Cowboys	24	14	0	10	2	596	406	+190	32
6	Melbourne Storm	24	14	0	10	2	536	460	+76	32
7	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	13	0	11	2	446	439	+7	30
8	Brisbane Broncos	24	12	0	12	2	549	456	+93	28
9	New Zealand Warriors	24	12	0	12	2	571	491	+80	28
10	Parramatta Eels	24	12	0	12	2	477	580	−103	28
11	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	11	0	13	2	469	528	−59	26
12	Newcastle Knights	24	10	0	14	2	463	571	−108	24
13	Wests Tigers	24	10	0	14	2	420	631	−211	24
14	Gold Coast Titans	24	9	0	15	2	372	538	−166	22
15	Canberra Raiders	24	8	0	16	2	466	623	−157	20
16	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	5	0	19	2	334	613	−279	14

Squad

Staff

• Chief Executive Officer: Wayne Scurrah
• General Manager: Don Mann Jr
• General Manager Football Operations: Dean Bell
• Medical Services Manager: John Mayhew
• Welfare and Education Manager: Jerry Seuseu
• Media and Communications Manager: Richard Becht

Coaching staff

• NRL Head Coach: Andrew McFadden
• NRL Assistant Coach: Ricky Henry
• NRL Assistant Coach: Adam Mogg
• NSW Cup Head Coach: Rohan Smith^[9]
• NSW Assistant Coach: Willie Swan
• NYC Head Coach: Stacey Jones
• NYC Assistant Coach: Kelvin Wright
• Academy and Pathways Manager: Duane Mann^[9]

Strength and Conditioning

• Strength and Conditioning Coach: Carl Jennings
• Strength and Conditioning Coach: Ruben Wiki
• Sports Science Manager: Brad Morris
• Rehab and Speed Coach: Dayne Norton
• Performance Analyst: Adam Sadler

Transfers

Gains

Losses

Other teams

The Warriors entered a team into the NSW Cup for the first time. The team replaced the Auckland Vulcans, who the club previously helped to fund.^[11] The Junior Warriors again competed in the Holden Cup.

NSW Cup squad

The NSW Cup side were coached by Rohan Smith. It was the first time that the team had a full-time coach.^[9] In June the team took a match to Gisborne's Rugby Park.^[12]

The side finished eighth in regular season and made the finals, defeating the Mount Pritchard Mounties 36-28 in the elimination finals. They were eliminated the next week, losing 12-29 to the Illawarra Cutters.^[13]

Raymond Faitala-Mariner was named in the NSW Cup team of the year.^[14]

Holden Cup Squad

The Junior Warriors won the Holden Cup by defeating the Brisbane Broncos 34-32 in the grand final.^[15][16] The Junior Warriors had finished eighth in the regular season, just qualifying for the finals series. In the finals they defeated the Sydney Roosters 44-30 in the elimination finals.^[17]

The Grand Final team was: Brad Abbey, Ngataua Hukatai, Nathaniel Roache, Solomone Kata, Paul Ulberg, Tuimoala Lolohea, Mason Lino (c), Sam Lisone (c), Kurt Robinson, Kouma Samson, Michael Ki, Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard, Jazz Tevaga. Interchange: James Bell, Toafofoa Sipley, Ken Maumalo, Iulio Afoa. Coach: Stacey Jones.

Sam Lisone was named at prop in the Holden Cup team of the year.^[18] Solomone Kata won the Jack Gibson Medal as the grand final player of the match.^[16]

Awards

Simon Mannering was named the NRL Player of the Year and also received a Legacy award. Konrad Hurrell won the People’s Choice Award while Manu Vatuvei was the Club Person of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year. David Fusitu’a was the NRL Rookie of the Year.^[19]

The NSW Cup Player of the Year was Agnatius Paasi, who also won the NSW Cup Players’ Player of the Year award. Tuimoala Lolohea was the NSW Cup Rookie of the Year.^[19]

Sam Lisone won the NYC Player of the Year and NYC Players’ Player of the Year awards while Brad Abbey was the NYC Rookie of the Year.^[19]

References

External links

• Warriors 2014 season rugby league project